Red Bigots do South Australia  - by Ric Einstein ©

Notice the typical red bigot hair style on Brian

Introduction

Some months ago in an almost sober state of weakness I talked
Red Bigot (Brian Handreck) into a red bigots tour of McLaren Vale, the Barossa and Clare. As soon my mate John Daviswho lives in McLaren Vale learned that Brian and I were coming over, he snuggled up to his wife Sue and begged for permission to join in our decadent antics and excesses . Sue being the kind and generous human being that she is, said "go and enjoy yourself" and we all did.

This report is not exactly short, its about 40 pages without the pictures. There are tasting notes on over 160 wines, tasting vibes made on many wines that accompanied more good dinners than my ever expanding waist line needed, loads of information on the wineries and winemakers visited, a few comments on the vintage conditions and the odd photo too (some very "odd.") My apologies in advance if some of the tasting notes seem boring and repetitive, but it's difficult to fake journalistic talent on this scale. Hopefully you will find this will be more of a reference work than a good read, after all when was the last time you found the yellow pages or a street directory riveting reading.

Finally, before I get into the detail of the trip report I have some people I would like to thank for making my trip so memorable and enjoyable. Firstly to my good friend Brian Handreck (Red Bigot,) it was great having you along for the period you were able to join us. Your knowledge and depth of experience on Australian wines has been a great help and has taught me much over the years. To John Davis , thanks for the hospitality at your place and joining me for the entire week. If you ever get sick of your day job, you can always get a job as a comedian, or a priest, or possibly both and I think in a week or two my sides may recover from the laughing pains.

Prior to the trip I emailed or phoned a number of wineries to arrange appointments. The majority welcomed us with open arms and were more than generous with their time. Most went to a great deal of trouble to make our trip a memorable event. Many opened rare or yet to be released wines. Some let us taste our way through numerous barrel samples including many icon wines. These are experiences that are very special, valued, and your generosity won't be forgotten.

As a disclaimer I would like to restate that I have no vested interest in the wine business or commercial tie up with anyone. Whilst I do have friends in the industry, I rate their wines on the wines merits and do not let my personal feelings get in the way, if I think one of their wines is crap, I will say so rather than removing it from the tasting notes. I also refuse to accept gifts or even free bottles of wine (other than a single bottle for tasting.) During this trip one winemaker was generous enough to give me a case of their 98
Shiraz. I accepted it and told the winemaker that the bottles would be used as prizes in an options game and given away at a wine dinner I was attending two days later. "Special discounts" that are not available to the general public are also refused.

General Recent Vintage Impressions

There is absolutely no doubt that 1996 and 1998 were great vintages in most of SA. Equally, there is no doubt in my mind that 2000 was a shocker and there were very few 2000 wines that I would contemplate buying, but no doubt there will be a few shining stars amongst the black holes.

The industry has done a great job talking up the quality of the 2001 vintage. After an average 99 and terrible 2000, a good vintage was needed and the 2001 vintage fit the bill neatly however it was incredibly hot and the grapes ripened very quickly and were picked early. On the other hand, 2002 was poor to start, the year was much cooler than normal and ripening was very slow and gradual. Most winemakers I spoke to felt that the 2001 wines will show very well when young but will not have the same longevity as 2002. The 2002 vintage wines showed great structure, especially the tannins, with wonderful natural acidity and complexity of fruit flavour.

Whilst I am not an expert and don't pretend one, my prediction based on the barrel samples I tasted is that 2002 in McLaren Vale will be an unbelievably good vintage and this region may eclipse the quality of wine from the Barossa.

Bottle Faults at Wineries

On my last trip 12 months ago I found the
atrocious levels of corked and off wine being served at cellar door and in some cases I was pretty blunt in pointing it out. Since then there has been a remarkable improvement in the checking of wine for TCA and other faults by cellar door staff. I was most impressed at Peter Lehmann where two staff members checked every bottle opened. (Last year they were embarrassed when I pointed out a bottle of their wine was suffering from TCA even though it had previously been checked. Obviously they are taking quality very seriously.) There were a few bottles of oxidised wines when they then opened too long but generally speaking there were very few "dud" or faulty wines being served.

Wine Balance and Style

Over last couple of years it appears the use of oak is being scaled back and there were far fewer example of over oaked spit tooth pick wine.
Many of the winemakers were consciously talking about "letting the fruit speak" and "the judicious use of oak." It appears that more wineries are striving for a little elegance, even in full flavoured Shiraz. Whilst a huge in your face high alcohol Shiraz may be most enjoyable, in the longer term I wouldn't be at all surprised if we saw less of these wines rather than an increasing trend towards them.

On the downside, there were some examples of pressing the grapes to hard and the tannins showed it.

New Vines

It looks like the exponential planting of new vines has come to an end and whilst there are still some new vines going in, they are insignificant in comparison to past years.

Grenache

People who are familiar with my tasting notes will know that I am not a big fan of straight Grenache and feel the variety is best blended. For my taste, ultra sickly sweet one-dimensional lolly water does not make good wine, however I am sure that many people do enjoy it judging by the amounts sold. On this trip it was most pleasing to find a number of straight Grenache wines that were well made with some character whilst not being overly sweet. Almost enough to convert me.

The TORB Rating System.

In order to be able to better understand this missive, it would help if you understand how I rate wines. My rating system does not use points, it used a nine category standard that is based on the fact that wine quality forms a pyramid. The majority of the wines produced are at the bottom and these form the base of the pyramid. As you get higher up the pyramid, the wines become fewer and as you get near the top, fewer still. The majority of the wine I purchase normally fall into the Recommended and above segments.

The TORB Wine Quality Rating System
Cats piss (not devoted to NZ Sauvignon Blanc.)
Barely Drinkable (possibly applies to most Oz PiNot.)
Acceptable (normally used for GreenAsh blends.)
Agreeable (not exclusively for cheap Cabinet Sauvignon)
Recommended (not exclusively for drinkable Shiraz)
Highly Recommended (not restricted to S.A only.)
Excellent (unusual to find anything other than RB material here.)
Outstanding (must be top notch, normally benchmark wines)
The Ultimate (almost as rare as rocking horse dung)

Wines are also assessed on vale

The TORB Wine Value System
* BAD news - wines where the producer has delusions of adequacy
** Normally not worth buying unless its very high quality special occasion wine.
*** Pretty much industry standard cost.
**** The extra good QPR drops that we all search out.
***** Like hens teeth, typically some poor sod has sold a dozen at six pack price.

The First Night Get In The Mood Dinner

Just to get in the swing of things while I arrived
John tossed a half a highball glass of 15-year-old The Macallan Malt Scotch into my hand that I gently sipped as we sat on the veranda and watch the sunset over the vines as we talked about things past and our upcoming trip.

It was then off to the Victory Hotel which is a typical Australian pub set high on a hill offering a panoramic outlook and kaleidoscope of colourful lights over the countryside and onto the ocean beyond. The cellar under this pub has, to say the least, an impressive array of wines that most people (like us) would kill to obtain. And what more, you can even bring your own wine when eating in the restaurant, which is exactly what we did. The food is simple but well cooked and main courses range in price from $10 to $21.

The first wine opened was a 1992 Turkey Flat Shiraz. This is a simple wine, but simple in a positive way which enables the purity of fruit to express itself. Fully integrated and ready to drink, the soft cherry and chocolate shines through like a beacon, however some vanilla started to show as the end of a bottle approached. Rated as Highly Recommended .

The 1992 Rosemount Balmoral is more complex and had a longer finish than the Turkey. A high-quality drop at the peak of its life, tasting of plums, liquorice and a little chocolate. Fine grained (dusty) tannins are still evident and this wine is a great result from the very ordinary vintage. Rated as Excellent these two wines provided to wonderful start to the weeks activities.

The daytime view from John front veranda.

When we got back the Johns Place we adjourned to the veranda for a nightcap and solve the world's problems. I promised not to mention the two glasses (read buckets) of Port that we drank because John's head still hurts when he thinks about it so I will say no more than the subject except to say, that whoever named the Port "Old Bastard" knew exactly what they were doing.

McLaren Vale

The first wineries visited was
Olivers Hill where we were once again made more than welcome by Stewart and Linda Miller. (Hi Linda, hope you are still lurking.) This winery is starting to do good things. Last year I tried a barrel sample of their 2001 Shiraz and was looking forward to seeing how the wine was progressing.

First wine tried was the Olivers Hill 2001 Grenache with has a lightish ruby hew showing slightly floral perfume, pepper notes and the hint of chocolate. The wine comes in a whopping 16 percent with a good tannic backbone, piquant lively acid, and medium weight fruit. Whilst the wine is still very youthful, it has good balance and the hard consistency may be due to bottle shock. It's a big wine full of youthful pepper with a big chocolate finish and is slightly undrinkable due to its youth. Finally it did seem slightly green. Rated as Acceptable with *** for value at $18.

Olivers Hill Jimmy Section Shiraz 2001 has also just been bottled. The vines were planted in 1972 and are cropped at three tonnes to the acre. Dark purple in colour the big nose of liquorice and eucalyptus is closed down tight. The strong deep fruit combines with refreshing acid and a big dusty tannic backbone to support the 16 percent alcohol creating a wine that doesn't seem out of balance or hot. Sweet black berry fruit leads across the palate to liquorice and chocolate. It has a full robust bodyweight, solid structure, an agreeable level of complexity and definitely qualifies as a glass stainer. I would love to see this wine in a few months when it settles down. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value at $25.

Olivers Hill 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon will be bottled next month. The barrel sample was selected at random looks good. It showed some VA (which might blow off) and tight Cabernet characters with loads of drying tannins that dominate the sweet lurking fruit. No new oak has been used on this full-bodied wine. (I don't rate barrel samples.)

We also tried barrel samples from the 2002 vintage and whilst it very early days, the fruit looks like it has enormous potential. The purity of fruit was marvellous. The tannin structure is excellent and the wine has a wonderful level of natural acid. Olivers Hill are getting better and better and this is a winery to watch.

Scarpantoni has long been a favourite winery of mine and if ever there was a barometer of the McLaren Vale vintage conditions, this winery would be it. The 96 and 98 Block 3 Shiraz seemed to disappear from my cellar in remarkably quick time. The 99 was not purchased and as you'll see from these tasting notes I am unlikely to buy the 2000.

Scarpantoni Block 3 Shiraz 2000 is purple in colour with a light hue. Aromas show coconutty oak, sweet plums and menthol. Minimal amounts of unobtrusive tannins don't detract from the wines balance but will make this a fairly early drinking proposition. The ample bodyweight is supported by a supple consistency and simple complexity. So what it tasted like you may well ask? Very sweet, some savoury pepper taste to counter the initial sweetness that returns as the pepper fades and the sweetness returns. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value at $22.

Scarpantoni Estate Reserve (Shiraz Cabernet) 1999 is a well structured, well built wine with crisp acid and obvious full weight deeply seated fruit. The lifted nose shows interest with white pepper, eucalyptus and cassis. The structure provides a solid layered foundation and the agreeable level of complexity is backed by the black cherry, liquorice and chocolate flavours that fill the mouth. The wine is not as classy as the excellent 98. It's rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value, it should peak around 2006.

When I received the last Scarpantoni newsletter I couldn't believe the price of the Black Tempest Sparkling. It was raised from about $25 to $36 in one hit. Now I know why. This harmonious seamless wine is very different from the previous version. Its showing more complexity which has been achieved by the subtly and judiciously addition of a sweet fortified which has complement the savoury black cherry, plums and chocolate. It's now rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value and worth buying.


Shottesbrooke mades good value well made early drink wines and their Reserve that has only been released twice (cellar door sales only) is worth seeking. In addition the staff is extremely helpful and have a reputation for doing more than necessary to look after their customers .

Shottesbrooke Cabernet Merlot Malbec 1999 sells for $18.50 at CD but can normally be found for less at discount retailers. The wine shows sweet fruit and tart acid that seems to work in synergy. It could be best described as a medium weight soft style crowd pleaser. A drink now wine and Rated as Agreeable with *** for value.

Shottesbrooke Shiraz 2000 has aromas of medicinal iodine and liquorish. Tannins are soft and unobtrusive and the medium weight fruit tastes of sweet blackberry, cherry and liquorice. This honest well made wine has a supple consistency and another crowd pleaser but holds more interest than the Cab blend. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value.

Last time I visited the winery I fell in love with the Shottesbrooke Eliza 98 Reserve Shiraz and was surprised there was still a small amount available so I took the opportunity to taste the wine again. The wine is dark purple with a deeply brooding complex nose. Smooth tannins are enhanced by the judicious use of French Oak. The purity of deeply seated fruit provides a wine of fine balance and structure. The lip smacking taste of sweet cassis, blackcurrant, plums, liquorice and mint fills the mouth and finishes long. The structure is tight and elegant despite its full-bodied weight. A sophisticated level of complexity completes the package which is rated as Excellent and **** for vale at $35.

Tatachilla is a winery that produces consistently good wines year in and year out. Even in poor vintage they frequently are able to lift the quality above the average level . A few weeks ago I tried the basic range so there was no need to try them again but I did manage to try their two flagship wines. (Thanks to the CD manager for opening them especially for me.)

Tatachilla 1901 Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 sells for $40 and contains 35%Padthaway fruit with the balance is from Coonawarra. There is nothing subtle about this wine, from its dark purple colour to its slightly lifted cedar, cassis, high-toned mint, leafy notes and blackcurrant nose. Smooth tannins, crisp acid, and strong concentrated fruit combine to a present a well-balanced full-bodied package with a solid backbone and a long liquorice and blackcurrant finish. There is not much varietal definition with this wine, but when it tastes this good who gives a toss? Rated as Excellent with *** for value this wine should peak around 2006.

Tatachilla 1999 Foundation Shiraz is deep purple in colour with a marvellous deep hue. Velvety tannins, refreshing acid and deep fruit, support an inviting nose of plum, aniseed, white pepper, and perfumed blackcurrant. Considering the full-bodied robust weight and the big solid structure of this wine, it's surprisingly elegant for its size. The black cherry, blackcurrant, pepper, liquorice and other mouth filling flavours complement the silky mouth feel. Rated as Excellent with *** full value this wine should peak around 2005.

