Cha Cha Char

Well, it's getting to the end of my contract with Burt. He suggested that we should have a dinner, and chose Cha Cha Char. It's a well known prize winning steak restaurant - they were turning away people until after 9pm. But we had a booking, so it was all ok. There are 10 different cuts of steak (well, 9 if you exclude the sausages). Burt had the $46 rib fillet, and I had the $34 Wagyu rump. It was absolutely delicious and luciously tender.

But of course the main reason for writing the blog entry is to record the wine. They had quite an extensive list, with about 40 different shiraz. (The table next to us ordered a Grange at $495. The waitress explained that it's the $200 bottles that sell like hot cakes, and they only open a Grange every 2-3 weeks.) Our bottle of Romulus Shiraz from the Sons of Eden winery (Penrice Rd, Angaston/Light Pass) was $79, and it was worth every penny. It compared very favourably to a $75 Wynn's Coonawarra Michael that I shared a couple of months ago. This was very full bodied with a serious bouquet and lovely complexity and length, just right for a big steaky flavour. It's possible that Jim would claim it was too oaky, but this wine certainly had balanced fruit/tannin/alcohol.

I have to admit to a little trepidation at being asked to choose a wine in an expensive restaurant. The "fancy" wines that I might have found tempting were over $100, and the ones that I knew were at the bottom of the price range, so I had to judge by the adjectives and the location (Barossa). If the wine had been just "ok", then I would have been relieved. But I was extremely pleased to have discovered this one. I'm planning to try to buy some more of this wine for storage in our climate-controlled cellar while we're away. I brought the dregs home to see what Joanna thought. She thinks it was a bit much at first (to drink without food), but is now very nice.

Other views of the Sons of Eden and Romulus:
- Sons of Eden
- James the wine guy
- Cova hand-selected wines from Texas, who said of the 2003 vintage:

Barossa Shiraz has gained a world class reputation, and with one sip of this you’ll understand why! It is a real treat for the senses to experience a wine with such enticing complexity. Smoky, earthy notes of sweet tobacco, tar, and roasted coffee slowly unfold to reveal a smorgasbord of jammy berries and spice. Add just a tinge of dried herbal notes, and the multiple layers become nothing short of vibrant and harmonious on the palate. This stunning effort by Sons of Eden will continue to knock your socks off well after the last delectable sip!

I look forward to discussing more Sons of Eden wine with Jim one day - and visiting the place.