Burnished by the years, even an unlikely rustic khaki in colour, a glass of ancient North-East Victorian muscat or tokay hardly has the visual appeal of a blushing flute of effervescent rose Champagne or a bowl of mature Burgundy, glistening deep red to its core like a multi-faceted ruby. But looks have a habit of deceiving, don’t they? Bursting with aromas of raisins, arabica coffee, flowers, honey, treacle, liqueur chocolates and musk, these wines simply explode on the palate, with an intensity and sweetness so refined and balanced they finish clean, bright and fresh. A single glass is rarely enough. They represent a partnership between man, time and nature whose outcome is so special and scarce that a divine influence almost has to have been involved. Even if muscat is not what the ancient Gods used to cry, these wines do share a link with the great civilisations of old Europe. Cultivated by the Romans at Frontignan near Narbonne and possibly by the Greeks near Marseilles, Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains (known here as Rutherglen Brown Muscat) is probably the world’s oldest grape variety. For well over a century it has, with its relative Muscadelle, produced alarmingly modest yields in the vineyards of North-East Victoria. These, respectively, are the grapes responsible for muscat and tokay. The great muscats and tokays of Victoria’s north-east are blended wines, constructed around a base of oak-matured material which may be a generation old, or more. To this wine will be added even older wine, perhaps aged a century of more. Its freshness and appeal will be enhanced with a portion of younger, more lively material, creating a spectrum of ages and flavours from wines young, old and ancient, which would leave any perfume maker simply green with envy. Muscats are perhaps the easiest of the two wines to appreciate and understand. While young they explode with sweet raisins, musky perfume and tropical fruits, acquiring more richness and luscious concentration of chocolates, spice and nuts as they age. Somewhat unusually, the more viscous, oilier tokays begin with spicy fruit laced with cold tea and sardine-oil, characteristics which fortunately they lose with time, as they ultimately become more oily, leathery and spicy. You pay more for the older wines of either type, but they’re just so, so much better. It’s no surprise that the companies that make great muscat also make the best tokay. Here’s a group of the wineries you should look out for: All Saints, Baileys, Bullers, Campbells, Chambers, Morris, Pfeiffer, Stanton & Killeen.