At this point John said, "do you know what time it is?" And as we were both wearing watches I figured he didn't want to know the hours and minutes so I replied, "no, what time is it" which in hindsight was a very bad move. "Pie o'clock was the answer." Oh boy, oh boy, I should have remembered from my last trip that John is a pie addict and knows where every bakery in the state of South Australia is located and can give a Davis Rating (using 100 point scale) on the quality of every pie producer in the state along with detailed tasting notes.

So it was off to the first of many bakeries. I actually managed to avoid a pie and eat an almost healthy sandwich. This is of critical importance as John is also a fibre and carbohydrate free zone, unless the carbohydrate is found in a meat pie.

One of the icons and best-known wineries in McLaren Vale is d'Arenberg . Some of their low-end wines are priced reasonably but unfortunately most of the icons are not great value.

d'Arenberg Footbolt 2000 Shiraz is one of their better value wines which sells for $20 from cellar door but is normally available for less at discounters. The wine showed a slightly dirty, earthy, chary note that was mainly masked by dominant liquorice and eucalyptus. The wine tastes of overly sweet raspberry fruit with a savoury element provided by refreshing acid, liquorice and chary oak. No doubt this wine will appeal some, but as I have an aversion to chary oak, I am not one of them. Rated as Acceptable with *** for value at $20.

d'Arenberg 1999 The Twentyeight Road Mourvedre is a closed up locked down tight wine that shows little on the bouquet except the lifted light plummy perfume, which flows on to plums and liquorice across the palate. The wine is medium weight with a very firm consistency, elegant structure and the agreeable level of complexity. It's rated as Recommended with ** for value at $35.

d'Arenberg 1999 Ironstone Pressing (GSM blend 70/20/10) is dark purple in colour with a spicy milk chocolate sweet and berry nose. The wine has a good balance but will require lots of time to show its best. The palate follows the nose. A well build wine with medium body weight, very firm consistency, layered structure showing some elegance, and a developed level of complexity. Rated as Highly Recommended it a good wine but at $65 it's only gets * for value .

d'Arenberg 1999 Coppermine Road is their flagship Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine exhibits a lifted aroma of cedar, cassis, blackcurrant and perfumed liquorice. Loads of dusty tannins overpower the fruit at present but there is enough distinct fruit buried to ensure that in time it should come together. This well made drop has a tight solid structure that is supported by a firm consistency, agreeable complexity and full weight fruit. Rated as Excellent with ** for value at $65 it should peak around 2008.

D'Arenberg 1999 Dead Arm Shiraz should need no introduction. A dark purple wine with a dark hue, the deep brooding slightly lifted nose is the sort of bouquet you want to sniff all night. Aromas are plums, liquorice, vanilla and a subtle lactic note. Full body weight, a developed level of complexity and "an elegance for weight ratio" combine to provide excellent balance. Soft sweet berries, plums and liquorice initially dominate the palate but this surprisingly approachable wine will improve as it ages. Rated as Excellent with *** for value at $65 there are other wines that tempt me more.

When I visited Penny's Hill last year I was impressed with the operation. Ben Riggs used to be to be their contract winemaker has left Wirra Wirra and works with them full-time. Hopefully this will play dividends in the future but unfortunately on this visit I didn't see much to make me smile.

Penny's Hill Specialised 2000 is a Shiraz Cabernet Merlot blend that costs $24 from cellar door. It's a lighter style of wine with a lifted (VA) nose that smells somewhat soapy. A fruit forward drink now wine with reasonable balance of flavours in the red current/cherry spectrum and a milk chocolate finish. And Agreeable crowd pleaser with ** for value.

Penny's Hill 199 Shiraz has a nose dominated by Cedary oak and raspberries. A well-balanced wine with lots of dusty tannins taking centre stage, the pure but lighter spectrum sweet raspberry fruit moves through savoury chocolate and onto a long liquorice finish. The wine has an almost elegant structure and should peak around 2004 plus. Rated as Recommended with ** for value at $25.

Dowie Doole wines are available here too and their 99 Shiraz has a fairly nondescript nose that is difficult to describe. On the palate there is some sweet raspberry and liquorice but overall this is a pretty boring wine. Rated as Acceptable with ** for value at $23.

Dowie Doole 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon was a much better proposition. Nose is dominated by varnishing cedar and lux soap. There is a deceptively sweet uptake that is well balanced by the savoury plummy mid palate and chocolate finish which unfortunately is slightly short. A full body weight, firm consistency and agreeable level of complexity combine to make a good, but not terrific wine and the level of varietal expression is not huge. Rated as Recommended with *** for value at $21.

As five o'clock was approaching and the cellar door staff were inconsiderate enough to want to go home and John decided to try and fain interest in his family it was time to go back to his place for a drink on the veranda, a BBQ leg of lamb and a bottle of plonk. When we arrived at his place, John's 13 year old (going on 19 trainee brain surgeon) daughter came out to greet us and John being the caring fatherly type stuck his black and purple stained tongue out at Hosanna who almost threw up from the shock of that awful sight. However, she ate less than she normally did at dinner that night and the next morning complained of having nightmares.

Bright and early the next morning, after I had a good nights sleep (the only one for some time) we were off on the next leg of our adventure.

Brian Light makes the wines at Sylvan Springs and this winery was one of a highlight finds on my last trip. David Pridore's family has been growing grapes and making wine in McLaren Vale for generations so it was a natural progression for him to go from grower to producer. This very committed small producer is in for long haul and not trying to make a quick buck. Although the 2000 wines are not as good as the previous vintage they are still a very credible effort and good value for money.

Sylvan Springs 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon is dark purple with an almost black hue. The wine exhibits and acceptable level of varietal Cabernet characteristics with leafy notes, cassis and the aroma of chocolate. Forty percent new French oak has been used. This fruit driven wine has minimal tannins but they are velvety, almost glycerol. On the palate the purity of the fruit comes across with blackberry, cassis, cherry, chocolate and minimal amounts of cedar to finish. This is a well-built wine with good length, supple consistency and seamless structure that would be a great crowd pleaser. Rated as
Recommended with **** for value at $17.50. A good effort from a difficult vintage.

A high tec cellar door at Sylvan Springs helps keep the cost down.

Sylvan Springs 2000 Shiraz has a tight nose showing Cedar, (French Oak) black fruit, liquorice, menthol and a slightly green note running through the wine. Smooth dusty tannins are unobtrusive and the pure fruit translates to very sweet plums, black cherry and a liquorice finish. Whilst the wine has muscular weight, it lacks the complexity of the previous vintage. This wine is suitable for current drinking and the very sweet fruit makes it an ideal crowd pleaser and very good value **** at $17.50. It's rated as Recommended .

Sylvan Springs 1998 Shiraz was opened by David to allow a comparison between vintages. The wine is dark purple with a clear and bright hue. Drying dusty tannins provide a good backbone for the refreshing acid and sweet plummy, black cherry fruit with tinges of chocolate. This is a harmonious wine with solid structure, full body and developing better than I expected. Rated as Highly Recommended it should peak in 2004.

Phil Christiansen used to work is a cellar hand for BRLH and there is no doubt he picked up a lot more than just moving barrels. He now produces his own brand "Longwood" at the old Chalk Hill winery as well as doing a stack of contract winemaking. This guy really knows how to churn out some good wine. Unfortunately the majority of the wine is exported to the United States.

Longwood 2000 Shiraz exhibits a youthful and closed black nose showing some liquorice and other dark fruit. Pure deep strong fruit provide a full-bodied wine with solid consistent structure and agreeable level of complexity that finishes long. The slightly bitter smooth tannins should resolve themselves in time as the liquorice plummy and chocolate fruit comes to the fore. Rated as Highly Recommended this wine is worth tracking down for those of you in the United States.

Dennis is a winery whose products have never done much for me in the past but it looks like things are improving. We went through a line up of five wines and they were credible crowd pleasers.

Dennis 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon sells for $20 a cellar door. I had a great deal of difficulty trying to nose this wine and work out what was it. The cedar was reasonably obvious but from thereon in all I got was a sweet overpowering perfume until I realised that the entire winery had pervasive perfumed aroma that was being gratuitously provided by the owner's wife. The ample weight Cabernet Sauvignon is well structured with a palate of sweet cassis, mint, chocolate and leafy characters. Rated as Recommended with *** for value this is a credible performer in its class.

Dennis 2000 Shiraz is a well-balanced wine showing sweet black cherry fruit and liquorice, ample body weight, supple consistency and simple level of complexity. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value, it's a crowd pleaser.

Dennis 2000 Shiraz Cabernet Merlot has nose that I found a bit bizarre. The wine shows reasonable balance with dusty but unobtrusive tannins, ample body weight and soft consistency. This is a Nutra sweet fruit driven drink now wine with multiple dark berry flavours that drift through to savoury characters. Another crowd pleaser and rated as Agreeable with *** for value at $20.

Dennis 1999 Merlot exhibits dusty tannins that dominate the wine at present. The persistent ample weight fruit that provides pleasant savoury flavours should win through as the wine reaches its maturity in 2005. I am not a great Merlot fan, but this is better than most in the category and is rated as Recommended with *** for value at $20.

Dennis 1999 Grenache exhibits a young tight nose with perfume like soap, sweet fruit and a lactic note. This unusual Grenache is dominated by loads of powdery drying mouth puckering tannins but the medium weight persistent fruit is a lurking. I am not sure which will win out in the long run. The upfront sweet taste immediately goes into savoury flavours that finishes long. Rated as Recommended with *** for value.

The next producer visited was a real down-to-earth Australian character by the name of the Glenn Snook. Most of the production of his Twelve Staves Wine goes to the United States but a very small amount of it is available for direct sale by mail order.

(Why is at almost every winery I go to, they insist on trying to pour Grenache down my throat before showing their good stuff, grumble grumbles, moan moan, mutter mutter?!!!!!)

Twelve Staves Grenache is produced from a single vineyard dry grown 70 year old vines at Blewett Springs. We were "fortunate" enough to taste three vintages of this wine.

The 99 vintage has good balance and structure initially showing incredibly sweet fruit that moves through some interesting peppery flavours and then revert back to a sweet finish. It should peak around 2004 but unfortunately not my taste. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value at $17.

Seventy year old dry grown Grenache vines .

The 2000 vintage also has good balance and is more approachable than the 99. The flavour profile is more interesting and has lots of savoury chocolate to offset the sweetness. It's an ample weight wine with supple consistency, a fairly simple complexity and adequate finish that should peak fairly soon. Rated as Recommended with *** for value.

The nose on the 2001 is dominated by perfumed spicy sweet cinnamon. This is a full-bodied wine with loads of drying powdery tannins. The strong fruit flows through to the palate expressing itself as savoury yet sweet fruit and chocolate and is dominated by liquorice. An interesting wine that resembles a Shiraz; may be that's why I liked it! Rated as Recommended with **** for value it should peak around 2006.

The final wine in the line up was the Twelve Staves 2001 Shiraz. This wine will retail in the US and Australia for about $30 in each country's respective currency. It's due for release in mid July. The big dark brooding nose with blackcurrant and liquorice flows through to the palate with a similar flavour profile with all sorts of other goodies thrown into the mix. This is a heavy weight red bigot wine with a big solid structure, harmonious complexity mouth filling flavours and a lingering long finish that should peak around 2006. Rated as Excellent with **** for value for those fortunate enough to track it down.

Guess what time it is? Its pie o'clock but Glenn Snook insists that we accompany him to Blewett Springs to look at his 70-year-old dry grown Grenache vine and to me that sounds better than facing another pie, so off we go. By the time we finish there, we are running out of time so as we race to our next appointment. The time is now pie o'clock plus one and John is getting anxious.

The next cab of the rank was driven by Duncan and Susana Ferguson who run a very esoteric winery called
Casabel located south of McLaren Vale in a cooler wind blown microclimate. Duncan is a down-to-earth, very quiet and deep thinking winemaker with an understated brilliance that is the perfect foil for partner Susanna, who has a very outgoing Spanish disposition and passion. This is a perfect case of the sum of the whole being greater than the individual parts. This duet makes some very interesting high-quality atypical wines which are in great demand and normally sell-out quickly. Numerous barrel samples were tried and this is a winery to keep your eye on. It's worthwhile getting onto the mailing list as these guys are going places.

They definitely do not produce big in your face McLaren Vale Shiraz. The flavour profiles their wines are extremely interesting and have a complexity of flavours that rotate through the palate in unusual ways. For example many Grenache start off as raspberry and moved in to chocolate. The barrel samples of Grenache I tried start off as chocolate, move through to raspberry and then these two flavours keep rotating through the palate.

Casabel 2000 Grenache retails for $23 cellar door. Liquorice and sweet perfumed fruit dominate the nose and flow through the palate as pleasant spicy peppery fruit moving through to liquorice with an intense but elegant flavour and long finish. Tannins are unbelievably light and the acid cuts through the sweetness. The wine is medium weight with a soft consistency creating a very good Grenache. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value.

Casabel 2000 Shiraz is a single vineyard wine that sells at cellar door for $30. The fruit is cropped at two tonnes per acre and comes from Victor Harbour, a cooler climate than most of McLaren Vale. This is a well-constructed wine with smooth drying tannins, pure persistent fruit showing intense pepper and chocolate that finishes long and keeps going round and round in the mouth. A lighter style food friendly wine of medium weight with supple consistency, elegant structure and a harmonious sophisticated complexity it should peak around 2006. Rated as Highly Recommended (and may go higher in time) with *** for value.

At this point John is starting to go green from withdrawal symptoms has its pie o'clock plus two and a half but we are late for next appointment so we will have to wait. (I am really having fun here.)

Arakoon is another winery that I was unfamiliar with so I took the opportunity to see what they are all about. 1999 was their first vintage and Patrik Jones is the winemaker. A fair amount of their production is sold in the UK and Sainsbury has recently taken them on. The labels are colourful and in a funny way reflect the personality of the owner. The winery is located in a tin shed at the back of a tyre and a battery shop in Main Street of McLaren Vale. This is a fairly eccentric operation, but the eccentricity seems to work right down to the synthetic yellow cork used in one of the wines (at the request of Sainsbury.)

I'm not sure what to make of this winery. Were tried numerous barrel samples and whilst some were very good, some were not as good as other wineries are able to produce at a similar price. There is a fair effort going into the marketing of the wines, let's hope the same effort goes into the growing and production process.

