Introducing a brand new pig called Levi

Welcome to the latest update in the world of Donny GoodMac wines.

Before we begin, some very interesting things to point out:

* Halliday rates the pig again - 94, 92, 92, 92 - see reviews below.

* The boys from Winefront have given the 08 chardonnay 94 and said "'Tasted alongside an 08 Toolangi Yarra Valley Chardonnay ($25) and 07 J.P Fichet Vielles Vignes Bourgogne Blanc ($50) and this fairly spanked 'em both." Thanks.

We have been busy, very busy these past few months with no one busier than the Good who on 8 June gave birth to Levi, who is now sixth in line to the Donny GoodMac throne. Levi is going gangbusters and mum Kate and dad Andrew are just weaning him off his early affection for milk onto the more suitable styles of moscato and cane-cut riesling. He's expected to have been fully weaned off the sweet stuff onto wild yeast ferment, lees-stirred chardonnay before vintage 2011. Go Levi go.

So while Good has been absent from the winery for a couple of months, she has left behind our best wines ever and also strangely enough Mac has been busy doing some work on the brand and its distribution in her absence.

So this month sees several landmarks in our world. First and foremost is the release of our 2008 individual vineyard Pyrenees Shiraz and a brilliant 2008 Yarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (93 and 92 points respectively on Winefront). See reviews below.

It also sees us teaming up with one of Australia's finest wine distributors, CellarHand, who have taken on the distribution of our wines. CellarHand is owned and operated by one of the best wine blokes in the business, Patrick Walsh, and it is famous for its enviable collection of fine German rieslings and some smashing French wines including Leroy and Champagne Jacquesson. On the Australian front, CellarHand also represents the legendary Mount Mary, the brilliant SC Pannel wines and Frankland Estate from the west.

It is a marvellous portfolio and we are thrilled to be a part of it in Sydney and to have young Jason Hoy as our representative in Sydney (for many years Jason ran Sydney's finest wine store, the Ultimo Wine Centre).

To be 'chosen' by a distributor as renowned as CellarHand is a great honour for us but we think (no, we know) it was the caliber of our two new 2008 wines that won the day – they are seriously brilliant. Reviews follow.

The 2008 vintage might just turn out to be the best in Victoria for quite some time and certainly the Pyrenees and the Yarra seemed to really excel.
For the third year, our Pyrenees shiraz is sourced exclusively from one small part of a 40-year-old vineyard in the Pyrenees in Western Victoria. The key to this wine is balance, while undoubtedly intense, rich and full of fruit this vintage also carries a lovely hint of pepper and mint. It really is a complete wine, much softer on release than the 2007 which we ask you to remain patient with . . .

Again, we have tried to keep alcohol levels moderate at 13.4%, used only 50% new French oak (just six barrels – three new, three seasoned) and made the wine in a typically old-school manner – we let it go through a week-long open ferment with hand-plunging three or four times a day before pressing into barrel..

While the 2008 vintage continues along our bent towards not showing overt oak characters, the 08 does seem to have a lovely spicy French oak lift on the nose - we should let Donny explain..

Donny believes this is entirely due to his 'brilliant' decision to impose on Good the purchase of the most expensive French barrel ever sold in Australia, for use in this wine. Donny says he can tell that one of the three new barrels in which this wine has matured is clearly his Dominique Laurent 'magic barrel' that set us back more than $2000. Have a look for it – we think it smells of burning dollar bills.

Overall, the wine spent 18 months in barrel and has been in the bottle just on six months at release. We think this slightly later release has made the wine a whole lot more delicious for those who might want to have a couple of bottles before Christmas.

While much attention will naturally be directed towards the Pyrenees shiraz we genuinely believe the delight of the vintage is our single vineyard Yarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

Our second varietal cabernet comes off the same vineyard in the Coldstream sub-region of the Yarra as the 2007 and the wine shows gorgeous blackcurrant and violet aromas – it is just a terrific medium-bodied cabernet.

We handpicked in April at just on 13 degrees baume, undertook an open ferment, split the new and seasoned barrels straight down the middle as we did with the shiraz. The result is an elegant, poised, delicious cabernet with plenty of longevity – we reckon it will go 15 years plus on its ear (or its side, or upright if you like).

And just because we can, the 2008 Chardonnay keeps getting rave reviews – see below. Order before the Christmas rush because once again this is going to be everyone's summer house wine at only $280 a dozen.

Donny GoodMac wines are available direct from our website www.donnygoodmac.com.au or leading retailers in Victoria including Barrique Healesville, Black Hearts and Sparrows and Randall the Wine Merchant. You can also find the chardonnay and cabernet at the Melbourne Wine Room.

In Sydney you can find us as North Sydney Cellars, the Opera Bar and will soon be available at selected independent retail stores and leading restaurants.

In Brisbane we are available at The Purple Palate and the Barossa Bar.

Friends in other states should buy the wine direct from the website.

In Sydney, wholesale enquires should be made to CellarHand – contact Jason Hoy on 0402 268 423 or jason@cellarhand.com.au

And now for some piggy praise.

