Pfeiffer’s Parish Wine Travels Well

Pfeiffer’s Parish Wine Travels Well.

So You Don’t Have To!

Pfeiffer Carlyle Chardonnay Marsanne 2011, Rutherglen (Victoria, AUS), 13%, €14.95 (reduced from 19.95) Karwig Wines http://www.karwigwines.ie .

Some two hundred kilometres north-east of Melbourne, you will find Rutherglen and, in the parish of Carlyle, among the “beautiful and tranquil surrounds of Sandy Creek”, you’ll come across the Pfeiffer winery and this gorgeous blend.

Alternatively, a few kilometers south of Cork, at the southern edge of Carrigaline, you’ll find Joe Karwig’s Wine-shop and inside, just across from the front door, you’ll see this Chardonnay Marsanne on the Australian shelf. But, hurry, there is a fiver off at present.

Marsanne is not all that well known and, according to the latest edition of the World Atlas of Wine, is a regional (rather than international) grape. But is it widely grown, not least here in the state of Victoria. Father and daughter winemaking team, Chris (below) and Jen Pfeiffer, oversee the blend.

Extended lees contact helps build a creamy texture. I have been drinking the various editions of the blend over the years and have always been impressed. This current one is no exception. It is crisp and fresh with stone fruit aromas and flavours, lightly creamy on the palate and with a clean and refreshing finish.

Just the job for the New Year celebrations!

• Rutherford is probably best known for its stickies, the local name for sweet dessert wines. Chris Pfeiffer was in Cork three years back promoting them. See what he had to say here.