Arakoon Sellicks Beach 2000 that is a blend of 60% Shiraz and 40% Grenache and retails around $19. This is an interesting big wine with intense pepper flavour, a big whack of chocolate with perfumed spicy and sweet pepper with a liquorice finish. It's a drink now wine and better than a lot of Shiraz Grenache blends, its rated at Recommended with **** for value.

I was also able to try the blended (but not bottled) 2001 Sellicks Beach. It had a very closed nose showing some sweet berry fruit and eucalyptus. The smooth tannins and impact of French Oak are evident. The wine has a lively taste exhibiting sweet fruit flavours, chocolate liquorice and a hint of pepper. Whilst the wine has a muscular bodyweight and structure, unfortunately it finishes short on the palate and may even be returned to new oak. As this is an unfinished wine its not been rated.

Arakoon Lighthouse Cabernet Sauvignon (56%) Shiraz (44%) has a complex interesting nose with varietal Shiraz notes wafting through a typical Cabernet nose. Tannins are smooth, unobtrusive and no doubt the judicious use of French Oak plays a role in this result. It's medium body and supple consistency combine with a solid elegant structure and harmonious complexity to produce a good middleweight wine that fills the whole palate with all sorts of interesting flavours. Rated as Recommended with *** for value.

This winery has a larger range of wines than we tried, unfortunately these three wines were the only ones made available for tasting.

Alas there is no longer any excuse, it is now pie o'clock plus three and a half and try and as I try to convince him otherwise, we do have time and I am out of excuses so it is off to the bakery. Another get out of jail free card for me, a turkey salad roll is available, John tucks into two of his favourites.

I first visited
Kayswinery over a quarter of a century ago and I'm pleased that not much has changed at Kays. They are still producing some of McLaren Vale's best quality and best value wines. The Block Six in particular is a stunning long lived wine and is every bit as good as many wines that are two and three times the price.

Kays Shiraz Mourvedre Grenache (72% 19% 9% respectively) 2000 sells for $22 at cellar door. The very closed and tight nose shows chocolate and liquorice that follows through to the palate. The ample bodyweight, firm consistency and supple complexity combine and produce a reasonable effort for a difficult vintage. Rated as Recommended with *** for value it should peak around 2005.

Kays 2000 Merlot has a palate that is slightly overpowered by piquant acid. It's a basic simple wine with reasonably sweet fruit on the uptake and a savoury finish. It has ample bodyweight and supple consistency. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value at $22.

Kays 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon is still available at cellar door and the pick of the finished wines tasted. The aroma shows lots of cedar, leafy notes, cassis, blackcurrant and plums. This is an interesting wine where the palate does not reflect the nose. Rich full-bodied plums, blackcurrant and pepper are the dominant tastes. This is a full-bodied wine with a more than an agreeable level of complexity, and whilst it is not varietally correct, it is very good. Rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value it is worth buying at $22.

When I arranged the appointment to visit the winery I asked if it would be possible to taste and review the 2000 Block 6 and Hillside Shiraz but was informed the wines were not being released for some months and tasting the finished wines would be possible. However they went one better. Colin Kay who is one of the most understated, modest, quietly spoken, gentle, and passionately eccentric people you could ever wish to meet. Colin was kind enough to show us through the barrel rooms and provide many samples of the 2000, 2001, and 2002 vintage wines.

Based on the barrel samples of the
2000 Block 6 , I placed an order. The wine has a full-bodied solid structure and developed complexity showing intense flavours, but not as huge as previous vintages and there is a definite refinement. It's almost ready to be bottled and I would hazard a guess it will wind up being rated as Excellent in the long term.

The barrel samples from the 2000 Hillside blew me away. The wine has sweet and savoury tastes, excellent structure and balance showing layers of chocolate and plums. This wine is very close to the quality of the Block 6.

We also tried barrel samples of the 2001 and 2002 wines and they will be worth waiting for. Its interesting to note that quantity for many McLaren Vale producers was way down in 2002, but Kays quantity was up. It's hard to beat fifty years experience and knowing exactly what the winery is likely to produce from any given situation.

At the end of a sampling we stood outside cellar door overlooking the panoramic view and had a chat. In his own right, Colin Kay is one of Australia's best winemakers and all he could talk about was his daughter's successful career and his pride in her achievements was something to behold. Colin is a truly modest and remarkable human being who is making old style wines because that's what he does and that's what he wants to do!

Finally in passing, Colin stated how happy he was selling his wines into the US for higher prices than he could achieve in Australia because it enables him to keep the price down for his long-term Australian consumers.

That night it was off to dinner with Auswine Forum Dictator Gavin Trott and the very knowledgeable 707 aka Steve Norman and my trusty sidekick John. The restaurant selected was
Mitcham Buzz . Unfortunately it was a bit overcrowded as besides the four of us, a table for two had the hide and temerity to eat in the restaurant at the same time were there. The patronage of the restaurant was not indicative of the quality of the food or the service, both of which could not be faulted.

Steve Norman aka 707 picture taken the next night.

The first wine presented by Steve was a mystery wine and it was a classy drop. Being the sort of guy that he is, he likes to mess with people's minds by playing silly childish options games……. Oooow did I say that? Now I am going to be in trouble in more ways than one. (grin) The first option was Yarra, Coonawarra or Margaret River. Due to the size and density of the wine I chose Margaret River, as I didn't think Coonawarra could produce anything quite this big and dense. (Almost as big and dense as me!) Big mistake! It was Coonawarra. When it came to age I got that wrong too. I thought it was 96 because it was so youthful. It turned out to be a 1993 Wynns Coonawarra Michael Shiraz that was glorious and much better than some of the other vintages of Michael I have consumed. The wine is at its peak, the huge amounts of oak have been consumed by the fruit and the palate is dominated by blackcurrants and other black flavours. The wine is rated as Excellent .

The next wine opened was a 1996 Seven Hills Shiraz. I have been a long-time lover of this winery but felt it lost direction between 1995 and 1997 inclusive when production started to be ramped up and quality didn't keep up. Unfortunately this 1996 Shiraz did nothing to change my mind. The nose seemed dominated by a perfumed soap like aroma and the wine was pretty simple. Rated as Acceptable .

The final wine of the night was 1994 Saltram No 1 Shiraz. A very smart wine loaded with intense chocolate and a long finish, this wine just keeps getting better and better. It's great drinking now but will hold for many years and may still improve. Rated as Excellent .

Back to Johns place in McLaren Vale and after a short nights sleep, it's onto the Barossa Valley. As we were got near Lyndoch, Johns said "its morning smoko time." But wait, John doesn't smoke, but on the right-hand side of the car is yet another bakery and John can't drive past their meat pies. The Danish I had wasn't at all bad but I never did find out what John thought about the pie as he was too busy scoffing it down to engaged in conversation.

We thought we would kick off for the couple of icon wineries so the first visit went to Turkey Flat where I tried the 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon. The nose exhibited almost brambly notes, white and milk chocolate with spice. A well-balanced wine with piquant acid, ample bodyweight and solid structure produces an interesting wine with loads of flavour without being heavy. The palate shows cherries and a long smooth chocolate and mint finish, it should peak around about 2005. Rated as Recommended with *** for value at $27.

Rockford winery has two cellar doors, one for the general public and one for Stonewallers. The Stonewallers have the advantage of being able to try and buy a few wines that are not available to the general public. As you can see, Rockford does things the old fashioned way.

Rockford Rod and Spur 99 is a blend of 66% Shiraz and 34% Cabernet made from 4 to 6 year-old vines using old oak. It has a reasonably complex nose with multiple berry - both black and blue, mint and chocolate. The smooth tannins seemed slightly green and may be from the young vines. The layered supple cherry, blackberry chocolate and mint flavours build up in the mouth slowly to finally peak; and as enjoyable as this wine is now, it will need about another four years to show its best. Rated as Recommended with **** for value this wine is worth buying at $20.50.

Rockford 99 Basket Press Shiraz was released to Stonewall members last year but the remaining supply went on sale at cellar door recently. The wine is dark purple in colour and has a seductive sweet nose showing cherry, cassis, milk chocolate and subtle oak on the tail end. (What sort of nose has subtle wooden tail end? Grin) The wonderful mouth feel is created by the ample weight fruit, supple consistency, layered but still tight structure, refine and harmonious complexity. Smooth velvety drying tannins and intense distinct fruit enhance the balance of the wine and it should peak around 2007. Rated as Excellent with *** for value at $41 cellar door.

As you can see, Rockford also embraces new technology. Notice the phone.

Versus the very modern, the new Branson Facility - still under construction.


Rockford Flaxman Shiraz 1996 is one of three individual vineyard reserve wines sold for $65 each and available to Stonewallers only. This wine sees new oak (both French and American) and its effect is obvious on the nose, which also shows rich luscious plummy spectrum fruit, liquorice spearmint, and chocolate. There are huge amount of drying dusty tannins but the persistent and pure fruit balances the package. This is a full-bodied wine with solid but youthful structure and developed level of complexity that should take at least another five years to peak. The mouth is filled with plums and chocolate that flows through to liquorice leading to a long finish. Rated as Excellent with *** for value.

Rockford 1996 Vintage Port is a rare beast. The fruit is sweet but not cloying, it's not overly heavy in anyway and almost to refined to be Port. This is in a class of its own with great Brandy spirits and a finish that lasts longer than a boring Opera. Rated as Outstanding, it's a pity about the price ($55.)

I have never been a great fan of St Hallett wines and whilst I did find some wines that were more to my liking, some of the pricing left me wondering.

St Hallett 99 Cabernet Sauvignon shows blackcurrants and spearmint on the nose with lots of dusty oak tannins and balanced acid. It's a muscular wine with very firm structure and a plain level of complexity that finished short on the palate. The taste of blackberry, plums and liquorice whilst most enjoyable is not varietally correct, but because it's from the Barossa it doesn't need to be. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value at $18, it should peak around 2005.

St Hallett 2000 Faith Shiraz has an "interesting" nose, drying tannins and balanced acid. This ample weight wine has a supple consistency, layered structure and agreeable level of complexity that should improve as it reaches its peak in 2004. Tasty red cherry, aniseed and an earth flavour. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value at $19.40.

St Hallett 1996 The Reward Cabernet Sauvignon shows fragrant sweet cherry, cassis and mint. The loads of dusty drying tannins still need about 4 years to integrate. The deep persistent fruit comes across as cassis and blackberry will ensure this well constructed wine will be long lived. Whilst being full-bodied it's not heavy and the structure is solid and tight with a harmonious level of complexity. Rated as Highly Recommended with ** for value.

St Hallett 1996 Old Block Shiraz has been re-released at cellar door as the 98 is sold out. Sweet blackcurrant and coconut on the uptake immediately changes to a slamming dose of savoury flavours which go through liquorice, spice and chocolate. This is a full-bodied wine with a long structure and developed complexity. Rated as Highly Recommended with ** for value at $50 at CD it should peak around 2004+.

St Hallett 1998 The Third Century has an appealing fruity lifted nose showing vanilla, plums, subtle spice and menthol. The aromas flow through to the palate as overly sweet cherry fruit leading to spice and a savoury pepper finish with an underlying stream of sweet fruit running through the whole palate. The wine has a rich bodyweight, firm but fleshy consistency and an agreeable level complexity. Unfortunately due to the sweetness it comes across as an expensive upmarket crowd pleaser. Rated as H ighly Recommended with * for value at $54.

Where has the morning gone? It's that bloody time of the day again! But this time I have a win, and we find a coffee and sandwich shop and John relents and forces something other than a pie past his tonsils. Had I have only known what was in store over the next few days, I would have had seconds!

Grant Burge has an impressive cellar door facility that is one of the best in Australia. It's always a joy to be greeted by Pam whose enthusiasm is boundless. Pam is also knowledgeable about their wines and extremely helpful.

Grant Burge Filsell 2000 Shiraz is dark purple in colour and shows spicy sweet perfumed dark fruit and varnished oak. The nose was a right bastard to analyse so I gave up trying. Tannins are unobtrusive, the acid balanced and the fruit strong. The palate has an interesting taste with sweet fruit on the uptake, black pepper, liquorice and loads of spice. This is an appealing package with muscular bodyweight, softish consistency, tight structure and an agreeable level of complexity. The unusual flavour profile creates a definite interest. In some ways, the rating of Recommended does not do this wine justice, and it scores *** for value at $26.95. If you can find it on special for less, it's more than worthy of consideration.

Grant Burge RMB1 1998 Merlot sells for $29.95. The wine has lots of dusty tannins, balanced acid and obvious fruit that come across the palate as overly sweet fruit with a dark cherry finish. The wine may improve in time as the oak integrates, but this wine is not for me and I just don't get it. Rated as Acceptable with ** for value it should peak around 2007.

Grant Burge 1998 Holy Trinity sells for $29.95 at CD. The Mourvedre shines through on the bouquet and with the French Oak the aroma profile holds lots of interest. There are huge amounts of drying puckering tannins, lively acid and persistent fruit that combine to form a well-balanced and constructed wine that has been built for the long haul. Dark cherry, blackcurrant, liquorice, raspberries and chocolate are some of the complex flavours found in this medium weight sophisticated wine with a tight structure that shows some elegance. In short, it's an impressive wine that demand cellaring and I am going to buy some. Rated as Excellent with **** for value it should peak around 2006.

I loved the 1996 Shadrach Cabernet Sauvignon and was looking forward to trying the 1998. The bouquet seemed OK with loads of cedar, leafy tobacco notes and warm fruit. Unfortunately sickly sweet Nutra sweet fruit initially dominates the palate until the oak overtakes it. I found the complexity of the wine to be disjointed and rated it as Acceptable with ** for value at $39.95.

Grant Burge 1998 Meshach is undoubtedly a very good wine. It has a complex nose showing sweet plums, black cherry, liquorice savoury plums, spice coconut and vanilla. An excellent balance is provided by the dusty tannins, well judged acid and deep, distinct, concentrated fruit. The palate follows the nose and flows from sweet to savoury flavours. However there is an underlying sweetness that stays on the palate throughout. This is a rich full-bodied wine with a layered structure and harmonious complexity and will be long lived. Rated as Excellent with ** for value.

The two icon wines from Grant Burge, the Shadrach and Meshach seem like they are being aimed fairly and squarely at the Parker market and from my perspective I don't think the overly sweet flavour profile of these two wines does anything positive for them.

