Mountain X Wine Co is a modest and loose partnership between part-time wine writer Gary Walsh and friend and full-time wine writer Campbell Mattinson. It is more or less the direct outcome of Campbell's research for and writing of The Wine Hunter, the story of Maurice O'Shea of Mt Pleasant. Says Campbell, 'It's no secret that during the research and writing of the Maurice O'Shea story I came not only to love the man, the land he worked on and his wines, but Hunter Valley reds fullstop.' Discussions over appropriate glasses of wine with Gary Walsh made them wonder why shiraz pinot blends were so rarely made, and the only rational conclusion was that they should have wines made for them to their own specifications: the best possible grapes, large format French puncheons (only 25% new) and a percentage of pinot, which could only be obtained outside the Hunter Valley. This in turn has led to the idea of a Yarra Valley Shiraz Pinot Noir to join the 2006 and '07 Mountain X Hunter Valley Shiraz Pinots ('08 lost in the ever-present rain of that vintage). Deeply coloured; densely packed wine with dark fruits and plenty of leather; a long, tannic and drying finish; needs time to fully integrate. 13.5º alc. Rating 90 Drink 2016 $35 Date Tasted Feb 08 James Halliday Wine Companion 2009

Over the past three summers writer Gary Walsh and I have been having a wine made (by Rhys Eather at Meerea Park). It’s called Mountain X. We started this because when we looked at the history of Australian wine and particularly of Hunter Valley wine, we wondered why no one was taking shiraz-pinot noir blends seriously. Some of the best wines ever made in this country were made of this blend and yet barring the odd cellar door-only special, the blend had largely disappeared.

There’s a good reason for this I guess – when you blend pinot noir with shiraz it inevitably makes the wine lighter (and more table-friendly), which isn’t exactly the trend of things. Or wasn’t. Instead of complaining about it, we decided to do something about it. We obviously couldn’t get access to Tyrrell’s or Mount Pleasant vineyards, but we did the next best thing – we got access to a couple of tonne of grapes from the steep-sided Somerset vineyard in the Hunter. This vineyard was planted 40 years ago (in my birth year: 1968) but even better, O’Shea used to buy grapes from this vineyard – it is an historic vineyard site (indeed O’Shea would have dealt with the current owner’s grandfather, before it temporarily became an orchard). Considering what Gary Walsh and I were trying to do, this vineyard was perfect. Campbell Mattinson

I had some stylistic (not quality) expectations of this wine before opening and was totally guzumped over the course of the night when it presented quite differently to what I expected. A Hunter Shiraz with a measure of Pinot thrown in. Ok, whatever. I'm no Hunteriste. I imagine Hunteristes tend to be much older than me. They tend to go on and on about O'Shea and Evans and Tyrrells and Mount Pleasant and - well you get the picture. Absolute barrel of laughs.

So this has the paw print of Campbell Mattinson, at least the address on the back looked familiar. It also has the print of the mayor of the Hunter, Gary Walsh. Importantly - given it is a Hunter Shiraz - it has the stamp of Rhys Eather which immediately brings some seriousness to the table. I reckon if I was going to do something with Hunter Shiraz I'd give Rhys a call and see what he was up to. Similarly, if I was to do something with Pinot, I'd get Franco d'Anna on the line which is precisely what these two esteemed 'Hunteristes' have done. Enough rambling, what about the bloody wine?

It's pretty damn good. Deep crimson red with a bright and youthful tinge; I let it sit for an hour or so in the glass. This was going to be perfect with the Bolognaise. The nose is a concoction of bright berry and brambly fruits, sweet leather, cloves and a touch of spicy oak. In the mouth it has some really wonderful silky tannins that form a net around this lovely fruit however here is where the savouriness kicks in and takes over. The deeper you get into the glass, the more it evolves and offers more angles or dimensions. It gains complexity under your nose! This is a pup and will continue to come together over the next 4 to 6 years but it was drinking well after the pasta was gone. An excellent but above all very interesting wine well worth seeking out. Pair it up with Mattinson's The Wine Hunter for a match made in Hunter Heaven! Diam; 13.5% Alc. Price: $35 Drink: Now-2014 Quality: Excellent BW WineStar© July 2008