28/10/2025
Dinner Notes – October 2025 – Wines From The XPT
Our October dinner was hosted on our behalf by Vicki and Ian , who arranged our return to The Railyard Wangaratta in Norton Street, where we visited in October 2024. This was Vicki and Ian’s first experience of being our hosts, with the research and effort put in becoming obvious as the evening unfolded. The theme of the evening was ‘Wines of the XPT’. An imaginary journey on the train from Sydney to Melbourne, hopefully on time, with brief stops at selected wineries along the track.
Our first stop ; two arrival sparklings from Bowral aligned with two very tasty canapés. A house made pork and chive dim sim dipped in a tangy nam jim sauce, and a rectangle of crumbed halloumi with pesto and honey glaze. I could have had another of the dim sims. The sparklings were a NV Centennial Blanc de Blanc paired with a NV Centennial Brut Rose. Centennial Vineyardsis a winery just outside of Bowral in the NSW Southern Highlands region. Both have been made via the méthode traditionnelle and with at least five years of lees aging.
The Rosé was served first, with a restrained golden pinkish colour. It was full in the mouth with a distinct acidity and tastes of apple, pear and maybe some stone fruit. The Blanc de Blanc was crisp with nuanced flavours of biscuit, apple and some citrus. It had a balanced acidity with enjoyable mouth feel.
Our entree was heirloom carrots, softly roasted in honey, with a tahini, feta and dukkah. The wines to match were a 2025 Cherry Tree Hill Wines Riesling and an Artemis Wines 2024 Riesling. Both wineries are also close to Bowral. There was copious indecision on the variety, with no one within my earshot picking them both as riesling. The Cherry Tree Hill displayed some pear and lychee with medium body weight and balance. The Artemis showed apple and citrus, a crisp acidity with a touch of sweetness due to some residual sugar. I thought the Artemis matched best to the roasted carrots.
The wines for main course were a 2023 Charles Sturt University Mundarlo Shiraz and a 2022 Moppity Vineyards Atrius Shiraz. The CSU Mundarlo vineyard is about 60 km to the east of Wagga. Made using both French and American oak, it had a vibrant young colour with biggish flavours of dark, moreish fruits with generous tannin. I’ll confess I did think it was Cabernet. The Moppity comes from the Young area, about a 45 minute drive from the closest XPT line station at Cootamundra. Being towards the cooler climate style, this Shiraz variation was lighter in body and colour, with spice and white pepper alôngside some red fruits and a gentler tannin than the CSU.
Main course dish was a beautifully slow cooked ox cheek with marrow better, parsnip purée and a gremolata. Melted in the mouth with a robust, distinct beefy flavour. Both wines were enjoyable, with the CSU Mundarlo the preferred match of the two.
Dessert was a moderate sized brandy balloon filled with whipped cheesecake, mango and lime purée, some sliced fruit and a tropical granola. This was visually reminiscent of the famed Elton Mess, full of variable texture and flavour, it was a highlight. The dessert wine was a 2019 Tahbilk Wines Cane Cut Marsanne. A lovely golden colour with gentle sweetness, hints of dried tropical fruit, a touch of citrus, some honey and restrained acidity. A well matched pair.
Overall a really enjoyable dinner put together for us by Vicki and Ian. Well done to them, along with the chef and staff at The Railyard. The wineries Vicki and Ian found were all within about an hour drive of the actual XPT train line (I did check).
Wine of the night would have been the nuanced and interesting Tahbilk Cane Cut Marsanne. The premier dish was the Ox Cheek, which was just delicious. The Taste-a-Vin was awarded to Mark Bolsius for his outlays on the red bracket.
Our next dinner will be in early December and will be hosted for us by James. Geoff will let us know the details in a few weeks. Until then, bon appétit à tous!