The
Orlando cellar door is always an enjoyable experience. Robin Shaw, besides being a delightful and professional Cellar Door Manager, always arranges for their premium wines to be available and frequently unreleased wines are there too. This visit was no exception. It would be remiss of me not to mention the tasting took place in the new cellar door facility four days before it was open to the general public. I appreciate the time the Robin spent with us and she was busier than a one-armed wallpaper hangar trying to get ready for the official opening. The new high tech, architecturally minimalist cellar door building would have to be the largest of its type in Australia today and is worth a visit.

Orlando 1998 Limited Release Jacobs Creek Cabernet Sauvignon sell at cellar door for $25.00. This wine celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Jacobs Creek Range and the result is more than a fitting tribute. Cedar, intense cassis and leafy notes dominate the nose and follow through onto the palate with the leafy notes showing as tobacco and a touch of chocolate thrown in. This is a full weight wine with a solid structure and harmonious complexity that will live up to 15 years. The most surprising aspect of this most enjoyable wine besides its incredibly good price; is that it's almost varietally correct which is very unusual for a Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon. Rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value in some ways I think this is a better wine than the 98 St Hugo.

Orlando St Hugo 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon is due for release in August. The wine is dark purple in colour and has a ripe fruit driven nose with a touch of varnish oak. This is a full-bodied wine with buckets of powdery drying mouth puckering tannins and enough deep concentrated strong fruit to balance the package. Whilst there are ripe black cherry fruit and savoury nuances on the palate, this wine is all about a sensational structure that will improve as the wine matures. It's not as fruit forward and approachable as the 98 but in the long-term I believe 99 will be the better wine. Rated as Highly Recommended (this rating should improve) with *** for value - if you missed out on the 98 don't worry, buy the 99 instead, you won't be disappointed if you let it mature.

Orlando 1997 Limited is a blend of 71% Barossa Shiraz and 29% Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. The palate shows very sweet upfront fruit flowing through to spicy blackcurrant and a savoury chocolate finish with an underpinning sweetness that will ensure immediate appeal. This is a muscular wine with supple consistency, harmonious complexity and should peak fairly soon but can happily be consumed now. Rated as Highly Recommended with ** for value at $55, unfortunately its not in the same class as it predecessor.

Orlando 1997 Lawson has recently been released. This wine is almost black in colour with a big succulent inviting nose of sweet berry fruit, chocolate, and tell-tale Lawson mint. The wine has a big long finish that is made more interesting by the tannins. They slowly sneak up on you by starting off velvety and then turn dry. The mouth is filled with blackcurrant, plums, a field full of mint, rich chocolate and liquorice. In typical Lawson style this is a rich full-bodied wine with velvety consistency, a big solid structure and a harmonious complexity that should live happily past 2008. Rated as Excellent with *** for value at $55.

Unfortunately the 1997 Jacaranda Ridge was corked and as it had come across from the old cellar door especially for this tasting another one was not available. They also offered to open the yet to be released 1996 Centenary Hill but as I had inhaled a bottle of it fairly recently, I knew exactly what it tasted like so there was no need, although John was not impressed with my decision and threatened me with grievous bodily injury.

It was now time to drive back to Adelaide as we were scheduled to attend the Winestar Great Shiraz Dinner at Le Zinc Restaurant. John decided to inflict his person upon his sister-in-law's hospitality and invited himself to stay the night at her house. Obviously she's smarter than the average bear and doesn't want him making a habit of it. She provided John with a sleeping bag and a hard wooden floor which was probably more than he deserved when he arrived there in a drunk disorderly state later that night. Brian and I checked into the Directors Studios that cost $92 (per single room) and was ideal because it was within walking distance of the restaurant and provides parking which is essential in downtown Adelaide.


The Winestar Dinner in
Adelaide was another great event and here are some thoughts and highlights of the night. The first wine served with dinner was a mystery wine and obviously the guests had no idea what they were drinking. When asked for comments many people thought the wine was fading and getting old. It would be an understatement to say that the wine did not exactly WOW anyone. When we played the options game, very few people thought the wine was worth over $200 a bottle. The mystery wine was the 1992 Hill of Grace. As an aside, it interesting to note that Jeremy Oliver thinks the wine would best me drunk after 2012 and James Halliday forecast the wine would best me drunk between 1998 and 2010. Once again this just goes to prove you cant drink the label or the reputation, just what's inside the bottle.

The 1994 Tahbilk 1933 Vines Cabernet Sauvignon was blown away by the 1999 Torbreck The Factor and in reality it was unfair comparison. The Factor was a young fruit driven wine with loads of youthful fresh fruit flavours and brimming with typical Barossa chocolate.
Whilst it was most enjoyable and seductive, it didn't have a huge amount of complexity but it left a big stain in the glass.

The next two wines are both from the outstanding 1996 vintage and both from
Orlando. The first wine in this bracket was the 96 Lawson and it was paired with the about to be released 96 Centenary Hill. The Lawson showed typical Lawson characteristics. Wonderful complexity, strong solid flavour, excellent balance and telltale mint. The 96 Centenary Hill was loaded with caramel and also had typical Barossa chocolate and liquorice. I just love this wine and think it's far superior to 94 and 95 vintages. However, the final wine blew this pair away.

The Wolf Blass 1998 Platinum Barossa Shiraz has a humongous amount of sledge-hammer fresh fruit combining with soft tannins to create a silky, seductive wine In terms of sheer lush enjoyment, the Platinum was the winner on the night and I am glad that I had the opportunity to try the wine. Is it better than The Factor or the two Orlando wines? In my opinion the answer is no. It may well be the most luscious, but that doesn't make it better.

My order of ranking in terms of quality would be Lawson followed by the Centenary Hill followed by the Platinum and the Factor. In terms of "drink ability" the Platinum would top the list. Would I purchase either The Factor or the Platinum, not at current prices, but no doubt may would love to do so due to their seductive, in your face nature.

Yours truly getting an ear bashing from an ENT Dr - the subject wine!

Having been to a few of the Winestar dinners over the years, a few things are becoming evident. Firstly, expectations by all attendees are incredibly high and attendees rightfully expect to be wowed by the wines. Secondly, the fruit forward big young wines seem to show best. At the last Great Shiraz Dinner in
Melbourne, the 94 Tahbilk showed reasonably well and blew away the 94 Magill. At this dinner because the Tahbilk was paired with The Factor, it showed poorly by comparison.

Many of these wines would be considered top notch wines in their own right and most attendees would feel lucky to be able to drink them at home. Indeed many people would consider the Lawson (to use just one example) a "special occasion wine" yet when served against a bigger more fruit forward wine, many people think it is a lesser wine. In my opinion, that may not be the case. It all has to do with expectation, order served and the food match. And that does not take into account the subtly of an older wines.

All in all, another great night and if you get the opportunity to go to one of the Winestar dinners, grab it; it's a terrific experience.

Early, but not so bright the next morning, after a fix of bacon and cackle-berries, Brian and I headed off and picked up John who looked a lot brighter and healthier than he had a right to be. And it was back to the Barossa for another day of tasting and excess, and the excess came in spades later that night, but you will have to wait for that past of the story.

We were given some
"interesting" directions to find our next location. We were told to take the second exit, (which we did,) keep going straight up Penrice Road (which we did,) look out for the "trucks crossing" (which we did) and the place we were looking for was the next house on the right (and that's where we joined that great African tribe, (thewherethe^%$#arewees.) It would have been handy to know the house we were looking for was the next house on the right 600 meters BEFORE the "trucks crossing" instruction. I have been reliably informed this is known in the trade as Barossa logic. But after tasting your wines, you are forgiven Steve.

Kurtz family winemakers have been growing grapes in the Barossa for a long time and have started to produce their own wines which are made by John Zilm who is a first-class wine maker. Steve is passionate (in a quietly spoken humble away) about the wines he's producing and has every right to be proud of his achievements. I first tasted their wines last year and was impressed. They are going from strength to strength. Their are wines are available in the United States from retailers and in Australia by direct mail order. If anyone in Australia would like to e-mail me I can arrange attractive mate rates.

Kurtz Family 2001 Grenache comes from old vines Grenache and is vastly improved by the addition of 6% Shiraz and 2% Mataro. The wine shows good balance, is not overtly sweet and contains savoury flavours (to balance the underpinning sweetness) that flows through to chocolate with a liquorice finish. This is a muscular wine with supple consistency, solid structure and a great food friendly drop. This Grenache is worth buying and is being sold at mate rates for $11 (plus freight) and is rated as Recommended with ***** for value . Almost enough to make me want to purchase a case.

Kurtz Family Boundary Row 2000 Shiraz was tasted by way of barrel sample last year and it was good to see the progression. The wine is dark purple with iodine and black cherry dominating the aroma. Black cherry and light aniseed dominate the palate. It's an ample weight wine with a well-balanced brooding structure, well-managed tannins and supple consistency. It's not a huge wine, but a more than credible effort considering the vintage. Rated as Recommended with **** for value (at $15 plus freight at mates rates) it should peak in 2003.

Kurtz Family Luna Block 1999 Shiraz is a single vineyard wine that was cropped at 1.4 tonnes to the acre and then spent 27 months in new French Oak. A very good solid structure is provided by the huge amount of fine-grained drying tannins, fresh acid and deep concentrated fruit. The flavour profile is unusual with floral violets, black cherry, an expressive level of cloves, liquorice and plumy fruit. It's a full-bodied robust wine with more than an agreeable level of complexity that deserves its Highly Recommended rating which may increase as the wine matures. There are only 60 dozen available so if you are in Australia and you are interested contact me. I'm sure you will be pleasantly surprised at the price. A small quantity will be exported.

Because of the late start and the drive to the Barossa even though we had only visited one producer, it was that time of the day again. Unfortunately it turned out that Brian was also partial to the dreaded "three letter" fodder so I was outvoted and it was off to the nearest bakery, and this one sold almost nothing but pies so I relented and had a potato pie. To add insult to indigestion, it was my turn to pa y!

The next winery visited is another small one, and new to me. Tait Wines is owned and operated by Bruno Tait who was originally an engineer and freely admits to "experimenting to try and get it right." He is an extremely passionate young winemaker trying to learn as he goes and is committed to improving his skills and his wines. Give time, Bruno could be producing some good stuff in the future. The 2001 barrel samples in particular look like they may turned into some pretty credible wines. The winery is set high on a hill overlooking Charles Cimicky and Yaldara Wines.

Tait Wines 2000 Shiraz shows some VA, an obvious high alcoholic porty nose and blackcurrants. The wine is hot in the mouth with black cherry, liquorice, burnt caramel and some overripe fruit. This is a full-bodied wine with slightly cloying consistency and no doubt some people would just love it. Rated as Agreeable with ** for value.

Tait Wines 1999 Shiraz was a more impressive wine. The nose is warm and sweet with a reasonably good structure and smooth tannins that sneak up on you. Upfront very sweet fruit lead to savoury flavours including clove flavoured oak that then drifts onto a liquorice finish. This full-bodied wine is not for wimps and takes no prisoners. Rated as Recommended with *** for value it should peak in the next couple of years.

The next winery is another one and I had never heard of and it's very frustrating to find a new gem and not be able to buy any of their wine because it all being exported to United States. (I am not impressed with you Gorman, leave some of our good stuff here! PLEASE!!)

Winter Creek is located in Williamstown at the extreme southern end of the Barossa Valley and is cooler than the majority of the area. In fact the climate is similar to Eden Valley. The winery is owned by David Cross and his wife Pam (who works at Grant Burge CD.) They make wine with the philosophy that they are making wine they would like to drink. David spent a great deal of time walking us through the old vines in his vineyard. It would not surprise me if he had pet names for every single one of his vines. David is a firm believer in minimalist intervention and his wines show it.

Winter Creek 2000 Barossa Shiraz sells for US$25 and is a clean fruit driven wine with some unusual camphor notes (caused by the ferment.) The wine is well made with fine drying tannins, tingly acid and persistent deep fruit. Chocolate flavour builds slowly across the palate, some cherry is thrown into the equation, liquorice then comes to the fore and the flavours enveloped the mouth with a long lingering finish. This is the sort of wine that you can sip all day, provided you live in the United States and can buy the bloody stuff! It has a refined harmonious complexity, a soft consistency and ample weight. Rated as Highly Recommended the rating may increase as the wine matures.

The final winery visited that daily was the new Branson facility where Michael Twelvetree and his partners are investing a truckload of money .
Michael is very enthusiastic and proud of his efforts. It's a shame he has to find another winemaker, as I understand Rolf Binder is pulling out of the project on the 30th June. We tasted numerous barrel samples and there is no doubt Michael has access to some quality fruit.

Two Hands 2001 Angles Share McLaren Vale Shiraz is a dark purple wine with the lifted nose and sweet upfront plummy fruit going into chocolate flavours with a reasonable length finish. The dusty tannins are drying and the muscular weight fruit is persistent in its intensity. The wines complexity doesn't require a brain surgeon's understanding but when the wine peaks in the couple of years it should be pretty good drinking. Rated as Recommended with *** (just) for value at $25.

Two Hands 2001 Brave Face Shiraz (70%) Grenache (30%) Blend is sourced from Barossa fruit. The nose is all soft sweet fruit and the French oak influence shows. Whilst the wine is balanced, tannins are soft and it's obvious this is an early drinking style bistro crowd pleaser. The wine has ample weight with a soft consistency and a simple level of complexity. Very sweet upfront cherry spectrum fruit moves through spice, pepper and finishes off with a dollop of chocolate. Rated as Recommended with ** for value at $32 no doubt this wine will still sell as many people will find it very appealing.

Hi ho, hi ho, its off for a quiet dinner we go to the 1066; or was it the 1812? No it was the 1918 Restaurant, that's it! And we were joined by the quiet, shy, retiring and humble Rolf Binder and his good mate Rick Burge who is always welcome as he normally brings some reasonable plonk. In all seriousness, Rick is a very quiet and humble guy who lets his wine to the talking for him, and they have a lot say. Also joining in the festivities was Robin Shaw (from Orlando) and her friend Alenni who is almost as shy and retiring as Rolf and obviously has no sense of humour, and if you believe I am serious, there is a bridge for sale over Sydney Harbour that I can arrange at mates rates. In short, but the night wasn't, we had a hoot. Food was OK but not great with mains costing about $22. The service is good and you can take your own plonk, which is exactly what we did, only 14 bottles between 7 of us and that didn't include the pre dinner beers did it boys? The following tasting vibes were made the next day so they were a bit hazy.

