Allan and Christine Pankhurst in the vineyard.
by Brent Lello, Yass Valley Times Wine Columnist
Pankhurst Wines – Arneis 2021
Every now and again a varietal wine pops onto the regional radar that is a rare to see, let alone taste. Arneis is one such white grape variety that stakes its origin back to the Piedmont region in Northern Italy and is a rare occurrence here in our region and for that matter, the rest of Australia. Like most of the wines of Italy, it’s a seemingly fantastically food friendly wine and a great example is the focus of this week’s “swirl” – the Pankhurst Wines Arneis 2021.
Christine and Allan at the recent National Wine Show of Australia where their 2022 Pinot Noir and 2022 Dorothy May Cabernet Sauvignon were awarded bronze medals – a big achievement when up against the whole of Australia. They were invited to be part of the show after both these wines received the Trophy (top gold) at the 2023 Canberra Wine show.
This attractive wine is a pale yet vibrant gold colour in the glass with a bright light shining from within. A “swirl” invigorates aromas of freshly cut white peach, nectarine and Beurré Bosc pear with a hint of apricot kernel and crushed almonds. The palate is rich and smoothly luscious with ripe stone fruit flavours and a lovely lick of fruit sweetness and lingering tingle of acidity. This is cracking stuff.
We thoroughly enjoyed our bottle with rich, creamy and spicy butter chicken and the combination was superb. This would go really well with roast chicken, a grilled fillet of salmon with hollandaise sauce or a classic dish from this variety’s region of origin – spaghetti carbonara. I sourced my bottle from the local wine selection at the First Choice bottle-o in Gungahlin, but you can also take the meandering drive out Wallaroo way to check-in with Allan and Christine at their Pankhurst Cellar Door or you could buy online for $30 per bottle here – https://pankhurstwines.com.au/
The beautiful views from Pankhurst Wines Cellar Door, Open Saturday and Sunday 10am-5pm.
