You may come to Hobart’s Mona for its singular take on art, but you stay for lunch at The Source to enjoy artfully prepared Tassie goodness and an eye-popping, border-crossing wine list.
While the wines of Mona’s Moorilla Estate, along with those of David’s other winery, Domaine A in the nearby Coal River Valley, are covered here, at 81 pages, the scale of the drinks list at The Source is as impressive and boundary-crossing as the whole Mona enterprise. The two pages of beers are roughly split between Australia, including Mona’s own Moo Brews, and Europe, with a strong showing from Belgium. Tasmanian craft spirits such as Hartshorn Distillery’s Sheep Whey Vodka mingle with heavy-hitters like the 30-year-old Dun Bheagan Glenugie single malt from the Scottish Highlands.
When it comes to wines, a generous range of half bottles gives diners the opportunity to dip into European stars like premium reds and whites from Burgundy without having to commit to a whole bottle. Page after page of the full bottles, meanwhile, are devoted to varieties divided up by country of origin, ranging in price from the perfectly reasonable, such as the 2015 Marion’s Vineyard Chardonnay from the Tamar Valley ($60) to pass the smelling salts – we’re looking at you, Penfolds Grange – and that’s even before you get to the large-format bottles.
At some point during proceedings, raise a glass of Domaine A Cabernet Sauvignon to David Walsh – apparently it’s his favourite drop.