The first wine tried was a 1990 Rick Burge Semillon that unfortunately was passed its best.

This was followed by a 1999 Austrian Riesling of some description that I was forced to try but do not feel qualified to comment on as I was holding my breath at the time of forced infliction. (Thanks for insisting on asking what I though about it Rolf! grin)

The 2000 Laughing Magpie is a good wine but a bit sweet and simple for my liking and in all honesty, the other wines on the table overshadowed it. Rated as Recommended , no doubt this crowd-pleasing wine would be very attractive to a lot of people.

We then had a mini vertical of Chapel Hill Cabernet Sauvignon. The 93 vintage was slightly passed it and on the downward slope, rated as Acceptable . As soon as I pull the cork on the 1994, I was concerned as there was no pop. I am very familiar with this wine because I have consumed many bottles of it. The wine opened on this night was not representative of the way it should tasted. The 1995 was a bit green, vegetative, full of capsicum and oak. It too was fading and was rated as Acceptable .

The Veritas 1997 Heysen Shiraz is a good wine from an ordinary vintage. It was most enjoyable not outclassed by a number of other wines drunk on the night and was rated as Recommended .

One of the Veritas wines that is overlooked and underrated is the Bulls Blood, a Shiraz Mourvedre Grenache blend and every time I drink this wine I am impressed at how well it goes with food. On this night we have in 1998 that is drinking beautifully now and rated as Highly Recommended but it may continue to improve.

Brian brought the 95 Jack Mann and I was looking forward to trying it. The wine is still a baby. It has a superb tannic backbone and outstanding depth of fruit. It was right up there as one of the best wines of the night and rated as Excellent but there were others I preferred.

Tim Adams 1994 Aberfeldy was one of my favourites of the night. It has lots of solid fruit flavours but the tannic backbone was not as solid as it could be resulting in a slightly round-shouldered wine. Finish was very good, but not great. However I still rated the wine as Excellent because of its sheer enjoyment factor.

These flowers are real, they came from John's own garden.

Rick Burge was generous enough to bring along three other bottles of his very high-quality wine. (Is this why Rolf invited him?) The 2000 Olive Hill is a very drinkable and enjoyable wine with absolutely no faults but was overshadowed by the other Burge Family Winemaker's wines and was rated as Highly Recommended.

1998 Draycott Reserves Shiraz is a stunning wine and can best be summed up in Rick's own immortal words. "It's my bus wine. In other words, if I am run over by bus tomorrow at least I can say I am glad I made that wine before I die, because I've accomplished and achieved something." Truer words have never been said. The wine has very fresh fruit, great length and finish. Its interesting to note this wine was one of the last started and the first to the finished. Rated as Outstanding, not too many wines get this rating from me.

The '98 vintage was the last time a Reserve label Draycott was produced. The fruit that was previously used in Reserve now goes into the normal Draycott Shiraz and Rick feels a reserve label is unnecessary due to the very high-quality of the Draycott. In addition the vines are now of a sufficient age to be able to produced excellent quality fruit. The next wine tried was the 2000 Draycott Shiraz . This wine has more earthy tones to it than the '98 due to the very difficult vintage conditions. Most people preferred the '98 Reserve, but I love this wine too, in some ways preferring it, although most disagreed with my preference. Rated as Excellent , I will leave my supply for a few years before trying them again.

The final wine of the night was a Brown Brothers Very Old Tokay which I decided to inflict on Rolf. The last time I saw him in Canberra he insisted on pouring a bottle of this wine down Brian and my throats, so it was time to get even. As soon as Rick tasted the wine he immediately commented on the caramel like taste that pervaded the palate. It transpired Rick has spent time as a winemaker in Rutherglen working on fortifieds and is an expert on the subject. He very nicely pointed out the caramel taste was actually added to the wine and is listed as an additive on the back of the label. You learn something new everyday. After upsetting my homeostasis (that was a big word for that time of the night considering my condition) and in a not so sober state, Rick promised to find me some better quality Tokay (in bulk at mates rates) and Rick, I intend to hold you to that promise.

As the witching hour approach four of us were left standing on our feet and two reprobates that shall remain nameless (Brian and John) decided a few cleansing ales were in order. As we are in the month of May I had already consumed by annual quota of one beer, so I sensibly ordered a bottle of mineral water. John got his second wind (just as well you didn't smell the first one) and wanted to kick on, but Brian and I being geriatrics decided it was time for bed and left John to walk across the road to the pub.

Nights like these are the ultimate wine indulgence. Great wine, food (I think there was just enough, grin) and good camaraderie are the factors that make drinking wine so special. There was so much wine left over many would think we should have been arrested for criminal wastage, but unfortunately it was impossible to finish them all. To say a good night was had by all would be an understatement.

We must be mad! Obsessive compulsive at the very least.
At 8.30 the next morning we ready and raring to go and by nine o'clock we were driving past cellar doors and swearing at them for being so lazy and inconsiderate as not to the open to receive us. Good old Elderton can always be relied on. It's a great early opener that will clear away the cobwebs and has John so aptly said, "this isn't a wine tasting; this is a hair of the dog." Except in his case I not quite sure if he went to bed or not.

As I recently tried almost the entire Elderton range I took it easy and only tried two wines, whilst the others were sipping, sucking, spitting, swallowing and chocking on the range.

Elderton 1998 CSM shows a soft nose of liquorice and black fruit underneath coconut. The dusty tannins need time to integrate and in time this wine should have a seamless structure with supple consistency and harmonious complexity. It is a very smart wine, seductive in its nature and has a great mouth feel. The palate is very chocolatey with black cherry smooth liquorice flowing on to mint and whilst its rich, it's not cloying. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** (just) for value.

Elderton 2000 Botrytis Semillon is a very sweet soft seductive wine with a palate that is dominated primarily by apricots and then raisins. Unfortunately it slightly lacking in acid. It has a fairly plain level of complexity and is rated as Agreeable with *** for value.

Our first appointment for the day was at the other end of the Barossa with Ross Estate. I first went as winery last year and was impressed with what they were doing and the way they were doing it. Rod Chapman is a competent winemaker with many years experience and it shows in the results. When we first arrived I was very disappointed to find the only wines being offered to taste were the wines that I had tried a year ago. I couldn't work out what was going on. Last time they welcomed me with open arms and were prepared to open anything and everything but this time there was nothing new on offer. And then it became clear. Nothing has been bottled since my last visit however Rod was happy to let us taste away through numerous barrel samples.

In summary, the 2000 wines are pretty good drinking now and whilst they are more elegant than many of their competitors they are well balanced. The 2001 wines are looking sensational and will be released later in the year. The wines are clearly worth keeping an eye out for and I wouldn't be surprised if they disappear quickly. The 2002 barrel samples are also looking good with wonderful natural tannins and acid. (Prices range from $17 to $25 at cellar door.)

Langmeil is a winery that continually gets favourable reviews by many forum members, unfortunately their wines have never appealed to me and this visit did nothing to change my mind.

Langmeil 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon has a somewhat flat nose showing spice and cassis. On the palate you will find sweet chocolate and liquorice finish. This is a lean the wine with elegant structure and a plain level of complexity that has a reasonable balance. It's okay now but should improve in the short term. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value at $19.50.

Langmeil 2000 The Fifth Wave Grenache retails for $28. The dumb nose is dominated by oak and has some sweet and spicy fruit behind it. The wine is not a sweet and is many other Grenache and has huge tannins, but seems unbalanced at this stage. Frankly I don't understand this wine. Rated as Acceptable with * for value.

Langmeil 2000 Valley Floor Shiraz has lingering powdery tannins, soft balance acid and the palate shows sweet raspberry spectrum fruit with chary oak influence and finishes with a spicy savoury taste. A lighter style of red reflecting the vintage conditions this wine is rated as Agreeable with *** for value at $22.50.

Part of Johns Rose Garden.

Peter Lehmann is a consistently good Barossa producer but unfortunately even this winery reflects some of the poorer conditions experienced over last few years. One of the great plusses in visiting Peter Lehmann is when they see you are serious about wine, even without the appointment, they are happy to let you taste the entire line-up. It's a pity more cellar doors are not as accommodating. Finally the staff at Peter Lehmann are some of the most professional around.

Peter Lehmann 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon has a light nose exhibiting some volatility, cassis and sweet oak. The structure is fairly ordinary with powdery tannins, supple consistency and simple complexity all adding up to an uncomplicated wine showing sweet raspberry/cassis spectrum fruit finishing with chocolate. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value it can happily be consumed over the next few years.

Peter Lehmann 1999 Merlot has a dumb tight nose (which is fairly common for Merlot that has recently been opened) that's not showing a lot except for deep musky notes. The powdery drying tannins overshadowed the musky fruit and this wine was rated as Acceptable with ** for value it should seek fairly soon.

Peter Lehmann 2000 Shiraz exhibits subtle sweet red berry fruit over equally subtle white pepper and earthy notes. The palate is a surprise showing sweet blackberry fruit going through to liquorice and an earthy taste from the powdery tannins. This is a very credible effort for the 2000 vintage and is rated as Recommended with *** for value.

Peter Lehmann 1997 Mentor was a wine that I was looking forward to trying as I have enjoyed this label for ages. The nose showed some complexity with lashings of black chocolate, black and blue fruit, mint, eucalyptus, vanilla and some VA. The wine contains a fierce level of powdery drying tannins, balance acid and strong fruit however to my palate this full-bodied solid wine was slightly unbalanced by the tannins. Rated as Recommended with ** for value .

Peter Lehmann 1998 Eight Songs Shiraz is one of the few Shiraz wines aged in French oak and whilst the oak influence is not subtle, it is well judged. The wine has enough VA to provide a lift, aniseed, smooth rich fruit and eucalyptus. The persistent pure fruit and dusty somewhat powdery puckering tannins build across the palate and fill the mouth overtime with loads of aniseed, plums and chocolate which lingers and lingers. The wine exhibits a good level of refined complexity and ample bodyweight. Its rated as Excellent with *** for value, it should peak in 2006 and Brian and I both have some on order .

Peter Lehmann 1994 Black Queen Sparkling Shiraz is available (from cellar door only at $35) and I was delighted to see this wine was still available. I could have kicked myself for not buying it last year. It's a sweet rich wine with lashings of chocolate, liquorice and a very long finish. Rated as Excellent with *** for value John, Brian and I each bought a six-pack.

Unfortunately it was that time of the daily again and as we were pushed for time the closest available option was a bakery had sold nothing but pies and pastries. Do you ever feel like you just can't win?

However the next winery was a big win. In the past I have seen a few tasting note on
Kaesler wines but for no particular reason have never tried any of their wines or visited a winery. Reid Boswell is a partner in the operation and their wine maker. Like many winemakers he is passionate about his craft, but as well as being passionate he is competent and knows exactly what he wants to achieve and how to do it. The budget to improve this winery would probably rival that spent by Imelda Marcos on shoes. The whole operation screams quality from top to bottom and obviously no expense has been spared. In this case it may be a little easy than in most as Reid's partners are Swiss merchant bankers who only have to convert a few Swiss francs to purchase a truckload of Australian pesos.

This winery is somewhat of a contradiction and whilst quality is the underpinning factor, the mind boggles when analysing their philosophy and how it translates into the wines produced. The cornerstone foundation is to "let the fruit speak" and they achieve that objective admirably. The range of wines extends from the huge biggest in your face Shiraz that you can imagine (that would bring a smile to Mr Parker's face) to the more subtle low oak examples. There is the huge amount of new oak in this winery of every imaginable French and American type and it is used to great effect. Reid gives his barrel makers cart blanche to do what they think is best for the timber available. This is a fairly unusual practice in most winery. Speaking of unusual practices, the barrel room in this winery is air-conditioned.

We spent about an hour tasting barrel samples with Reid and the one consistent attribute of the wines is the silky seductive mouth feel and obvious high-quality fruit used .

Kaesler 1999 Old Bastard Shiraz retails for $165 assuming you can find some. This is an inky black wine with a complex inky the black nose. (Get the picture?) Tannins are the silky smooth and the concentrated fruit is both deep and persistent. A rich full-bodied wine with velvety consistency and harmonious and intricate complexity, this is a wine that makes you sit up and take notice and is one of the rare wines that expresses a "WOW" factor. Its totally seductive now but will last for many years. Alternatively it could be described as a big illegitimate testicle tearer that's the sort of plonk you want to consume when you don't wish to use any cerebral energy and just want to wallow in the rich lushness of its all consuming fruit. Rated as Excellent with ** for value. (I have mentioned I am a hard marker haven't I?)

Kaesler 1999 Old Vine Shiraz retails for $60 and is another well-balanced seductive wine showing black plums, blackcurrant and high-class silky liquorice. This is a full-bodied rich wine with a silky fleshy consistency and tight structure with harmonious complexity. The fruit is obvious and strong which combine beautifully with the silky drying tannins. Rated as Excellent with ***for value.

Kaesler 1998 Old Vine Shiraz retails for $75 and shows some slight char on the nose and is a well-balanced full-bodied wine with rich fruit and a long finish showing iodine and liquorice. Unfortunately anything with char I find hard to take so this wine didn't appeal to me but I can see why many people would love its silky consistency, solid and seamless structure and harmonious complexity. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value.


Kaesler 1998 Stonehorse retails for $34 and is worth buying if you can get hold some. Even from the nose you can tell this is a fruit driven wine with gentle oak treatment. The silky drying tannins are obviously from the fruit and they provide a silky mouth feel with a long finish. The structure is solid and seamless which typifies the wineries philosophy of "letting the fruit speak for itself" which this wine accomplishes to great effect. Rated as
Highly Recommended with *** for value it should drink very well over the next four years.

From one fantastic winery to another, next stop was Veritas where the larger than life Rolf Binder, produces some of the Barossa's best larger than life wines. Many of these wines are icons and very difficult to get hold of so now Rolf also produces an ever-increasing range of less expensive, quality, value for money wines to cater to the balance of the market. Due to the poor vintage conditions in 2000 no Hanisch was produced and the fruit that was destined for this wine went into the Heysen.

Not much of this (acid adjustment) at the time of frement will be required in 2002.

Rolf has a very pragmatic and honest view about vintage conditions. He readily admits that 2000 was very difficult and unlike many others he is taking a more conservative view towards 2001. According to Rolf, the industry in SA needed an exceptionally good year in 2001 to counteract the difficulties of the previous two vintages. Whilst he agrees that 2001 is very good he is not as enthusiastic about it as many of his contemporaries. In terms of 2002 Rolf feels that is superior to 2001 but not as good in the Barossa as say 1996.