JAMES HALLIDAYS WINE COMPENDIUM ON-LINE

Donny GoodMac Pyrenees Shiraz 2007 - 92 points
Prolonged drought made life tough in Central Victoria; clever winemaking has found the best outcome for grapes without much varietal fruit vinosity; the gently savoury palate has very good texture, balance and length. Screwcap.
13.5% alc. Rating 93 Drink 2017 $36.50 Date Tasted Nov 09

Donny Goodmac Yarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 - 92 points
Very good crimson colour; a wine with considerable substance notwithstanding its modest alcohol; blackcurrant in abundance; no obvious smoke taint. Screwcap. 13% alc. Rating 92 Drink 2017 $33 Date Tasted Nov 09

Donny GoodMac Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2008 - 94 points
A distinctly complex bouquet courtesy of wild fermentation and moderately low alcohol with some French oak adding substantially; the Coldstream-region grapes were picked at precisely the right moment; 250 dozen made. Screwcap.
13% alc. Rating 94 Drink 2013 $28 Date Tasted Nov 09

Donny GoodMac Shiraz Viognier 2008 - 92 points
Vivid crimson; the fragrant and spicy bouquet leads into a lively and fresh, light- to medium-bodied palate, with fine tannins aiding texture. From a tiny, single vineyard at Kangaroo Ground; 150 cases made. Screwcap.
14% alc. Rating 92 Drink 2018 $33 Date Tasted Nov 09


WINEFRONT - CAMPBELL MATTINSON AND GARY WALSH

Donny GoodMac Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2008 - 94 points
'Tasted alongside an 08 Toolangi Yarra Valley Chardonnay ($25) and 07 J.P Fichet Vielles Vignes Bourgogne Blanc ($50) and this fairly spanked 'em both. From a single vineyard in the Coldstream sub-region of the Yarra Valley. 250 dozen made.

"Honeydew melon, light spicy oak, a little cream and citrus. Some tinned corn sulphide but nothing off-putting. It's clean and refreshing with fine balance and line, good flavour and particularly distinguished length. Love the spritely grapefruity aftertaste. Just right. Still pretty tight and young too, so be in no hurry to drink it.'

Rated : 94 Points
Tasted : Aug10
Alcohol : 13%
Price : $28
Closure :

Donny GoodMac joins two great Australian wineries in an exclusive tasting

Hi Friends

This is a rushed email just to let those who might be interested to know that we are about to embark on our FIRST EVER Donny GoodMac public tasting this Thursday April 8 at 6pm at the Australian Museum on College Street, Sydney. The tasting is being hosted by wine-ark and alongside us are the two VERY excellent wineries Curly Flat and Spinifex – both made by good mates of ours and two of the most awarded wineries in Australia over the past few years.

And also FYI we will be showing a sneak preview of our 2008 Pyrenees Shiraz which will be available probably in June or July and is a genuinely thrilling wine. If you are interested in attending please call (02) 8507 2680 as tickets apparently will sell fast.

Venue: The Australian Museum - 'Roof Terrace'
Address: Level 4 / 6 College Street
Enter via: William Street Entry
Date: Thursday 8th April 2010
Time: 6:00pm for a 6:30pm (sharp) start


Cheers!

Donny, Good & Mac

Four New Wines from Three Little Pigs

November is the month Donny GoodMac got serious.

After five years of making a bit of wine, getting them occasionally right, buying leaky French barrels (Donny's fault) and surviving a bushfire, we have decided we should try to do things properly.

We are going to market with our wines, we are going to try to sell them to people outside our direct family, we are going to try to get the labels on straight ALL THE TIME and we are going to have a fully functioning website.

We are even going to send samples to the media (including you, James Halliday) so you don't make fun of us in print any more.

So here we are then with four new wines and a Blue Ocean Strategy (that's corporate speak, the book is on my desk, untouched), which could be dangerous for a pig I guess. So to the wines.

2008 Donny GoodMac Yarra Valley Chardonnay


We are really pleased with our 2008 Yarra Valley Chardonnay. It is sourced exclusively from the Maroondah Province Vineyard, planted in 1979 at Coldstream by David Millard. We are still keen to keep the alcohol modest, we are still keen to pursue fine-ness and we are still keen to use only 30% or so new French wood. We handpicked, whole-bunched-pressed and added no cultured yeast and the wine did not go through malo. It took its time but the ferment went well and the result is minerally, focussed and citrusy with plenty of complexity from the wild ferment and lees contact. Nine months in barrel before bottling.

2008 Donny GoodMac Yarra Valley Shiraz Viognier


The shiraz for our first Shiraz Viognier is sourced from a tiny vineyard at Kangaroo Ground in the Christmas Hills sub-region of the Yarra Valley. The Shiraz and Viognier were co-fermented, open top and hand-plunged three times a day for eight days. We think the final amount of Viognier is around 2.5%. The wine was aged in seasoned French oak for 10 months and the result is spicy, perfumed, totally ripe and really focussed. It has already topped a couple of 'blind' tastings in the Yarra and we are genuinely impressed with this wine. Sadly there will be no 2009 as the vineyard was pretty badly impacted by the fires.

2007 Donny GoodMac Yarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

This is our first 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced off the same vineyard (well not exactly the same) as our chardonnay – the Maroondah Province Vineyard at Coldstream. The vineyard was planted to cabernet and chardonnay in 1979. The cabernet section has a nice slope and good exposure which meant it was one of the few vineyards to avoid frost in 2007. The yield was less than two tonnes per acre and we are delighted with the result – classic cool climate cabernet. This wine is intense, structured, elegant and perfumed. We think Yarra cabernet is often crazily under-rated and this is our first effort to prove our point.

