Wine is not just a beverage......it has a soul......

And so said Peter Althaus of Domaine A during our visit today.

We're over in Australia once again and having already been to Adelaide and Melbourne, today as the turn of Hobart and a visit to see Peter and Maria at the iconic Domaine A winery in the Coal River Valley, close to Hobart.

I have been visiting and distributing the wines of Domaine A since 2004/05 and have previously written about how my initial scepticism as transformed into a love and appreciation of the Domaine A wines - something I'm glad to say that has also been the case for countless other journos and wine trade from the UK since then.

Today it was the turn of our Australian buyer, Beth Willard to experience Domaine A for the first time and I'm sure the visit will have left an indelible impression.

Beth remarked that sometimes there is a feel and atmosphere that surrounds a vineyard that is bound for greatness...Domaine A has that feel. The closely planted, low yielding vineyard on an undulating, sheltered site in the sunny Coal River valley is quite unique in Australian terms and the wines produced are remarkable both for the impression that these are wines of one great site but also that they reflect the individuality, determination and inspiration of one person - Peter Althaus.

Unlike those who believe that the greatest impression that a winemaker can leave on a wine is to manipulate during winemaking, Peter's greatest contribution was to identify the potential of the site in the first place and then, in the face of huge scepticism, to pursue his objectives in an uncompromising fashion. Thankfully he did and still does pursue perfection and the Australian wine industry is all the better for it.....

So, what stood out today? Well....Peter arrived in Tasmania for the first time in 1988 and bought the vineyard in 1989, producing the first wine in 1990. Therefore, the production of a bottle of Cabernet made in 1982 by the previous owner of the then tiny vineyard was a real treat.

Gently retreating into that satisfying but difficult to identify state of mature, spicy, savoury elegance, this was a real piece of history. Though the 1980s don't seem that long ago, this was a 28 year old wine still showing life and finesse and it gave a fleeting insight into what must have inspired Peter and his wife Ruth all those years ago.

Amongst the others that impressed from more recent times were the 2007 Lady A Fume Blanc which had a beautiful waxy lemon curd palate with touches of apricot all backed up with minerally acidity ; A beautiful 2004 Domaine A Cabernet that was all black olive, glossy texture and fine grained tannin; the outstanding and very rare Domaine Merlot 2004 that surely has to be the greatest expression of this variety in Australia (or the new world for that matter).

Drinking and sharing food with Peter is always entertaining and fascinating in equal measure. His assertion that wine is not just a beverage but has soul rings true with our philosophy of putting wines in context and enjoying a little complexity......