One thing you'll always get from Rolf is an honest forthright opinion without any sugar coating or bovine manure, which is why I like the guy. Oh….. and he also likes a Q.L.D (quiet little drink) but beware (and very afraid) if he ever offers you a glass of Tokay, he's deadly with it.

All the wines sampled were finished wines and in the bottle, but are yet to be released in
Australia. I would like thank Rolf for providing the opportunity to try these wines prior to Australian release.

Veritas 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot sells a cellar door for $15. This wine has an attractive nose with sweet juicy fruit and musk. It's an ample weight wine with good balance, soft consistency and agreeable complexity. The black fruit flavours build well through to liquorice and finishes off with musk. An obvious warm climate Cabernet with honest full flavour, it can happily be consumed now and will be appealing to many people, especially at this price point. Rated as Recommended with **** for value.

JJ Hahn 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon sells for $30. The aroma shows cedar, formic acid and some good fruit below it. The palate shows sweet upfront fruit that slightly thin and a bit green. The wine is medium weight with a plain complexity and not exactly great. Rated as Agreeable with ** for value.

Veritas 2000 Heinric h (a blend of 40% Shiraz, 40% Mataro and 20% Grenache) sells for approximately $20 at cellar door. Sweet upfront fruit, drying tannins and a lingering raspberry flavour combined with muscular bodyweight, firm consistency and solid structure that will appeal to people looking for something a bit different. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value.

Veritas 2001 Christina Rolf (60% Shiraz and 40% Grenache) retails for $20 at cellar door. Sweet Grenache fruit dominates the nose with chocolate from the Shiraz underpinning the aroma. On the palate there are enough earthy tannins to make the wine interesting and provides a good mouth feel. The sweet upfront fruit that moves into the chocolate spectrum on the finish will ensure that this wine goes well with food. Perfect to drink now, it's rated as Recommended with *** for value.

Veritas 2001 Shiraz is available from cellar door only and retails for $20. A meaty cherry and chocolate nose with loads of drying tannins, balanced refreshing acid and persistent fruit translates to a muscular chocolate and cherry tasting solid structure and wine with an agreeable level of complexity. A very good value simple drinking wine that can be enjoyed with or without food. Rated as Agreeable with **** for value it will continue to improve over the next few years.

Veritas 2001 Stephanie is an export only blend of Shiraz, Mataro and Viognier that will sell in UK for approximately £9 a bottle. This wine is a love it or hate it style with a lifted fruit aroma that flows through to the palate with sweet fruit and finishes into chocolate. The initial mouth-feel starts off soft until the tannins take over. Rated as Agreeable .

Veritas 2000 Bulls Blood (Shiraz Mourvedre and Grenache) retails for approximately $30. A complete wine with good balance, full bodyweight, layered structure and diverse level of complexity this wine is made to go with food. Sweet black fruit, chocolate and liquorice flow through to a spicy reasonable length finish. Rated as Recommended with *** for value the wine should peak around 2005+.

JJ Hahn 2000 Shiraz would retail for about $25 CD if it is sold in Australia. The nose is dominated by mocha and chocolate and is obvious this is going to be a full flavoured wine. It's well balanced with a good mouth feel, a soft consistency and slightly around structure and the sweet ripe flavours of raspberry and chocolate (which are just a bit flat) make this a good value drink now wine. Rated as Recommended with **** for value .

Veritas 2000 Heysen Shiraz is not sold in Australia and will retail in the US for between $30-$35. The wine has an inviting nose, a good tannic backbone but the fruit will not live forever. When first tried the wine was slightly hollow but a few hours later over dinner the wine had filled out beautifully. It's a full-bodied wine with a developed level of complexity and a credible result for a difficult vintage. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value it needed airtime prior to being consumed.

The final stop of the day was Heritage Wines, just down the road from Veritas. Steve Hoff is a down-to-earth sort of guy that is very easy going and friendly. His winery has been around for a while and the wines are exported to the United States as well. He certainly not what you would call expensive.

Heritage 1999 Barossa Shiraz retails for $22. This is a full-bodied wine with firm consistency, a big solid structure and an agreeable level of complexity that is supported by loads of dusty tannins, balanced acid and strong fruit. The huge black cherry, liquorice and big chocolate flavours bang into the mouth and finish in much the same way as they start. Anyone who love is a big wine will enjoy it; there is nothing subtle about it. Rated as Recommended with **** for value this wine should peak around 2006.

Heritage 1999 (75%) Cabernet Malbec sells for $17 at cellar door. The nose is all American oak and warm fruit. The wine has ample bodyweight and expresses ripe dark cassis, sweet fruit and a very drying mouth feel. A different sort of wine but then there are not many Cabernet Malbecs made in the Barossa Valley so that may explain it. Rated as Acceptable with *** for value.

After a big day of tasting wine it's time to sit down and relax, have a meal and a good drop or two of red so we went to Vintners Bar & Grill . This is one of the more upmarket establishments in the Barossa although their prices are fairly reasonable at about $22 for a main course. The decor in this restaurant is also probably the most elegant and refined (but you cant drink it) in the Barossa. The food and service were excellent and once again we took our own wine. Rolf joined us and we kicked off with a bottle of Peter Lehmann 94 Black Queen Sparkling Shiraz which was every bit as good as expected. We then drank some of the previous nights leftovers plus the 2000 Veritas Heysen that Rolf had opened earlier that day. Rolf also brought a bottle of his 2000 Aries but I made no notes, took the night off and just enjoyed the wines. I turned my back for 30 nanoseconds and John had consumed the Aires. After the main course John left us to try and fain interest (again) in his marriage and rang his wife to grovel, apologise and beg for forgiveness for his excessive wine purchases. He was gone for quite awhile.

Bright and early the next morning it was time for another cholesterol bacon and egg roll fix, don't these guys ever eat anything healthy? My body is positively screening for some high carbohydrate and high fibre food. Forget the liver function test, I am going to need and colonoscopy and triple bypass when I get back home.

Unfortunately we have to say an unscheduled goodbye to Brian at this point and our thoughts went with him.

It was back into the meat pie king's car for the trip to Clare that thankfully only took about an hour. "Thankfully" because to quote an email from John prior to the trip. "I have just had my 40th birthday and am going through the mandatory crisis. I am merely clutching at straws and looking for scapegoats to vent my frustrations on. Looking forward to a whole week of you guys, in a car, no escape, captured audiences for my gripping oratories on the futility of life :-)"

First stop was
Taylors winery and as you can see from the photo there are a few bodies trying to get into cellar door before us and we had to wait our turn. Are these the Parker followers that I have heard so much about?


Taylors St Andrews 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon sells at cellar door for $55. The staff member opened a fresh bottle and poured it into my glass without checking. The first sniff had enough VA to blow my sinuses out. The second bottle opener was slightly better
but still had enough VA to make me think this wine is flawed . If a whole batch is like this, one can only wonder why it was released. The tannins are also bitter. Rated as Barely Drinkable with * for value.

Taylors St Andrews 1998 Shiraz also sells for $55 and made the visit to this establishment worthwhile. It has a lifted nose showing soft chocolate and liquorice. Tannins are slightly dusty, the soft acid is balanced and the fruit deep. Despite the seductive rich chocolate, cherry and liquorice mouth feel, the wine has a good tannic and backbone with a full-bodied solid consistency, seamless structure, harmonious complexity and a long finish. Rated as Excellent whilst it's drinking beautifully now, it should last for many years and gets *** for value if you can pick it up the right price.

The next stop was Reilly's Cellar Door and I'm not sure what to make this operation . Despite being a difficult vintage their 97 wines were very good. 1998 was a great vintage in Clare but Reilly's wines didn't impress me at all that year. Reilly's cellar door is a very cute operation and is run by an eccentric, egocentric ex restaurant owner by the name of Andre who proudly professes to know nothing about wine. However, besides being able to talk with a mouthful mumbles, Andre could no doubt sell ice cream to Eskimos at the same time. I don't think many people are able to escape from the cellar door with out parting with some money. It was difficult to assess the wines fairly inside the building, there was an ashtray full of cigarette butts behind the counter and some herbaceous aromas from some of the other products available for sale. I left John who is not exactly short of a word or two to see who was the marble king whilst I went outside to try the wine. Interestingly enough the wines are made by one of Adelaide's top surgeons.

Reilly's 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon has a warm dark lifted nose showing mint, cedar, cigar box and warm fruit. The bodyweight is muscular, the consistency firm, the structure layered with dusty drying tannins and balanced refreshing acid; it has all components of a good wine but seems disjointed and jarring on the palate. The red cherry, blackberry, mint and liquorice flavour profile is not your typical Coonawarra Cabernet but I wouldn't mind seeing how this wine develops in a few years. Rated as Recommended with ** for value at $30 it should peak in about 2007.

Reilly's 1999 Dry Land Shiraz has a savoury black nose showing iodine, blue and black fruit flavours finishing off the eucalyptus. Powdery drying tannins, ample bodyweight combine with a supple consistency and a solid structure with some elegance to provide an average wine. Rated as Recommended with ** for value at $30 this wine should peak around 2005.

The previous vintage of these wines retailed for $22 (locally) and represented better value at that price point. No doubt Andre's selling ability is responsible for moving a large volume of this winery's production.

In the past I have enjoyed Pikes wines but it's obvious the 2000 vintage posed massive problems for them.

Pikes 2000 Shiraz Grenache Mourvedre sells for $20 at cellar door. This wine has an incredibly sweet perfumed flowery nose with dusty tannins, crisp acid, a lean bodyweight, layered structure and an agreeable level of complexity. This is an excellent lighter style wine with a reasonable level of interest that should peak in about 2003. Rated as Recommended with *** for value.

Pikes 2000 Shiraz has a nose that does not yield much except the liquorice notes. There are loads of drying tannins, balanced acid but where is the fruit? There is ample bodyweight but it all seems to come from the tannins. Rated as Barely Drinkable .

Pikes 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon has a nose of dusty Cedary Oak and lashings of minty leafy notes. Once again there are huge levels of drying dusty tannins, fresh acid and deep fruit, but I doubt there is enough fruit out last the tannins. The taste is typical cassis in mint, but tannins dominate the palate. Rated as Acceptable with ** or value it should peak around 2008.

High on the Hill overlooking Pikes, Pauletts has a wonderful view to the East, what a great spot for cellar door.

Pauletts 1996 Cabernet Merlot is available as a back vintage for $30. There is some fairly obvious signs and bricking and the nose shows Cedary Oak that dominate the leafy notes and light fruit. This is a lighter style Cabernet with almost medium bodyweight, a simple level of complexity and the pleasant enough fruit flavours are dominated by the oak. The wine is ready to drink now and is rated as an Agreeable with ** for value.

Pauletts 1999 Cabernet Merlot sells for $20 and has a similar nose to the 1996. This is a lean green wine dominated by tannins. Rated as Barely Drinkable with ** for value.

Pauletts 1999 Shiraz sells for $20 at cellar door. Savoury pepper spectrum fruit goes through sweet berry and onto a pleasant liquorice finish. The acid is soft, the fruit is delicate but persistent with a lean bodyweight and supple consistency. This is a good food wine that is drinking wrll now and rated as Acceptable with *** for value.

Pauletts 1998 Andreas is their flagship wine and sells for $42. The nose is seductive without being over the top showing sweet soft liquorice and mint. Once again there is a fair whack of dusty tannins and balanced acid. The medium weight but persistent fruit comes across the palate with sour red cherry and subtle chocolate undertones. The wine has a lean structure with an agreeable level of complexity, a nice enough wine but way overpriced. Rated as Recommended with ** for value it should peak in 2004.

After Pauletts and Pikes, it was time to pull out the razor and shave the accumulated last five days worth of tannins from my tongue, book hotel accommodation and have a bite to eat for lunch. Praise the Lord, John found a bakery that also had chicken burgers with salad. It had been so long since I'd seen a bit of lettuce; I almost wondered what it was. Needless to say John consumed his 39th pie for the month, but whose counting.

Guess which way I didnt let John turn?

One of my favourites winery in Clare is Seven Hills that has been run by the Jesuits for over 150 years and it seems like I have been drinking their wines for almost that long. Their 1992 are just starting to peak, these are long lived wines made in the old-fashioned Australian way . In 1994 the wine maker was given instructions to up production and make the winery more profitable and in my opinion between 1995 and 1997 inclusive the winery lost its way lost whilst trying to achieve their objectives. In 1998 they were right back on form and I'm pleased to say is even more so with a 99 vintage.

Seven Hills 1999 St Ignatius is dark purple in colour with a strong nose of liquorice and blackcurrant. The smooth tannins are much less pervasive then they have been in previous vintages. The sweet upfront fruit quickly goes into the savoury spectrum and then onto liquorice. The wine has a muscular bodyweight, supple consistency, solid layered structure and harmonious but simple complexion. This is a big wine and worth buying. It should peak in the next couple of years and is rated as
Recommended with *** for value.

Seven Hills Seven Brothers (75%) Cabernet Sauvignon (25%) Shiraz blend sells at cellar door for $30 a bottle or $25 a bottle for six-packs. This wine has been made to celebrate the Sesquicentenary anniversary of the vineyard and honours the seven winemaking brothers who have been responsible for production over that period. The wine exhibits loads of velvety tannins with deceptive liquorice fruit that takes a while to surface but when it does, it just builds and builds until it moves into the blackberry spectrum. This is a full-bodied wine and as approachable as it is now it still needs about another three years to show its best. Highly Recommended with **** (at $25) for value both John I have bought some.

Seven Hills 1999 Shiraz sells for $19 at cellar door and like all Seven Hills wines is dark purple in colour. The lifted nose shows black fruits, a touch of the vanillan oak and eucalyptus that translates to a palate as black cherry, liquorice and blackcurrant. The wine has a big whack of tannins with the solid layered structure. The wine is worth buying because there are very few wines of this size and fruit intensity at anything like this price. Rated as
Recommended with **** for value it should peak around about 2007.