2007 Donny GoodMac Pyrenees Shiraz

Sourced from an iconic vineyard in Western Victoria's Pyrenees region, our 2007 Shiraz is concentrated and intense due to the hot, dry conditions and miniscule yield. We made a conscious decision to pick a little earlier, in fact we picked in February would you believe it, so our fruit kept condition and we retained some regional spice and character. Again the wine has been matured in new and seasoned French oak for 16 months and will cellar for 10 years or more with ease.

All wines are available direct to consumers via our website www.donnygoodmac.com.au or by calling Mrs Mac – Leah Mackenzie on 03 5962 3779 or by emailing leah@donnygoodmac.com.au

The wines are also available at selected independent retailers and a few leading restaurants. Retailers include: Purple Palate, Brisbane, Qld; North Sydney Cellars, NSW; Ultimo Wine Centre, Ultimo; Barrique Wine Store, Healesville, Vic; Randall The Wine Merchant, Albert Park, Hawthorn & Geelong, Vic
Restaurants: Becco, Melbourne

For media enquiries please call Donny Gregor on 02 96674211, 0419 526015 or email stuartgregor@liquidideas.com.au.

We'd also like to take this opportunity to congratulate Good on her 40th birthday and a cracking Goodstock party. In Mac's own words: "There's a very good reason there was only one Woodstock…..and now Goodstock has followed in the same footsteps. I think the Yeastie Boys played a couple of numbers but I may have been unconscious."

Until next time

The Kings of Leon send SOS for Donny GoodMac

"The star is the Shiraz (both $30) with a riot of fresh dark berry flavours and terrific length." Ken Gargett, The Courier Mail, 7 April 2009

Well, haven't we had an interesting few months. Where should we start?

It would be futile to start anywhere other than the fires. Enough has been said about the tragedy already and it sure put our little fire-fighting effort into perspective when friends lost lives and livelihoods. For us, Good and Mac fought hard to save the Punt Road winery and all the Punt Road and Donny GoodMac stock, and despite seeing the adjacent vineyard burn to the ground, the cypress trees lining the driveway ignite like match sticks and the winery and cellar door evacuated, their efforts were rewarded and everything was saved.

Of course this all happened just a few short weeks before vintage and to be honest the whole period where fatality numbers were increasing, smoke and embers were still hanging around and Healesville seemed constantly under threat was not a particularly enjoyable few weeks.

Vintage seemed to jump us and even though the conditions weren't ideal I think all of us in the Yarra, indeed across Australia's winemaking community, really wanted to produce something great out of 2009, so not all our memories were of that awful February.

So how did we go? Well, first of all the Pyrenees shiraz. We got two tonnes which is half of what we wanted but enough for us to make 120-odd cases. And the fruit was really very good indeed. The yields were painfully low but this old unirrigated vineyard stood up really well and the 2009 DGM Shiraz will be pretty typical, maybe even a bit bolder than usual. Good seems to think it is looking better than the 2008.

Remarkably we also got some pretty good chardonnay out of the Yarra – that's what happens when you have a mature vineyard in the right location. Unfortunately, there won't be a shiraz viognier this year; the heat took its toll and the fruit just wasn't up to scratch. The cabernet will be picked in early April, a very low crop and miniscule berries.

Looking at the current releases, the 2007 reds are certainly settling down and really looking the goods. We won't be releasing the 2008 cabernet and shiraz until April next year and have sold more than half of our stock so we will run out of both wines for a few months, so if you want to get your little bit of Donny GoodMac 07s, we suggest you get in soon.

Later this year we will release our 2008 Yarra Valley chardonnay (the 2007 is sold out sadly) and also our first shiraz viognier from the Yarra.

When we do this we will also be holding our first winemaker dinners in Sydney and Melbourne, so keep your eyes peeled.

We've also gone crazy and you can now order Donny GoodMac securely online. You can either download the order form and fax it through or follow the links to pay through PayPal. Order Here!

And now for the big news. The Kings of Leon love Donny GoodMac!

'The three Followill brothers of Kings of Leon fame appear to be quite the wine connoisseurs, requesting a selection of Australian and NZ wine while in Australia. Arriving in Sydney for their sold-old tour, the Kings sent out an SOS for 12 bottles of wine to enjoy while relaxing post gig in their exclusive cabana at the Ivy pool bar. They asked for a selection of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz, and the Kings' management went straight to wine guru Stuart Gregor for advice. So what will they be drinking? Donny Goodmac Yarra Valley Chardonnay, the Single Vineyard Montana Terraces Pinot Noir from Marlborough, and the Wirra Wirra Woodhenge Shiraz. The Ivy party was hosted by Time Out magazine and on acceptance of their invitation the Kings placed their request to its editor, Angus Fontaine, who recommended Stuart. The Kings were also spotted at Magill Estate a few weeks ago. By the way, Donny Goodmac is the work of Stuart 'Donny' Gregor, Kate Goodman and Cameron Mackenzie. Oh well, why wouldn't you recommend your own wine? If you've got it, flaunt it.' WBM

For those of you wondering about the pic, this was was taken at Donny's 40th birthday party on New Year's Eve - a 1968 extravaganza. Donny came as his pregnant mum, Good, looked well, very good, and Mac donned a skirt and mullet to look far too much like Billy Jean King.

