Fillet of beef - Burgundy style

Try a spicy, medium weight red with the oxtail salad. The Delatite Tempranillo 2015 in Victoria impresses with its medium weight and savoury appeal. Although showing some dried fruit-like concentration, it remains fine and fresh throughout.

We continue our ‘Grows together, goes together’ series with a glorious pairing in the rolling green hills around heathcote, Victoria – the world renowned Blackmore Wagyu and the equally impressive Heathcote Estate. In the world of beef, Wagyu is quite rightly held in high esteem, its high grading and phenomenal marbling commanding prices of up to $200 per steak in restaurants. The marbling is due to unparalleled levels of monounsaturated fat – a good fat that can assist in reducing cholesterol levels in the body and which has a low melting point. Consequently, Wagyu scores highly on both health and flavour, delivering juicy, delicate characters with a deliciously soft texture. Wagyu literally means ‘Japanese beef’ (Wa=Japanese, gyu=beef), and in Japan Wagyu has long been revered for its use as a working animal, its sheer size and muscle structure making it perfect for agricultural pursuits. It is theorised that centuries of labour helped develop the rich fat content in the muscle of the Wagyu, as it can be used as an instant energy source. As a beef product, incredibly fastidious monitoring of bloodlines has allowed over a century and a half of absolute 100% pure breeding – each and every Wagyu can be traced to its genetic source. In the Australian beef industry, one name is practically synonymous with Wagyu, Blackmore . Fifth generation farmer David Blackmore has been a trailblazer in our Wagyu industry, pioneering the production of 100% full-blood Wagyu beef in Australia since 1992. While adhering to the same exacting genetic regimes observed in Japan, he’s developed innovative production techniques for Australian conditions. This has resulted in quite a revolution. Prior to Wagyu entering the Australian market, the Australian meat grading system was 0 to 6. Since the introduction of Wagyu, the grading system has been increased to 9, with Blackmore Wagyu consistently scoring 9+. The Blackmore Wagyu farm is situated in the beautiful Victorian high country, at Alexandra, while the breeding cows and their calves are raised on a lush 3,500-acre property just out of Heathcote, a little over an hour’s drive north of Melbourne. “Our property has beautiful rolling hills with lots of shelter belts for the cattle, which is really important for grazing on the open pastures, but also for getting out of the weather,” explains Blackmore CEO and sixth generation farmer, Ben Blackmore, when we tour their Fairfield property just outside Heathcote. Agricultural neighbours Just a short drive away from the Blackmore farm on the other side of Heathcote is the revered Heathcote Estate. As a wine region, the story of Heathcote echoes many of those around Australia. Settlers in the mid 1850s were attracted to the region by gold and agriculture, with some planting vines and establishing wineries that gradually fell by the wayside. A few decades ago, the vinous potential of the region was again recognised and viticulturists established a wine region that now boasts over 40 wineries. Heathcote Estate was planted in 1999 by the Kirby family, with the sole objective of making a premium single vineyard Shiraz . Award-winning winemaker Tom Carson, who also looks after the Kirby’s Yabby Lake Winery on the Mornington Peninsula , feels that he has achieved that, giving most of the credit to great sites and the distinct characteristics of the region. “Heathcote is an amazing region for Shiraz,” says Tom. “The major factors are the ancient Cambrian soils – at least 500 million years old – very deep, rich, red and full of quartz and gemstones, coupled with the really mild climate of warm days, cool nights. It is perfect for Shiraz. “The resulting Shiraz are quite bold but fine, with beautiful perfumes, a lovely intensity of berry fruits and savoury tannins – just beautiful food wines.” A meal for a discerning crew At the invitation of the Kirbys to use the Heathcote Estate Homestead, Selector organised for a special lunch with Ben, Tom and Heathcote Estate’s marketing manager Tiffyn Parsons, prepared by renowned Melbourne chef Neale White. Growing up in Sydney, Neale started his career in London, honing his skills in the kitchens of culinary luminaries such as Gordon Ramsey and Marcus Wareing, before returning to Australia to operate and consult for restaurants in Byron Bay, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne,  including the iconic Southbank restaurant, Pure South . In 2013, Neale opened Papa Goose in Melbourne’s CBD and, more recently, added My Son Joy café in South Melbourne, which allows him to express his ‘low carb, high fat’ mantra with a nutrition-based, wholefood menu. The perfect wine & beef pairing For this special lunch, we gave Neale the challenge of working with a lesser used rump cap as well as a secondary cut, skirt. This fact prompted Ben to reveal another unique quality of Wagyu. “Because we are growing these animals to four years of age, they are much bigger than the traditional beef animal in Australia, so they have much better muscle development. This enables us to get up to 40 different sections from an animal, whereas you only get about 16 traditionally,” Ben says. “So this allows chefs to be much more creative with these extra cuts with different textures and utilising different cooking techniques.” For the skirt, Neale seasoned the Wagyu steak then simply pan-roasted for three minutes each side, and rested for 10 minutes, before slicing thinly and placing over the pomegranate, macadamia and herb slaw salad. It was matched with the spicy fruit characters of the 2014 Heathcote Estates Grenache Noir, which highlighted the delicate flavour of the Wagyu. The rump cap was brined overnight in 5% salt and herb solution before being slow-cooked in an oven, then rested, sliced and served with a roasted carrot puree and green bean salad. It was paired perfectly with the 2012 Museum Release Heathcote Estate Single Vineyard Shiraz – its plush palate and ripe tannins accentuating the wonderfully soft ‘melt in the mouth’ texture of the Wagyu rump cap. “I think the savouriness of our Heathcote Shiraz and that lovely cut you get across the palate works beautifully with this rich meat,” agrees Tom. “That is the wonderful thing about this region. There are some wonderful food producers alongside great wine producers. These things just go hand in hand.” Get Neil White's pan-roasted Blackmore's wagyu beef skirt salad with pomegranate, macadamia and herb red slaw recipe