One of the other consistently high-quality, good value wineries was next on the agenda and as usual, Tim Adams dog was very happy to see me and gave me a huge welcome. Tim said hello and shook my hand too (grin.) It's always a pleasure to speak to Tim because he is forthright, open and honest, just like his wines. Whilst we were there Tim was bemoaning the cork issue. He explained he was in the process of sending over some samples to the United States and the only way to ensure the wines were not suffering from TCA was to open a bottle of each wine, test it for smell and taste, take a little bit of the same wine from the open cellar door stock, refill the bottle, recork it (with the same cork) and recap it.

Tim also espoused on his philosophy of wine pricing and felt that many wineries were way over the top in their pricing and they would come unstuck sooner or later. He believes in providing good quality wine at a reasonable price that people can afford and that explains explain why his wine sells quickly.

Tim Adams 2001 The Fergus sells for $18 and shows floral notes with good liquorice undertones. The wine has a good balance and mouth feel with sweet upfront red fruit moving through savoury flavours and finishing off onto liquorice. It has medium bodyweight with supple consistency and harmonious complexity and has John said, "This is a food friendly wine that just slips down your throat and will not take long to make your head go all funny." Rated as Recommended with ****for value its ready to be consumed now.

Tim Adams 2000 Cabernet sells for $19. Dark purple in colour the nose shows dusty Cedar notes, ample bodyweight, a consistent structure and harmonious level complexity means this wine is very approachable now but should continue to improve over the next two years. The palate shows sweet and savoury fruit including cassis and blackberry which tail off with light aniseed. This is a classic case of letting the fruit speak. Rated as Recommended with *** for value.

Tim Adams 2000 Shiraz sells for $19. The aroma is violets, oak, black earthy tar and liquorice. The silky tannins provide a wonderful seductive mouth feel and the obvious strong fruit provides a long rich finish. This is a muscular wine with an almost seamless structure and harmonious complexity that is very approachable now. Rated as Recommended with **** for value this is worth buying.

Tim Adams 2000 Aberfeldy is the benchmark wine that retails for $38 at cellar door and is restricted to six bottles per head. The wine has a "WOW" nose showing allspice and builds and builds into warm black fruits. The black cherry flavour builds across the palate into the chocolate spectrum and anaesthetises the taste buds with flavour and tannins without any heavy hitting power. In fact this is a long and lean wine with ample bodyweight that is reasonably elegant considering the fruit intensity. An absolute baby, the fruit is there but lurking under the massive tannins, the wine should peak around 2008. Its rated as Excellent with *** for value.

Also available was the Tim Adams 1995 Aberfeldy that is available as a back vintage for $60. If the pantechnicon load of tannins ever integrates this will be a terrific wine. The pure distinct fruit shows sour cherry, sweet blackcurrant, milk chocolate and liquorice. A sophisticated complexity, layered structure and firm consistency add up to a rating of Highly Recommended .

According to the map over last two years since my last visit to Clare and number of new wineries have opened up so it was time to the brave and see if we called find any new gems (in a possible pile of manure.)

Penna Lane is located behind Kilikanoon and first plated their vines in 1994. The 2000 vintage is their third commercial endeavour. Their Shiraz sells for $20 at cellar door, less 10% by the case. The integrated tannins, refreshing acid and medium weight pesistant fruit combine to form a well-balanced fruit forward wine showing raspberries, chocolate and liquorice which is ready to drink now and would classify as a terrific bistro wine. Rated as Recommended with *** for value.

Penna Lane 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon is the same prices as the Shiraz. The wine has an agreeable level complexity, soft integrated tannins, a supple consistency with very sweet upfront cassis/raspberry fruit that goes slightly savoury into the blackberry spectrum. Rated as Agreeable with *** for value.

Eldredge< winery is another fairly new operation with a picturesque cellar door and restaurant overlooking a lake/dam. It would be a very pleasant spot for lunch. The one consistent feature of all their wines is the excellent structure.

Eldredge 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon ($21) has a peppery nose dominated by mint. The mouth feel and taste builds through initial sweet fruit and into savoury pepper and liquorice that comes across as a very
Shiraz like wine. This is an enjoyable wine worth considering has long as you are not looking for a typical Cabernet Sauvignon. It should peak around 2004 and is rated as Recommended with *** for value.

Eldredge 1999 Blue Chip Shiraz ($20 CD or $25 retail) has a lifted black nose with heaps of mint. It's a well-balanced wine with liquorice, black cherry, mint and a long finish. An ample weight wine with a solid almost elegant structure and a refined level complexity this wine is a good new find. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value it should peak around 2005 but if you want to buy any, you had better be quick as the 2000 vintage is about to be released.

Eldredge 2000 Blue Chip Shiraz ($21 CD or $26 retail) has a lifted chary oak nose and dark berry fruit. As I have an aversion to chary oak and John Eldridge was kind enough to open this bottle especially for us I asked my mate John for his thoughts on the wine. "It's well-balanced and has a good structure. It builds across the palate and is going from blackberry fruit into dark chocolate and then onto liquorice with a good mouth feel. Rated as Recommended with *** for value."

Eldredge Boundary Sangiovese Cabernet blend ($25 CD) has loads of powdery drying tannins, the balanced fruit is all and lean but not green. This is an elegant wine with a very good structure and rated as Recommended with *** for value. (Unfortunately I don't get it.)

That was a last stop for the day so it was off to the motel for a quick shower (well it was Saturday and time for John's weekly scrub whether he needed or not) and time out before dinner. We went to a fairly new restaurant called [Georges] of Clare that also has some interesting artwork for sale. John immediately fell in love with an impressionists painting of grape vines in their autumn tone colours. Naturally it was the most expensive painting the place and he was sorely tempted to buy it. John contemplated selling his daughter to the Adelaide Hospital for use in research experiments but upon careful calculation work out that unfortunately even with the proceeds from the hospital he still could not afford the painting, so decided to have dinner and drink wine instead.

The service was impeccable, the food excellent and the prices very reasonable, it cost $55 a head for three courses and corkage.

The first bottle opened was Orlando 1991 Lawson Shiraz. This is a very complete wine with integrated soft tannins, wonderful mouth feel, a great intensity of flavour, and a long lingering finish. If ever you needed a reason to cellar wine, this is it. The nose of tar and mint flowed through to the palate. Rated as Excellent , I turned sideways to open the next wine and pour it, only to notice the John had inhaled deeply and had finished the bottle.

The second wine was the Wynns 1991 Centenary Reserve Shiraz Cabernet blend that has a complex rich nose of cassis, blackberry and mint. Blackcurrant, chocolate and mint flavours fill the mouth with a wine that is totally seamless and as smooth as a newborn babies bum. This wine shows perfect balance and a long finish. It is also rated as Excellent .

These wines also bring into question the theory of bottle shock . They had been in the boot of the car for about 5 days and had been over many bumpy roads, twist, turns and bends. They showed absolutely no ill effects from their ordeal.

Bright and early the next morning John drove us to a little coffee shop specialised in bacon and eggs for breakfast with some dishwater they had the audacity to call coffee. I have changed my mind about the need for a triple bypass, I think a transplant maybe required.

It's always gratifying to find some people who are prepared to get to work at a reasonable hour, rather than working bankers hours , so we were outside Jim Barry waiting for them to open at 9 o'clock. It was interesting to see a "little old lady" (well she wasn't all that little, but she looked like septuagenarian) sweeping out the cellar door facility and doing the cleaning. On stroke of 9 o'clock in we walked to try the wine. The "cleaner" was very charming and helpful and only too happy to be of assistance pouring the wine. About five minutes later in walked the cellar door manager who took over from "the cleaner" who continued with her cleaning duties and then departed. And she left the cellar door manager said "see you later Mrs Barry."

One can only get the impression that Mrs Barry does it for love of the job and to keep busy, not because she is short of a dollar. Good'on'ya'luv as they say in the classics.

Jim Barry 1999 Clare Cabernet sells for $19 and has a nose that shows some varnished oak and savoury berry fruit. This fault free good quaffing wine has medium body weight, supple consistency and sweet blackberry fruit flavours which immediately turns peppery and goes into sour cherry on the palate. Rated as
Recommended with *** for value its ready to be drunk now.

Jim Barry 1998 McRae Wood Shiraz has a seductive blackcurrant nose with an obvious American oak influence. The silky tannins and obvious muscular distinct fruit have a supple consistency and harmonious complexity that contribute to a seductive wine with appealing savoury black sour cherry taste without being sweet or over the top. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** (just) at $35 this wine should peak around 2004.

Jim Barry 1999 McRae Wood Shiraz has a tight gentle aroma with a good silky tannic backbone showing mulberry and milk chocolate. The wine has ample body weight with a layered elegant structure and a refined level of complexity that finishes long and would appeal to those who are looking for something a bit different. Rated as Highly Recommended it should peak about 2005.

The next wine was served blind but you didn't need to be Einstein to work out what it was from the first sniff. Jim Barry 1999 The Armagh Shiraz is dark purple with impenetrable hue. The wine has a very complex nose and all sorts of interesting nuances. The incredible balance and finesse are provided by the silky soft tannins had still need loads of time to integrate, piquant acid together with an explosion of multiple fruit flavours provide a finish that lasts forever. A full-bodied wine that's almost elegant despite its weight, a layered seamless structure, a sophisticated harmonious developed complexity add up to a wine that deserves its rating of Outstanding . Although approachable now, it should continue to develop and improve for a long time. At $120 CD it's worth consideration (and I don't consider many wines in this price bracket.)

Jim Barry also has a 1986
Madeira that is made from Frontignac grapes and then fortified with three-year-old brandy spirit and aged in 100 year-old brandy barrels. After 13 years in barrels over 50 percent was lost due to evaporation, creating a very concentrated liqueur. I can sum up this wine in one word "sensational" and I bought six bottles ($30 for 375 ml.)

Not a view from around here, it's Blewetts Springs (McLaren Vale)


Clos Clare is a winery that was established about 10 years ago and produces Riesling and Shiraz, hopefully not in the same bottle.

Clos Clare 2000 Shiraz comes from 30 year-old vines and is dark purple in colour with a mocha nose and American oak influence. The wine has a terrific structure and balance which is enhanced by the almost silky, dusty tannins that provide a great mouth feel. The wild berry and subtle milk chocolate flavours finish slightly short on the palate which reduces this wine rating from highly recommended to Recommended with **** for value . The ample weight, seamless structure and harmonious complexity should peak around 2006.

Mount Horrocks was the next winery visited. The lady at cellar door could not have been more helpful or obliging, and even goes to the trouble of providing rainwater for drinking purposes. She is obviously very committed to her job. But what a character! I think she would be able to out talk Andre (who is capable of speech with a mouthful of marbles) by talking with a mouthful of marbles under six feet of water. It's very hard to concentrate on the wine and write tasting notes when the staff is so committed, enthusiastic and interested in your reaction, so I snuck outside and left John to do the listening for me.

Mount Horrocks 1999 Cabernet Merlot has a soft gentle nose showing cassis, dusty oak and mint which flows through to cassis, leafy tobacco and chocolate on the palate. This is an uncomplicated very well-made wine with no faults but lacks excitement. Rated as Recommended with ** for value at $30 it should peak in 2005.

Mount Horrocks 1999 Shiraz has a closed nose that will need time to open up. There is a good fruit lurking under the obvious French oak. Sensational smooth tannins combined with an almost elegant structure, medium body weight together with an agreeable level of complexity to make this a very well-made classy drop. Palate flavours are black cherry/mulberry, subtle mint and chocolate. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value at $32 the wine should peak around 2006.

Mount Horrocks 2001 Cordon Cut is a damn good sticky with pure citrus marmalade and apricot fruit. A silky consistency and seamless flowing elegant structure combined with a harmonious sophisticated complexity that can only be rated as Excellent with *** for value at $27 CD.

The obvious quality of the wine and subtle use the French oak was evident across the entire range at Mount Horrocks.

Tim Gramp produces wine from fruit grown in both McLaren Vale and Watervale. We tried both his wines. The first, the 99 McLaren Vale Shiraz had a nose that was dominated by chary oak so I went no further in didn't rate the wine.

Tim Gramp 1999 Watervale Cabernet Sauvignon is a medium body wine with a simple consistency and a plain level of complexity showing cedar and mint over dusty oak that underpins the whole wine and finishes off to chocolate. It's a good wine for the price ($20) and is rated as Recommended with *** and should peak in about three years.

The next winery, Claymore was another entirely forgettable new winery that is selling McLaren Vale wines from the cellar door in Clare until they are able to source and produces local offerings.

Claymore 2000 McLaren Vale Cabernet has slightly volatile nose with dusty earthy notes. This is a bland young forward early drinking wine with a lean body, plain complexity and soft consistency. Rated as Acceptable with ** for value at $20.

Claymore 1999 McLaren Vale Shiraz will appeal to those that enjoy lighter style wines that are ready to the drunk now. This is a long and lean wine with an elegant structure that doesn't have much complexity but on the plus side the black berry flavours and subtle background aniseed creeps up on you. Rated as Agreeable with *** for vale at $20.

Yesterday, during our travels a number of winery that were listed as being open were closed so this being Saturday we decided to go back and try again. We got lucky - will sort of.

Kilikanoon 2000 Blocks Road Cabernet Sauvignon was the only red available for tasting at this winery. A full-bodied wine with a fairly diverse complexity and palate of blackcurrant and other black fruits that carry over to liquorice with a warm and friendly mouth feel. This is a good wine as long as you are not looking for a cooler climate Cabernet. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value this wine should peak around 2007 and is worthy of consideration.

John's car outside the winery, care to guess why the boot (trunk) was in the shade? WINE!

The next winery was Mitchell where we tried the 2000 Pepper Tree Shiraz. Whilst I did try to make a tasting notes I don't think the pervading aroma from the ferment inside the winery combined with the noxious aroma of chicken manure wafting in through the open cellar door did terribly much to the enhance the bouquet of the wine , so I won't post my tasting note. Needless to say we move into the next winery faster than you can say chicken sh*t.

The next winery visited was Stringy Brae that has been around for about 10 years but I don't think I have ever tried their wines. Once again we found a charming character at the cellar door. This almost septuagenarian within the first 30 seconds informed us that she didn't drink wine but had recently won and options game at a ladies wine luncheon. She may not drunk the product, but she certainly knew what she was selling.

Stringy Brae 1999 Shiraz retails for $22 at cellar door. The hue is fairly light for its colour. The smooth dusty tannins are subtle with the blackberry, pepper and chocolate flavours building slowly across the palate. The structure is seamless and layered with a harmonious refined complexity. Rated as Recommended with **** for value.