Love, set and match

Donny, Good and Mac

Pig's Ear, Christmas Cheer, Donny GoodMac's Here

Well the Melbourne Cup has been run, the Rugby League World Cup is over (wasn't that fun?), Key Largo Lad has been retired to stud, the Americans have a new President and Mac has a roof on his new house and another bun in the oven.

Yes, it's been a big year.

So what better way to finish it off than releasing our two all-singing, all-dancing, sexy new-look Donny GoodMac wines – our established Pyrenees Shiraz and the rather elegant, refined and delicious new Yarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

Both are, of course, from the 2007 vintage which was hot and dry in the Pyrenees and the Yarra, and will famously go down in the annals of Australian wine as the vintage where climate change caught up with us and the national grape harvest was around 30% below expectations. So we will not be alone when we say 'there won't be much of our 2007 vintage'.

That said, we all know what happens when yields are kept low (and we mean really low). The resultant wines are pretty intense, pretty rich in flavour and they will last, and last . . . and then they'll last a little longer.

In these racy times, we feel compelled to ask you to let these Donny's rest for some time before you tear into them – perhaps our wine writing friend Campbell Mattinson summed up the state of the 2007 Donny GoodMac Shiraz when he gave the wine 94 points and wrote the following on November 11 on his website – www.winefront.com.au

'This is supposed to be the side-project of wine industry folks Cameron Mackenzie, Stuart Gregor and winemaker Kate Goodman. Problem is that it's much better than that (Goodman is clearly the driving force). The 2006 was outstanding and while this hasn't properly integrated yet, it will do, and then it will be quite something.'

Campbell also gave the 2007 Donny GoodMac Cabernet 92 points - not bad for our first release.

"This is the first cabernet from the bonny team at Donny Goodmac. It's made from 20-year-old-vines growing on a steep-ish slope which managed to avoid most of the frost troubles of that vintage.

It's a juicy little number too. And silken. Indeed it's got a lot going for it. It tastes sweet and ripe and yet it flows elegantly through your mouth, its curranty flavours gently sour-edged and creamy. There's the odd smoky note to the finish, and particularly to the aftertaste, but for the most part this wine is pure and plush and delicious."

Of course we think he's right on both counts and to be honest, we only sent him samples because he kept badgering Donny's office after he heard we had a few secret bottles to spare.

We think the shiraz will become a very special wine, but all in its own time so please be patient. As for the Yarra Valley cabernet, well this one has really taken us, and the very few people we have shown the wine to, by surprise. The wine is beautifully coloured with lovely aromatics and a fine, focussed cabernet palate. Again, this wine will evolve beautifully over the next decade.

But we have learnt something from this and have taken the decision to push back all our new releases by at least six months after this release. So our 2008 Yarra Cabernet and Pyrenees Shiraz won't be released until April 2010 as we think we need to give the wines a few extra months after bottling to settle into their own skin.

Fear not, however, keen pre-Christmas buyers, next year we will have a limited release 2008 Yarra Valley Shiraz Viognier that we absolutely love and the 2008 Yarra Valley Chardonnay already looks like it could be a blinder.

As our little wine business gains just the tiniest bit of notoriety there is a chance you might start to see our wines on a couple of select wine lists or fine wine retail shelves. We want to remind you, our most important customers, that our friends in the 'trade' pay the same price as you do for our wines, so depending on their retail margin you will see our wines somewhere between 30% and 200% above our mailing list price, depending on the venue.

There's also some 2007 Donny GoodMac Chardonnay left, but not for long. This treasure came second in a blind tasting in Donny's office - it's the perfect wine for summer 09.

To place an order please download the order form from our website: www.donnygoodmac.com.au

So buy up, drink up and have a wonderful festive season - and put plenty of pork on your fork and in your glass.

Love

Donny, Good and Mac

Inaugural Wine Dinner at Noosa's Blue Angel

It was always going to be a special night – obviously over excited Donny and Mac on holidays after a tough few months, made for a couple of hosts ready to celebrate.

And celebrate we did. A sold out pig-loving audience of 70 came along on a Tuesday night in Noosa not quite sure what to expect, only to encounter two blokes not quite sure what to deliver. It was, in so many ways, the perfect match.

So we did what we know best, some might say, all we know. We told a few lame jokes, we opened plenty of bottles of great wines, we snuck in an option's game (won by the lovely Judy) and we finished with a few Coopers. All in all, a pretty tame Tuesday in God's country.

The food, from chef Daniel Mosedale, was superb, including crispy-fried local school prawns with smoked tomato aioli, roasted whole wagyu sirloin with bearnaise and watercress and the hero, slow-roasted Bangalow pork belly with parsnips and apples.

And the wines on show were delicious. The 2007 Yarra Valley Chardonnay, which has improved out of sight since release, is drinking superbly now and will improve for a few more years yet.

We then tasted the 2005, 2006 and 2007 DGM Shiraz and what an interesting little trio they turned out to be.

The 2005 is developing very nicely. It's a little lighter than the two successive vintages as we used some younger vine fruit in that wine. That said, if you still have some it's looking lovely now and has many more years in front of it – it's a smooth, succulent bugger.

