In my experience the best father of the groom speeches inevitably come from farmers who work with their son. And the reason for this is simple, because of the close nature of the relationship the speeches are consistently full of one defining element: substance.
The night before we headed for our annual trip down to Margaret River we had the wedding of a neighbour, someone I know pretty well and am particularly fond of. It was a splendid (ie rollicking) evening all round but it included one particular highlight, the father of the groom speech which hit me like a jackhammer. You’ll see time and time again the easy path taken here, which is to alternate between speaking about oneself, listing the sons achievements and then praising the new member of their family and welcoming her family to theirs. Serviceable sure, but an opportunity gone begging. Tonight the speaker on this occasion was able to go at least one better as amongst managing the usual formalities well he was able to give a brilliant summation of the complexities that make up the wonderful character of the Groom. It was fantastic to see him take advantage of such an intimate relationship and then being able to express such a deep understanding of what makes his son such a great person in front of a large, receptive crowd. Bravo.
It was still in my mind as we drove down to Metricup the next day where we stayed with friends (as we do most years) in the heart of the Margaret River wine region. When you consider the weather, the scenery, the beaches & in particular the wine you can understand why this is a pretty special place in the hearts of West Australians. It’s a place to indulge, but can often feel like the graveyard of WA’s excess wealth: the final resting place of much of Western Australia’s spare cash.
Now of course there is nothing wrong with that & actually the whole thing functions rather well indeed. The tourists flock down for beachside holidays or yoga retreats to cleanse their souls, mingling with the free spirited locals & perhaps mumbling the phrase ‘we really should move down here’ enough times to truly believe it. Alternatively one might indulge in the finest wine and food WA has to offer, on breathtaking properties with enough encounters with words like ‘sustainable’, ‘biodynamic’ & ‘carbon neutral’ to really feel like you’re doing the planet a favour by indulging in a long lunch then loading another case of Sem/Sav in the boot for the trip back to Perth. It’s easy to be cynical of course, but when you think about where the majority of the money has come from in setting up these Estates whether thats from directly or indirectly from pillaging our natural resources further North or not, its quite easy to view the region as lacking a bit of soul, or even a bit of substance.
This was all on my mind as we made our way to a Wednesday morning appointment with Stuart Pym from Flowstone Wines, who was kind enough to host us at his winery in the Forest Grove region, far from the hustle and bustle of further North. If you’re not familiar with Stuart’s previous work it is worth noting that he’s had thirty years in the industry; his parents started Hay Shed Hill and after working in various places he went on to start Stella Bella and now Flowstone.
After some introductions and some light exploration we tasted through the wines & what struck me the most was that every piece of gear, each little winemaking idea & each grape source had been accumulated gradually over a journey. It was impossible not to get the impression that this was not only someone who had the means but far more importantly had the intimate knowledge through years of experimentation to know how to make those small little jumps in quality. After all, this is a region where well resourced vineyards and reasonably consistent weather give high quality wines across the board & can subsequently make it hard to stand out.
These wines had no such trouble & indeed it all translated very well into the glass beginning with the entry-level whites were rather nice indeed with plenty of aromatics & drinkability/charm. Such was the attractive character of the Sauvignon Blanc that it was hard to believe it was indeed said grape variety; this wine is the complete antithesis of every cheap savvy you’ve ever tasted. I liked it so much I bought some which is the wine equivalent of going to watch your team play football and coming home with a wardrobe full of merch from the opposition team. Elsewhere, both the chardonnays you feel would sit comfortably amongst the benchmarks of the region, in particular the top offering ‘the Queen of the Earth Chardonnay’ which needed another two years to be any near its peak but showed a remarkably combination of finesse, flavour & complexity.
The reds had their measure beginning with a perfectly drinkable entry-level blend (blending varieties is something I whole heartedly agree with for entry level wines) of Shiraz and Grenache. The Cabernet Touriga had the most vibrant, impressive tannins; the winner down at Bathurst would have been impressed by the raciness of these, whilst the QOTE cabernet 2015 was off the charts sublime. I can still taste that cigar box finish. 2015 isn’t my favourite Margaret River vintage but I feel it was one that sorted out the men from the boys & the gems, including this one, are certainly there for those that seek them.
It was an absolute pleasure to taste through these wines. Stuart instantly struck me as one of my favourite types of people; someone who takes what they do very seriously but yet avoids taking themselves seriously at all. And that always comes from a genuine confidence in what they’re doing, which lends itself to being relaxed in nature – a pretty simple formula when you think about it. It was fantastic to (however briefly) listen to him talk of his own unique journey in wine & to share and explain his philosophies. Much like the father of the groom on Sunday night there was something behind it all, obliterating any need for the kind of off-putting pontification that can miss the mark on a crowd hoping for more. Without question, these are great wines & full of substance.
We loaded up the car boot.
flowstonewines.com
The Wine Accomplice 