Stringy Brae 2000 Shiraz is very lean with drying tannins and my only other words on the tasting sheet are "forget it!"

Stringy Brae 1998 Cabernet Sauvignon retails for $24. The nose is a rich, warm and inviting showing cherry fruit with a good dose of spearmint. A most enjoyable well-made wine with ample weight, a seamless structure and some elegance. Sophisticated and harmonious complexity flows through the mouth with cherry, chocolate and mint. Rated as Recommended with **** for value it should peak around 2005.

Stringy Brae 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon retails for $20. Tannins dominated the sweet upfront cherry fruit flavours then move into a large dose of dark chocolate. A medium body wine with layered structure and agreeable complexity, with this a lighter wine than the 98 and although they are both rated as Recommended I think the 98 is a better wine. This one gets *** for value and is ready to drink now.

Its pie o'clock, we are a little of nowhere and John is starting to suffer from withdrawal symptoms. We find the general store but no pies! Shrivelled up dried out chicken and chips no problems, that they can do. John sensibly asks if hamburgers are available and there are chuckles of laughter from behind the counter and it was a while before I realised what they were laughing about.

John ordered two hamburgers with the works that arrived about 10 minutes later. There were a certain number of implements required to eat this hamburger. The first was a four inch chisel to scrape the 1/4 inch thick burnt crust off the base of the bun. The second was and a car jack to enable the eating orifice to be opened sufficiently wide enough to insert said hamburger. The third was an ambulance to take any normal person to hospital to have their stomach pumped after eating said hamburger. I being of sound mind took one bite and once I got to the grey meat threw the rest out. John being John, scoffed his down and licked his lips with no apparent ill effect, well no more "ill" than usual.

The next winery was Stephen John and in all honesty after one bite of that hamburger I don't think I did his wines justice.

Stephen John 1999 Shiraz sells for $20 at cellar door. This is a medium body wine with supple consistency and a fairly uncomplicated complexity showing black cherry and light liquorice on the palate. Rated as
Agreeable with *** for value it is ready to drink now.

Stephen John 1999 Reserves Shiraz has silky tannins, balanced acid and distinct sour black cherry fruit, a hint of mint and milk chocolate that flows into dark chocolate. It has ample bodyweight, a solid almost elegant structure, sophisticated complexity, a long finish and a great mouth feel. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for vale at $40.

Stephen John 1998 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon shows dusty French oak and cassis on the nose which translates to sour red cherry and chocolate on the palate. I loved the 1997 version of this wine and purchased it. 1998 was a better vintage and Stephen John was able to produce a very high calibre Reserves Shiraz (which I also purchased) in that year. For the life of me I can't work out why this wine didn't grab me and how I only managed to rate it as Recommended with ** for value. Was one bite of the hamburger enough to destroy my palate?

The last winery visited before we headed back to John is place in McLaren Vale was Annie's Lane
where I was looking forward to tasting the 1998 Copper Trail
Shiraz . The wine has an inky black nose exhibiting iodine, blackcurrant and liquorice. (That liquorice guy gets about doesn't he? He and that chocolate character are into everything.) This is a full-bodied wine with a developed complexity, a good mouth feel and structure with a reasonable length finish that only requires time. Sweet blackberry moves into sour cherry and then on to liquorice and tar on the palate. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value.

When I was making my appointments for this trip I emailed Koonawala Winery to try and make an appointment to see them when in Clare. Unfortunately Andrew Michael was going to be interstate at that time that he very kindly mailed me samples to try . Tasting notes are as follows.

Koonawala 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon has an inviting an interesting lifted aroma of blackberry, subtle cigar box, menthol, mint, tobacco and a smidge of chocolate. There also appears to be some perfumed notes so I would not be surprised if there was some Merlot in the wine too. The first thing that jumps out at you when you taste this wine is the incredible velvety silky tannins which makes the word "seductive" look like an understatement. There is a fair amount of plumy fruit provided by the ample body weight and the flavour then finishes off to tobacco/chocolate with a lingering taste. Unfortunately the wine finishes short on the palate. Perfect to drink now, this is the sort of wine that just disappears in record time. Rated as Recommended , it's a hedonists delight.

Just for the record, I tried this wine again after it had been open for a couple of hours and the wine finished green and bitter. Based on the later tasting it would now only rate as Acceptable. It's possibly an off bottle, but unfortunately there is no way of checking.

Koonowala 2000 Shiraz has a dumb flat nose (that's slightly lifted by the alcohol) showing raspberries, a touch of pepper and some spice. Slightly sweet fruit on the uptake turns sptitzy as the acid hits the front of the tongue and then moves into a savoury earthy chocolate taste. Tannins are negligible and the wine is basically round and ready to drink now. Rated as Acceptable frankly the wine is disappointing.

Assuming the Cabernet Sauvignon was off bottle, it looks like this winery is capable of producing some credible wines so I'm looking forward to trying their 2001 offerings when they had better vintage conditions and improved fruit .

Time to drive back to McLaren Vale and once again John had a captive audience to espouse his philosophy and theories behind the meaning of life. Luckily sleep claimed me and I didn't die of boredom or a broken eardrum. I certainly hope the John gets over his mid life crisis and philosophical rants before our next trip together.

Finally when we arrived at Johns place, whilst John was saying hello to his wife, it was my job to speak his ill gotten secret purchases into the house without Sue seeing them. John had promised that he wouldn't buy much and I guess he didn't, it only took six undetected trips to sneak his wine into the house. (Oh, that was six trips using a fork lift. grin)

Speaking about John's Cellar, its a bit unusual! How many cellars do you know that have thier own ensuite bathroom and toilet?

And then it was the most important time of the day in the Davis household. Time to sit on the veranda with a half a bucket of Malt Scotch, watch the sun go down, enable John to feign interesting is wife, and talk about all wine that he didn't buy.

There were then off to the Barn restaurant.
This establishment was the first restaurant I ever ate at in McLaren Vale over a quarter century ago. The ambience is absolutely fantastic and we sat in a covered outside heated courtyard with a vine leaf canopy and walls covered with creepers. The prices were reasonable, the service extremely friendly and good. Three out of the four starters were good but John's soup was too peppery. When the mains arrived, the quality of my steak was superb but it was medium when I had requested it rare. Sue was not overly keen on her rabbit dish either. The vegetables were also overcooked and soggy. Desert time. I ordered a Mille Foie with apple and cream. I assume the pastry was made around about the time I last ate at this establishment because the puff pastry was a rock hard and almost impossible to pull apart.

I knew there was a reason to going out to dinner on my last night in McLaren Vale and that because it was a great excuse to raid John's wine cellar. The first bottle wine was a Tatachilla 96 Foundation Shiraz and unfortunately I can't find the piece of paper on which I wrote my brief tasting vibes. I am not going to tell you what the final wine of the night was, but I will say, "Mike O, you are a bastard for cornering the market and you are right! But it's almost ok, because this bottle came out of John's cellar and my merger stock is still intact. I will leave the rest of mine alone for a few more years. "

Sunday was Mother's Day so for once in his life John decided to the right thing and go antique shopping with Sue which let me the morning to a couple more wineries. It's amazing how quite the wineries were on Mother's Day, I was the only "bastard" around.

Fox Creek 2000 JSM has a warm lifted liquorice mint and menthol nose. Soft and smooth dusty tannins combined with refreshing acid and some obvious spicy, cherry, pepper and liquorice to form a well-constructed medium weight wine of agreeable complexity. This is an unusually flavoured crowd pleasure and should peak in a couple of years and is rated as Recommended with *** for value at $23.

Fox Creek 2000 Duet is a Cabernet based blend with a fairly muted nose and I found the palate lacking fruit and with dominant tannins, I'm not sure they will ever come into balance. Rated as Acceptable with ** for value.

Fox Creek 2000 Reserve Merlot has cedar dominating the nose and underlying subtle musk. The palate flows from sweet upfront fruit through to savoury cherry going all the way through the palate with a musk like herbal undertone. The dusty tannins will need time to integrate. Rated as Agreeable with ** full value at $36.

Fox Creek 2000 Reserves Shiraz has a complex nose of intense tarry notes, peppermint, lashings of subtle pepper and blackcurrant. The wine has ample body weight, a firm consistency, and developed complexity. I found the wine finished short on the palate and it should peak in about three or four years. Rated as Recommended with ** for value at $65, this is not doing Fox Creek's reputation any favours.

Fox Creek Vixen is a non vintage sparkling that is undergone a change in style from previous versions. There is much less sweetness and the initial palate of this wine shows forward sweet raspberries that turned savoury with pepper underpinning the whole show. The dusty tannins also help cut through the sweetness. Rated as
Recommended with *** for value at $22.

Hamiltons 2000 Hut Block Cabernet Sauvignon has an inviting nose of dusty cedar, cassis, mint and leafy notes. The wine has ample body, a solid structure agreeable complexity and loads of tannins that need about three years to soften. This is a credible wine from a difficult vintage with flavours of sour red cherry, savoury blackberry and mint. Rated as Recommended with *** for value at $19.

Hamiltons 2000 Grumpers Bock Shiraz shows green unripe tannins with pepper and liquorice. Rated as Acceptable with ** full value.

Hamiltons 2000 Egremont Reserve Merlot is a wine that I just don't understand. It is one-dimensional with little interest, a good mouth feel, its soft, subtle and the French oak tastes nice. No doubt in time it will be a muscular wine that is seamless. Rated as Acceptable with * for value.

Hamiltons 1999 Centurion Old Vine Shiraz has intense earthy nose showing white pepper, warm fruit and the hint of eucalyptus. The ample body weight, layered structure and refined complexity provide a great mouth feel to the black pepper, dark fruit and liquorice that are underpinned by dusty oak tannins. The wine has a long finish but it is not huge buy any stretch of the imagination, it should peak about 2007 and is rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value at $45.

Pirramimma 1998 Reserves Petite Verdot is a wine was lashings of cherry, blackberry and liquorice flavour that is provided by the strong distinct deep fruit and is well balanced by the loads of dusty tannins. The wine is medium weight without being heavy due to the strong fruit flavours and needs about five years for the loads of dusty tannins to integrate. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value at $25 this is something a bit different.

Pirramimma 1999 Reserve Petite Verdot when first opened had nose that was dominated by Smokey Kippers. Now I don't mind Kippers and eggs for Sunday breakfast but I sure don't like Kippers in my Petite Verdot on a Sunday morning, even if it is Mother's Day. I finally convinced the young lady at cellar door that I thought the wine was off and she kindly opened another bottle. This wine still had a smokey nose but at least there was fruit underneath and not fish. The palate tasted of liquorice and black cherry. This wine is not good as the previous vintage and is rated as Recommended with *** for value it should peak very soon.

Pirramimma 1999 Reserve Cabernet has an aroma that is dominated by dust rather than dusty oak, chocolate and vanilla. The wine has medium body weight and a simple complexity with lots of powdery tannins and I wonder if the fruit will ever emerge. Palate flavours are dusty oak, cherry, cassis and milk chocolate. This wine seems ordinary and is rated as Agreeable with ** for value, it should peak around 2005.


In light of
BRL Hardy's 60 percent price increase on the premium range of wines with their last release, in my mind they no longer represent value but I called into the cellar door on the off chance there was some premiums available for tasting. As usual there were no premiums available, but the very obliging helpful cellar door staff member remembered me from my last visit (how could he forget, I bet he is still having nightmares) kindly opened a 1999 Hardys Tintara Shiraz for me to try. I must admit that this wine was a surprise. As the wine had just been opened, the aroma was pretty tight and showed some char from the French oak, subdued fruit, liquorice and mint. The body weight of the wine is medium with a structure that shows some elegance and finesse. The wine has good length, balance and subtlety. The previous vintages of this wine were not exactly renowned for their subtlety, more like their sledgehammer approach. Rated as Highly Recommended with ** for value at $48 the wine should peak after 2005.

The cellar door staff member stated that Hardys will be moving towards the use of more French oak and producing more subtle and elegant Shiraz across their whole range of premiums in the future. From my perspective in some ways this is a retrograde step, as I loved the previous vintages of Tintara.

Now I know Hardys make some pretty good wines, but is this their secret?



Hardys Tintara 1998 Cellar Door Reserve Shiraz is a wine that was originally released at cellar door almost two years ago and then withdrawn from sale as Hardy had other plans for the remaining inventory. These plans have now changed and the wine is for sale again. I understand this wine is made up from parcels of fruit that were left over from the original 98 Tintara. The nose shows tar, blackberry with mint and menthol. This is a muscular wine with a slightly round structure and an agreeable level of complexity. The smooth drying dusty tannins provide a good counterfoil for the concentrated fruit. Rated as
Recommended with **** for value you had better the quick as there is not much left.

Last winery before the airport was the new Rosemountfacility that has just moved into the old Seaview Edwards and Chaffey winery. As a matter of interest, the Seaview range will cease to exist (with the exception of the sparkling) when current stocks are sold.

Rosemount 1999 Traditional has an aroma that shows slightly dusty oak with subtle leafy notes and sweet fruit. Although the dusty tannins dominate the palate, there is enough hidden fruit with cherry, blackcurrant, chocolate and liquorice to win through in the end. This is a good clean well made ample weight wine that should peak around 2005. Rated as Recommended with *** for value at $25.

Rosemount 1999 Show Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon has very green capsicum and sour cherry on the palate that is currently dominated by tannins. I doubt this wine will ever be very good. Rated as Acceptable with ** for value at $25.90.

Rosemount 1999 Balmoral has a classy nose showing clean fruit, liquorice and spearmint. The fruit whilst delicate as an incredible persistence and the wine shows great structure and balance. This is a refined classy wine with sophisticated complexity, an elegant seamless structure and medium weight fruit. The flavour profile of the wine builds across the palate starting with sweet berry and cherry and moves through to savoury liquorice with an incredibly long finish. This is a binder of the wine and a great way to finish the trip. Rated as Excellent with *** for value assuming you can find on special for around $50 it should peak around 2007.

At long last after a week of John is unhealthy lunches, I am one my own and can choose what I want. You ripper! On the way the airport there is a KFC, now that's real food!! And then it was onto the plane and home for a total body transplant.

If you are still with this report after forty pages of text, I trusted you enjoyed reading about this trip and have received some benefit from the tasting notes.

Cheers
Ric ©

 

Copyright © Ric Einstein 2003