The 2006 was looking pretty damn good, too. It is still bright, tight and young but the fruit expression is extraordinary – in a decade this wine will be unbelievably good but I can also tell you in a couple of years it will really start hitting its straps.

The 2007 is a young bugger. We double decanted the wines an hour before guests arrived and it looked delicious, intense and quite firm. It's a baby and we encourage you, if you must drink it today, to follow our lead and pour it into a jug and then back into the bottle before you start attacking it. Otherwise leave it for a few years or at least 12 months.

Perhaps the wine of the night was the new 2007 Cabernet from the Yarra. Good always thought this was the wine of the vintage for us (hey we only have three) and not for the first time it appears she might have been right. It is lifted with lovely aromatics, great suppleness and classic cool-climate cabernet character – damn straight we love this wine and FYI its Donny's wife's pick of the current releases and she topped sensory evaluation at Roseworthy so she must be believed.

First Ever Donny GoodMac Wine Dinner

For those of you lucky enough to find yourself on the Sunshine Coast on Tuesday, 14 October please join Donny and Mac for the first ever Donny GoodMac wine dinner.

The evening will be hosted by Stuart and Cameron and will feature three vintages of their iconic and much sought-after Pyrenees shiraz, a wine sourced from one of Australia's finest old-vine shiraz vineyards. The 2006 vintage sold out in less than a month and leading wine author, Campbell Mattinson, wrote in his Big Red Wine Book, 'You could call this the perfect Australian shiraz – it drinks like a champion now, yet it will age. It's brilliant - 95 points.'

We will also taste the new 2007 Donny GoodMac Yarra Valley Chardonnay and our first ever Yarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Each of these wines will be available exclusively to our guests on the night at special Donny GoodMac Noosa prices (we have to, Stuart's parents and sister live in Noosa!).

The night will, of course, feature the brilliant food of Daniel Mosedale and rest assured, it will be a wine dinner with a difference – Stuart and Cameron will host one of their legendary wine options games (where the less you know the better you perform), there will be mystery wines, stories of dubious taste and execution, much hilarity and great times.

7pm
Tuesday, 14 October
Blue Angel
235 Gympie Terrace
Noosaville
Booking enquiries to Angela on
07 5473 0800 by Friday, 10 October
Cost $95 including wines, canapιs on arrival and a bountiful, family-style feast

Pigs in Space

See, we are serious at Donny GoodMac. Every now and again we'll bring you updates on our piggy friend, news of the "old but strong" Key Largo Lad and plenty of other useless information.

Most importantly, however, the 2007 chardonnay is flying out the door so if you want to order some of this "terrific value" wine, you better get in quick. Visit our website to download an order form and to check out another terrific Pig review.

Make sure you also preorder the 2007 shiraz and 2007 cabernet sauvignon due for release at the end of the year. If you don't order now, it's likely your wine will be shipped to prestige outlets such Becco in Melbourne, the Bentley Bar in Sydney and Pier Nine in Brisbane where the shiraz stars on the wine lists. Becco even have the red and white quinella - the Golden Pig is on by the glass!

On the 07 vintage, our award-winning winemaker, Kate Goodman, reckons we managed to dodge all the bullets that mother nature fired. "We were free of frost and fire and had enough water to get by where needed. Our dry-grown vineyard in the Pyrenees produced concentrated shiraz grapes and the Yarra chardonnay was pristine with great acidity. Basically it was a blockbuster!"

Kate, who also makes the top gear at Punt Road Wines (www.puntroadwines.com.au), was recently given the thumb's up by Huon Hooke in the Good Weekend magazine. "Thanks heavens for Kate Goodman and the folk at The Yarra Hill Winery who produce Punt Road Wines. These are consistently good and the prices are moderate. In short, these are wines for the punter - good wines that most of us can afford." Top stuff Kate and Cameron.

We're also planning a pig roadshow in October, where we'll be bringing the latest releases and sought-after museum stock to a posh restaurant near you. Watch this space.

As for our Lad, his prizemoney has topped $22,000 - Dapto Dogs here we come.

And just so we can end with a loud OINK, here's the 2006 shiraz review from Campbell Mattinson's latest book, The Big Red Wine Book. As you can imagine, we're happy as pigs in mud!

"Rarely do you find a wine with all the components so well balanced, and at the same time so charming. You could call this the perfect Australian shiraz. It's not too big, but not thin and wimpy either. It's a medium-bodied, plum-centred, cherried red wine, exotic notes of five-spice, sandalwood, cedar, sap, and toast pitching it just right. It drinks like a champion now, and yet it will age. It's brilliant." SCORE 95

Until next time

Donny, Good and Mac

2007 Donny GoodMac Chardonnay

This is from the Coldstream sub-region of the Yarra Valley and as with the most recent Donny Goodmac Shiraz, it's both a terrific wine and terrific value. It's lean, long and well flavoured, its spine of lemony fruit aided ably by flavours of grapefruit and spicy cedarwood. Balance and length are its calling cards, and while it's a fairly clinical display it's got just enough happening to keep it interesting. Drink: 2008-2012. 92 points.

