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“I don’t drink white wine,” Freedman says, “
Besides, Hayes is a pisshead.”
It’s no surprise then that he doesn’t go for the
Vasse Felix 2006 Classic Dry White but Hayes is
more considered.
“Quite good tropical fruit and I’m getting a bit of
Semillon flavour,” he says, more than chuffed that
he’s picked the variety.
It’s head to head now and both trainers pick up
the loaded apricot in the 2005 Yalumba Viognier
at the same time. Then they each score ten points
when they bet successfully on cool climate Eden
Valley and the race is on.
Hayes shows his regional advantage over
Freedman when he picks the award winning
Peter Lehmann 2001 Semillon. “Great wine, really
enjoyable,” he says swirling and spitting while
Freedman looks confused by the complexity.
However, the Victorian trainer comes into the
straight a nose ahead when we turn to the reds
and he picks the Pirie South 2005 Pinot Noir
first up.
“I’ve just been to London and
knocked over some very good
Burgundies so I’ve really got a
taste for Pinot at the moment,”
Freedman says.
The next wine is a French ring-in, the Perrin
Reserve 2004 Cotes du Rhone and Hayes also
shows his international connections picking up
the berry-laden Grenache nose along with the
peppery Shiraz.
“Great wine, very French,” he exclaims and his
points score jumps a notch. “That’s my favourite.”
“I’d really enjoy that with a nice Schulz
porterhouse or a poussin at Vintners in the
Barossa. As long as Hill Smith is there and
he pays.”
Then Freedman picks his wine of the tasting, the
Jim Barry Cover Drive 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon.
“That’s a fantastic wine, just what I like,” he says.
“Good, dark, full bodied Coonawarra Cabernet.
“I’d enjoy that with a rack of lamb off the pastures
near us on the Mornington Peninsula.
“While I was overseas I also tried some fantastic
Bordeauxs. The trouble is drinking $1000 a bottle
Cheval Blanc ruins your palate for anything else.”
Finally there is a Western Australian Forest Hill
2004 Shiraz from Mount Barker. Hayes likes the
peppery Shiraz profile and enjoys the bottle age
while Freedman appreciates the cool climate
texture and elegance. They both get ten points for
picking Australia’s most famous variety but miss
the WA connection.
The tasting is over and Lee has to rush off to a
family commitment. But first an insight into the
wine drinking habits of horse trainers.
“I open a bottle a couple of nights a week,” he
says. “My wife’s a Champagne drinker but I like
red, particularly Pinots and Coonawarra Cabernet.
I’ve got a lot of self control and I rise early so I
stick to one bottle – but if we have visitors and
the company is boring I’ll have a second one and
go to sleep!”
One would have thought David’s Barossa
upbringing at Lindsay Park would have had red
coursing through his veins from infancy.
SPRING RACING FEATURE
“Actually I was a scotch and coke drinker until I
was 25 years old,” he grins. “One day I went to
see Robert Hill Smith and said: ‘Everyone else is
drinking red wine, you’d better show me how to
taste it properly. “
“Hill Smith told me to sniff, swirl
it around the glass, take a sip,
roll it around your mouth and
swallow.”
“He said the most important thing then is to look
very wise and considered and say, “that wine really
suits my palate.”
“Everyone will at least think you know what you
are doing.”
Hayes and Freedman have crossed the finish
line head to head and only the sniff of a Shiraz
glass separates them on points – but the real
winners in this tasting are the wines which have
gained a new audience at Australia’s most famous
race track.