We need to have some fun at these difficult times. - July 2021

Dear Stephen and Rhonda,

Bev and I have tried, to be “light hearted” in these serious times, particularly for you and Family!

Editing has been limited!

Love to you both at this time!

Gary and Bev

AS WE REFLECT ON STEPHEN AND RHONDA DOYLES, WINE JOURNEY

WE CAN SPECULATE

“IN THE BEGINNING”

STEPHEN AND RHONDA, STAND “ARM IN ARM” ON THE GRIFFIN ROAD SITE, OF THEIR FUTURE VINEYARD!

Stephen says to Rhonda:

Do you think that we could get grapes to grow on this Stoney Ground?

Rhonda replies: Maybe it would be easier to “tap” the sap out of that Bloodwood Tree Yonder?

Stephen: Rhonda, Why don’t we sleep ON THE “CHARDS” OF ROCKS, IN OUR SWAGS ,ON THE SLOPES, OR, SHOULD WE HAVE COMFORT, ON THE MATTRESS, IN THE BACK OF THE HOLDEN KINGSWOOD, STATION WAGON?

MAYBE EVEN WITH A G&T, AND/OR A KT?

RHONDA: Whatever! We can, check out the “joint” in the morning?

STEPHEN: I think this could be real “ball terra”!

Why don’t we call it our “terroir”?

Eccentricity, is defined by the Oxford Dictionary: As “odd, whimsical;

differing from the usual in behaviour!

What a team, Stephen and Rhonda Doyle, have become, and their eccentric characters, come through very clearly in the wines they produce, in the Northern outskirts of Orange.

Trailblazers, in the wine industry in the Central Tablelands of NSW in 1983!

Wine Commentary

My wife and I, have so many favourite Bloodwood, Wines?

Our recent favourites, would be the 2013 Riesling and the 2015 Pinot Noir!

2013 Riesling

We doubt that Doyle’s, would have a “Blue Nun”, in a “habit” on the property, however, the crafty Stephen, might be found wandering the vineyard “in tights”, conjuring up, the magic of this wine. Beautifully subtle on the nose (bouquet), lemony acid, from the faithful Lisbon tree behind, the shed; and an explosion of flavour, from the berries, with the acidity and sugars balanced, like a “See Saw”, with Stephen and Rhonda, “frolicking” on either end?

Not a hint of gasoline or diesel on the nose or palate; Fossil fuels, being banned from the vineyard, by the “wokeness”, of letting the sun and wind drive the energy! Carbon Dioxide; Chlorophyll; THE SOIL, and the varietal characteristics, producing the raw material for, the masters manipulating hands; nose; and palate and more Chemistry!

The “magic” of Rhonda and Stephen, in the kitchen and wine laboratory, now begins, to desperately, try to find a food to match the wine, so that “the terroir”, and the script, can be regurgitated, on a label, to a devoted public!

At last we have it: Grilled Sand Whiting, with a squeeze of Lisbon lemon, chips of pomme de terre (pommes frites) and a light virgin olive oil dressing, from Ploughman’s in Parkes; on a green salad; freshly plucked from the Griffin Roadside- Magnifique and Bon appetite!

2015 Pinot Noir

We cannot, do verbal justice to this wine, you may say “the proof of the pudding, is in the drinking? We, are not ‘Purists” when it comes to Pinot’s, however, so many of the “top” products show varietal bouquet, as varietally distinctive, as a Sauvignon Blanc, grown almost anywhere! The Bloodwood, 2015, is a very special wine! It has varietal nose, and a magnificent colour, nothing like, the insipient pinkish colour of the Malbec Rose of, “Big Men in Tights”! Definitely, “Big and Bold”, like Stephen! However, the addition of “Goats Blood”, might “hold the key”? Definitely not a drink for a Vegan?

The wine “fills” your mouth, with Nuances of Terroir; Cherry, Raspberry and Rhubarb, giving you “a good run for your money”? A “bloody beauty”, with great, rich berry fruit, that lingers on every nerve of your palate profile?.

In the kitchen, Rhonda, has prepared a fricassee of “kid”, where the genetic profile of Nannie or Billy, would have little impact on the partnership, of the grapes; juice manipulation skills; and the “magic dust” of Stephen and the culinary skills of Rhonda?

For dessert, a fruity Christmas pudding, to match the “Plummy fruit, in the wine!

Bon appetite!

Gary and Bev July 21srt, 2021