Campbell Mattinson
Publisher, The Wine Front
www.winefront.com.au

The Golden Pig

The Donny GoodMac team absolutely bloody loves chardonnay. Chardonnay from the Yarra, Margaret River, Tassie, Burgundy, even the Mornington Peninsula for heaven's sake. If it's not the greatest white grape then it's pretty bloody close. So if we were ever going to make a white wine it was always going to be chardonnay.

And then we found out 2007 was the Year of the Pig... well in fact, even better... read on.

According to our local Chinese soothsayer (okay, the waiter at Golden Century), 2007 was the Year of the Golden Pig which occurs every 60 or 600 years depending on who is telling the story, and how much chardonnay and MSG is in the system when you hear it. Children born in a Golden Pig year go on to make huge successes of themselves so Donny and Good did their bit by producing our first white wine, while 'Mac' did the real thing and produced baby Eliza (she'd want to be successful, if only to show up the failings of her father).

So we started our Search For a Suitable Chardonnay Vineyard (soon to be featured on Arena and hosted by Good) and came upon a gem: a 25-year-old chardonnay vineyard in the heart of the cool Coldstream sub-region of the Yarra.

We know a lot of people have a lot of views about chardonnay. For instance, there are stupid people who believe that Australian chardonnay is the red-headed stepchild of the Australian wine industry. And there are stupider people who think that all chardonnay is oaky, buttery and fat. And these misconceptions (well, yes, there was some degree of reality a few years back, granted) have become so bad that everyone is drinking New Zealand sauvignon blanc for Christ's sake! Let's face it, if the Wallabies really turned to shit (and it's not far off), would we just start following the All Blacks? Especially if the All Blacks smelled like the train trip on the way home from the Melbourne Cup – cheap perfume and sweat?

So back to the inaugural Golden Pig.

The fruit was all hand-picked in early March at very moderate sugar levels, resulting in a wine of just 12.5% alcohol (not fat, not alcoholic, not Donny). The fruit was whole-bunch pressed and a third was allowed to ferment 'wild' in the best Burgundy barrels we could get our hands on. This means, we think, that Good ran out of cultured yeast and just let one barrel run 'feral' and by gum, it has certainly added a certain 'funk' and groovy sort of mouthfeel to the wine that the three of us are having quite a time trying to describe. The wine is a little bit 'out there' by any measure, there is only 30% new oak and the wine was stirred on lees for around 10 months before bottling.

It won't appeal to everyone, particularly not to stupid people who don't like chardonnay, but it will appeal to people who like white wine of real character, flavour and interest. And it will only get more interesting with a couple more years in your cellar.

As for the price of the wine – well Donny and Good had yet another blue over this. Good reckons it's bloody brilliant (she would, she made it) and thinks it should be $50 a bottle. Donny thinks it's nice, but likes the idea of people actually being able to afford to taste the thing and it is, after all, just our first attempt.

So it's $260 per dozen, delivered to your door. That's good value there.

So what else is going on in our world?

Well, as most of you probably know, the 2006 Pyrenees shiraz sold out in a month. A couple of very useful reviews from Campbell Mattinson (95 points) and Gary Walsh (93 points) certainly got a few people talking. The wine was also snapped up by Nick Hildebrandt of Sydney's Bentley Restaurant & Bar, where it continues to prosper and be savoured alongside some of Sydney's best food and in the midst of Sydney's most eclectic and challenging wine list. We hope you, our loyal customer, got your little piece of the action because the wine is absolutely bloody tops and will be even better in a few years.

The 2007 reds look pretty good too. The Pyrenees
shiraz will be bottled in August 2008 and available in
November. Again, supply will be short and demand will
be high, so if you want to put a reserve on a case or
two (max), please make sure you mark your order form
appropriately.

We will also be releasing our first ever cabernet
sauvignon later in the year, sourced from the same
vineyard (well, not the exact same vines) as the 2007
chardonnay. This cabernet vineyard is around 30-yearsold
and again, being the counter-cyclists we are, we just
reckon Yarra Valley cabernet is tops – why not make up
your mind for yourselves?

And vintage 2008? Well, it was certainly a challenge. Our
yields in the Pyrenees were lower than ever and as such,
we will probably have only around 100 dozen for sale in
late 2009. The Yarra fruit fared okay, and in addition to
the chardonnay and cabernet, we decided to have some
fun and co-ferment some Yarra shiraz and viognier, so
we will have another little piggy to add to the portfolio
some time next year. At the moment this wine, sourced
from a vineyard up towards Kangaroo Ground, looks
really interesting. We will keep you posted.

And please note in October or November 2008, the
Donny GoodMac roadshow is planned for the first ever
time. Yes, we thought we might unleash ourselves on
Sydney, Melbourne and Noosa for one night only in each
market. Quite what we will do remains undecided, but
at the very least we will pick a reasonable restaurant
and open all our shiraz from 2002-2007 and everything
else we have made, too, including sneak previews of
our new wines. And we reckon we might show you the
wines we really love to drink as well. Keep your eyes out
for an email invitation around September and again, act
quickly as you can be sure it won't be real big but it will
be real fun.

And also if you lose your order form make sure you
visit www.donnygoodmac.com.au where you can
download another and also maybe see a few pictures
and things if we get our act together some time in the
next couple of months.

So that's it from us... almost.

