Selected poems
Elegy for Peter Gebhardt
There's refuge in ritual,
For us, lamb's fry and bacon,
cracked vinyl chairs, tough butter,
Osso Bucco and the sun-struck Depot,
slender books brimming
with the intuition of the instant.
Don't jumble your words,
I want to hear your voice.
Belief brings solitary repose,
no more mimicking gallant pens,
poaching pips from wiser minds.
Know the moment, listen and find
the ephemeral and the luminous
born and nurtured in reciprocity.
The gum tree has shallow roots,
blithe cream branches
that wave in the wind,
dropping leaves on the lawn.
— Dougal Hurley
State Theatre
There are those places that hang grimly —
Often very grimly —
On to their past,
But if they do, and when they do,
We are invited by memory
To enjoy the nostalgia
Of simple things, like the usherettes
Or the round orange jaffas rolled down the steps
Or the fabrication of celing stars
And, specially, the Wurlitzer music.
Best of all were the curtains
For when their heavy hanging parted
Lights would go out
For cinematic passion and thrills,
And all the fun of cuddling for some
In a theatre seat,
I watched and wished.
— Peter Gebhardt
Winemanship
A good starting point for Coonawarra cabernet. Sharp, tangy briar and blackcurrant cordial aromas lead into a palate that nicely balances succulent fruit and slightly astringent backbone.
(Screw cap; 14 per cent alcohol.) Ageing? Drink over four years.
Parker Estate's merlot offers savoury varietal personality. Violet, blackcurrant and tapenade aromas introduce a medium-bodied, sustained, dry-?nishing palate, a dab of coconutty oak adding dimension.
(Screw cap; 14.5 per cent alcohol.) Ageing? Drink over four years.
Smelling of red cherries and raspberry jam, along with sappy and earthy touches, this reasonably priced pinot has good varietal identity. It has a juicy, gluggable middle and a slightly ?rm ?nish.
(Screw cap; 13 per cent alcohol.) Ageing? Drink over two years.
Top-notch riesling running a tight line through stone fruit, citrus and ?oral characters, and savoury, spicy notes. Dry, intense and rich, structured, long and ageworthy.
(Screw cap; 12 per cent alcohol.) Ageing? Yes, three to 15 years.
Courtesy 'The Age' (20.6.17)
Across the brown paddock the vines stand,
Small crucifixions stripped and naked.
The grapes have all been gathered
And now they must make the palate
And bouquet of a new language,
Giving a juicy birth to the dictionary of wine-babble,
Words that are aromatic and astringent,
That will make the vocal chords 'gluggable'
In the middle and then at the finish
A dab of 'coconutty' oak with solid dimension
So we may all be well structured and 'Ageworthy'
(the editor would like that).
It's quite a burden the vines have to bear
And the grapes plump-ripe with lexical delights.
— Peter Gebhardt
Dougal Hurley is a postgraduate