We travel to Tasmania to lunch with Launceston neighbours Landfall Beef and Josef Chromy Wines and discover the old adage of what grows together, goes together is still very relevant. Long before we started digging things out of the ground, our economic prosperity as ‘The Lucky Country’, came from agriculture, livestock in particular. From the mid 1800s and for most of the 1900s, we were literally ‘riding on the sheep’s back’ as we matured and developed into what we are today. Our identity, what we eat, drink and appreciate, comes from this industry and to help celebrate what is recognised as the best produce in the world, Selector has partnered with Australian Beef & Lamb to bring you the stories of some selected producers across the country. Each article will be based in one of our great wine regions and feature a prominent wine producer meeting a livestock producer over lunch and a glass of wine. By sharing the fruits of these agricultural pursuits, we hope you gain a greater appreciation of the best food and wine we produce and the regions that bind them together. We start our series in Tasmania’s Tamar Valley with the Archer family, renowned for their lamb production, and Josef Chromy OAM, who, after developing some of Tasmania’s most significant wineries, established his own at the age of 76. The Archer Family The Archer family have been farming their property, ‘Landfall’, in Northern Tasmania’s Tamar Valley for five generations. Arriving in 1876, brothers Gerald and Hedly Archer started cropping and raising livestock. The other five Archer brothers moved to Queensland to farm and their heirs, like their Tasmanian cousins, have remained on the land, raising their families and livestock. Today, the Tasmanian Archers specialise in prime lamb. Their lives are intimately connected to the Tamar Valley, their property, their animals and as the sixth generation of Archers grow up, they will learn and understand the true meaning of paddock to plate; breeding, birthing, raising, selling and marketing their animals. The Archers know the value of their labour and have opened Landfall Farm Fresh , a direct-to-customer butcher shop in Launceston that allows customers to appreciate the highest quality lamb that is raised just minutes from the shop. Pastoral Connections Over a special lunch of Landfall lamb neck with potato & olive oil purée, glazed artichokes, sheep milk curd and almonds, and slow-cooked Landfall lamb shoulder with perfect sauce, salt-baked celeriac, winter greens and radicchio salad, especially prepared by chef, Nick Raitt, fifth generation Archers, Ellie and Ed, got to share their produce, connect and get to know  another Tamar agri-producer in Josef Chromy. Over a glass of Josef’s exquisite Pinot Noir , crafted by chief winemaker, Jeremy Dineen, the Archers discovered that they had more in common with Josef than just the land they share. Josef ‘Joe’ Chromy escaped his Nazi controlled Czech village and fled across borders, dodging soldiers, dogs and minefields, before eventually emigrating to Australia as a destitute 19-year-old.  Joe found hope in Tasmania, became a Master Butcher and started a business called Blue Ribbon Meat Products, building his business over 40 years to become a leading Tasmanian brand. Joe floated Blue Ribbon and invested in Tasmania’s fledgling wine industry, developing the now iconic labels Jansz, Heemskerk, Rochecombe (Bay of Fires) and Tamar Ridge. In 2007, he started Josef Chromy Wines and has developed the business significantly to become recognised internationally as one of Tasmania’s leading producers and the region’s most impressive cellar door and restaurant. Kitchen Royalty Nick Raitt, head chef at the Josef Chromy Wines Restaurant , has some pedigree of his own, having cooked at Level 41, Otto and Coast and has even cooked for the royals of Oman and a laundry list of other royals and world leaders. To match colleague Jeremy Dineen’s spectacular Chardonnay and Pinot Noir , Nick was keen to work with secondary cuts to show the Archers what was possible with their product. He chose neck and shoulder, which are highly accessible and inexpensive cuts with plenty of flavour potential. The Archers were quietly impressed, and as they were able to gain a further appreciation of their products, they got to share their stories, enjoy Joe and Jeremy’s delicious wines and develop a further appreciation for the amazing place that connects them all. Nick Raitt's lamb shoulder with the Perfect Sauce Recipe:  Get Nick Raitt's Lamb Shoulder with the perfect suace and salt-baked celerieac recipe Wine: Explore Josef Chromy Wines Tasmania: The explore the  best Tasmanian cellar doors with in our winery guide