Of course you want to know about Key Largo Lad, our
beloved greyhound. Well, at April 10, 2008 his stats looked like this: 64 starts 10 wins, 14 seconds and 13 thirds – that's running a place exactly 50% of his starts. That, my friends, is
a dog as honest as the day is long. He is a champion.
Oh, and prizemoney of $17,325 doesn't hurt either,
considering he cost four grand!

Thanks for being top people and great customers.

This Little Piggy Went to Paris

Finally, the much anticipated 2006 Pig is ready for release. Those who have followed the Donny Goodmac triumvirate over the last year will know that we have been banging on about the 2006 shiraz as being something special. Since our first vintage in 2002, we've changed regions a few times….slept around if you like. First it was the Yarra, then Heathcote and last year we settled in the Pyrenees region of Western Victoria, a stunning region for spicy, savoury shiraz.

While we cannot name the vineyard we have sourced fruit from, it's fair to say that it is the envy of every grower in the Pyrenees. Beautiful, old and low-yielding, this vineyard produces some of Australia's finest shiraz and we have been bloody lucky to buy two tonnes in 2006 and in 2007. Once again the Pig was matured in a combination of new and one-year-old French oak barrels – expensive and very flash!

The 2006 Pig is a blinder and easily our best wine so far (yes, I know we said that of the 2005 vintage and get used to it because we'll probably say it every year). But this year the proof is in the bottle. The colour is a youthful dense red/purple. It has brooding aromas of dark berry, liquorice and spice supported by stunning French oak. A full-bodied palate shows layers of the same flavours and as always we recommend decanting the wine and giving it a bit of air to really open it up. Bottled under screw-cap, in a snazzy new bottle, we reckon it will cellar for at least 10 years, probably more.

Enough of the serious mumbo jumbo. What else has been happening in our world?

Many of you have enquired about our greyhound – Key Largo Lad – the one with leukaemia, track paw, torn monkey muscle, kidney transplant and slightly stumpy tail. Well we are happy to report that the journey continues! Just as we were about to let him loose in a National Park somewhere Donny came up with the brilliant idea of sending him to Perth. A new trainer and a fresh home has done the trick because he has won five races in WA (mainly against labradors and dachshunds but we don't care, a win is a win and there will be vision on the website shortly).

Donny recently spent a bit of time in France cheering on the Wallabies – money well spent, wasn't it? No doubt he has also did some extensive wine 'tasting' too. The big news is that he was invited to present a wine at a tasting at Australian Embassy in Paris on the day of the World Cup semi-final. Guess what wine he served? That's right, the 2006 Pig was launched and enjoyed by Deputy Chairman of Australian Rugby, Peter Cosgrove, CEO of Vodafone, Russell Hewitt, and Pat Howard who was heading up the search for the new Wallabies' coach. Vive la piggy!

Good has been busy this year and what a year it has been. We've had drought, frost, phylloxera and a Spice Girls reunion tour – almost too much to handle. On a positive note Good was accepted into the 'Future Leaders Program' run by the Winemakers Federation of Australia. This basically means that she will one day run the whole wine industry in Australia, possibly the world. Let's hope she doesn't forget the little people.

Mac hasn't been doing much (as usual) just cleaning up after the other two and welcoming his daughter Eliza into the world. He has also done a bit of travel this year – US, Canada, China, Singapore and Healesville. That's right, after years of driving from Brunswick to the Yarra every day he has packed up the family and moved to Healesville. His carbon footprint has now reduced to the size of Brazil.

And what's on the horizon? Well, plenty actually. You see 2007 is the Year of the Pig and not just any pig, but the year of the Golden Pig which only occurs every 600 years! What better year to produce our first ever chardonnay. Earlier in the year we purchased a tiny amount of fruit from our friend David Millard who has the most gorgeous small vineyard in the Yarra Valley – the vines are 23 years old. We also grabbed his cabernet which is tucked away in barrels and due for release in the middle of 08. At this stage we anticipate the Golden Pig Chardonnay will be released in January but as there are only 90 dozen, we suggest you reserve a case on your shiraz order form. This won't be a run-of-the-mill Aussie chardy but rather a fine, elegant, textural little number. Giaconda here we come.

Thanks for shopping with us, tell your friends about us, buy early to avoid disappointment and remember get some pork on your fork and a Pig in your glass. Enjoy the 2006 Donny Goodmac – RRP$30 and available only through mailorder or at selected restaurants around Australia.

"Pretty young and cheeky now, but if your tastes run towards spicy Victorian shiraz then you'd do pretty well to order up a few slices of this – 93 points.'

Gary Walsh
Winorama
www.winorama.com.au

Pork Talk

The 2004 vintage of Donny GoodMac is our best ever by a considerable margin. We found an especially good vineyard in Heathcote that yielded just over 2T/acre and we were lucky to get two tonnes for ourselves when Kate did one of her 'special' deals with the grower in question.

For the second year in a row we were also 'lucky' enough to buy a brand new Sirugue oak barrel. Sirugue is one of the finest cooperages in France and imported exclusively to Australia by Rick Kinzbrunner of Giaconda fame.

The result is a 'Pig' with a little more body, a fatter, fuller pig if you like. The colour is deep and wonderfully bright, helped no end by the screw cap that sits atop the bottle. The aromatics are dominated by plum and cherry with a hint of spice and just a tiny savoury note courtesy of those bloody expensive French barrels. The palate is medium-full bodied (we go up a notch each year) and the tannins are soft without a hint of bitterness.

This is a wine that shows our evolution from hapless amateurs (deciding on picking dates not due to ripeness but wedding dates in 2002) to semi-serious winemaking try-hards. And we know things are just getting better as the 2005 sits in oak and looks likely to be a wine of immense power and concentration.

2003 Donny GoodMac Shiraz
The 2003 Donny GoodMac Shiraz was hand-picked from one of Heathcote's finest shiraz vineyards.

The wine was fermented in a small open vessel, hand-plunged several times a day, before being basket-pressed with great difficulty into a combination of new and seasoned French oak barriques where it rested for 12 months before bottling in June 2004.

Only 90 cases were produced.

The result is a full-bodied, spicy shiraz with richness, complexity and structure. We reckon it goes well with Donny's special pork, fennel and spicy sausage, Schultz's double-smoked bacon, or suckling pig. But let's not get too prescriptive – drink it with whomever or whatever you want.

'Excellent value – 89 points'.
Gary Walsh
Winorama
www.winorama.com.au

Trotter Tales - The History Donny GoodMac

In 2005, the triumvirate that is the Donny GoodMac decided to change regions from Heathcote to the Pyrenees in Western Victoria. The opportunity to buy two tonnes of shiraz from two of Australia's finest vineyards was simply irresistible and while we were happy with our two attempts from Heathcote, we are going to try even harder to make a spicy, savoury shiraz with real substance and we like the Pyrenees for this – and after all the great Dalwhinnie (which the Good has helped make for the past few years) has long been one of our favourite wines.

Once again we sourced new Sirugue French oak barrels, imported exclusively to Australia by Rick Kinzbrunner of Giaconda fame and we stuck the 05 Pig into one two year old barrel, one one year old barrel and one brand spanking new, bloody expensive barrel. If you taste the wine with enough concentration and skill you will notice a real flavour of highly expensive French oak character somewhere around the three-quarter palate.

The 2005 'Pig' is without doubt the best we have produced. Bottled under screwcap, the colour is vibrant and bright, showing excellent depth. Fragrant and spicy on the nose with loads of dark berry fruit characters lifted by beautiful French oak. The palate is medium-full bodied in the style we like to refer to as 'particularly drinkable, perhaps dangerously so'. One word of advice to our drinkers would be to give the wine a bit of air if you are drinking it in the next couple of years. You don't need a fancy crystal decanter, just slosh the bottle into a jug and you'll be amazed how quickly it improves. We'd back it in to be a 'rip-snorter' (Pig joke) between 2009-2015.

In 2004 we described ourselves as 'semi-serious winemaking try-hards' - harsh but fair! With the 2005 vintage we tried bloody hard…..and we couldn't be more serious!

But if serious is not your thing – here are a couple of funny things that have been happening in our world.

The greyhound we bought with the proceeds of our first three vintages has actually won three races, two at Warnambool and one at Horsham. The great Key Largo Lad failed in his first attempt at Geelong but we have faith in 'Dog Biscuit' to come good again before 2006 comes to an end.

If you feel you need a bit of 'Pig' while you're out dining in Melbourne's finest restaurants feel free to order proudly and loudly at either of our two favourite joints where the pig is stocked – the brilliant Becco on Crossley Street and Fifteen (yes Jamie Oliver's joint) down a little laneway at 115 Collins Street.

Speaking of the great Jamie, our mate Matty Skinner is Jamie's wine bitch and now something of a celebrity himself in Europe and the USA with several books to his name, including the brilliant 2007 wine guide called 'The Juice'.

In 'the Juice' Skinsy spends most of his time de-bunking over-hyped wines from all over the world but what, pray tell, does he say of the 2004 Donny GoodMac?? Simply 'Believe the hype'. True story. He also says other stuff about strippers and slow greyhounds but hey, we made the book at least!

In November 2006, Donny becomes the second of our triumvirate to wear the regal title of Len Evans Scholar after Good was accepted into the world's greatest wine finishing school in 2004. So what's with the Mac? When will he be up to the task?? No-one can be sure, he hasn't shown many signs of improvement these past 12 months outside the area of stand-up comedy for which he is gaining something of a reputation. He might be funny but we wouldn't mind so much if he learnt a little more about wine!

And what is on the horizon? Well we're thinking about chardonnay for next year and Donny wants a pink wine, but he would, wouldn't he?

Thanks for shopping with us, tell your friends about us, buy early to avoid disappointment and remember get some pork on your fork and a Pig in your glass.


Enjoy the 2005 Donny GoodMac.

Donny GoodMac is born

The 2003 Donny GoodMac Shiraz was hand-picked from one of Heathcote's finest shiraz vineyards.

The wine was fermented in a small open vessel, hand-plunged several times a day, before being basket-pressed with great difficulty into a combination of new and seasoned French oak barriques where it rested for 12 months before bottling in June 2004.

Only 90 cases were produced.

The result is a full-bodied, spicy shiraz with richness, complexity and structure. We reckon it goes well with Donny's special pork, fennel and spicy sausage, Schultz's double-smoked bacon, or suckling pig. But let's not get too prescriptive – drink it with whomever or whatever you want.