The May 2005 South Australian Tour Diaries
Click here for Chapter Five of the February Tour Diary
Chapter One - Introduction
Last years nine-day trip was a
harrowing experience so this year I decided to break the trip up into two; the
first segment was completed in February and the Tour Diary chapters for that
part of the trip can be found
here. As the 2005 vintage has just been completed, as with previous years,
it has become tradition at the start of the May Tour Diaries to put things in
perspective and to examine the characteristics of the past few vintages. If you
have not read the recent report on “Vintage Perspectives in
When planning this trip and requesting appointments, I made a point of asking wineries to allow me to taste as many unreleased wines as possible. The answer to this request from many wineries was an unprecedented level of cooperation and generosity. Tasting notes for these wines should prove invaluable when planning future purchases and with the proliferation of new wines coming out, you can never have enough information.
This Tour Diary will be broken down into chapters, which will be posted in (hopefully) weekly instalments on torbwine.com. All the tasting notes will be individually uploaded in the Tasting Note Data Base for future easy searching.
On this trip I visited a balanced mix a wineries, some micro-producers, some medium producers and some large players. Wines at almost all price points were tasted; as well as a few that will be available at “mates’ rates” and some real bargains have been uncovered. As usual, the generosity and hospitality exhibited by the majority of the wineries I visit never fails to amaze me, so it would be remiss of me not to thank the many wineries that went to so much trouble and effort to make my visit a memorable one. Without them, there would be no story and I truly appreciate their honesty and candour when answering difficult questions.
As usual, the TORB Rating System has been used throughout these notes. If you are unfamiliar with the TORB Rating System, it worth spending a minute or two becoming familiar with it; click here for details. It is important to understand that I am a very hard marker.
Day Zero Thursday – the trip to McLaren Vale
On this trip, my good friend Brian Handreck (aka
Red Bigot) had decided to join me for the entire week, and once The Pie King of South
Australia
(aka John Davis) found out that Brian was going to be
along for the whole ride, John decided to tag along for the entire trip too. Oh
goody, just what I needed; two of them to gang up against me in the culinary
stakes. You'll see why I was so concerned about this
as the story unfolds.
It's just as easy to drive from my place in
Berrima to Canberra Sydney Canberra 
After
going through security it was "drink o'clock”. Brian ordered a beer and
not being a beer drinker, I ordered some tomato juice. Although the tomato
juice had a theoretical 2% sugar content, it was sickly sweet and undrinkable
so I went back and ordered a Crown Lager; my annual quota of beer. After having
drunk half a bottle of this I remembered why I only have one beer a year. 
Once again the (Virgin Blue) plane was late so I read the latest copy of Gourmet Traveller and Brian decided to raise his blood pressure by reading Winestate.
On the previous trip, as I wouldn't be arriving at John and Sue’s place until about 8.30, I grabbed a Sub along the way and told John not to worry about dinner. As is his wont, he took absolutely no notice of that suggestion and provided a marvellous cheese platter. Having learnt from that mistake, on this trip I told Brian to go easy on the food and we both ordered a Ploughman’s focaccia on the plane. It was up to the usual standard of most airline food and whilst Brian managed to eat about half of it, I was hungry and forced it down.
John’s daughter Hosanna was in a school musical
so John decided it was more important to feign interest in his offspring than
pick us up, so we had to get from Adelaide
As planned, when we arrived at Pie King Bridge Vineyards, Sue was home (and not going to the musical) as she was working night shift and had to leave for work soon after we arrived. Brian and Sue had not met each other but there was instantaneous rapport and whilst they were getting to know each other, I decided a glass of wine was in order and opened one of the bottles I had previously sent down. It was a Charles Cimicky 1998 Reserve Shiraz and the damn thing was corked! It was not a good start to the trip and an omen of things to come; there were far too many corked or otherwise faulty bottles encountered on this trip, a quite depressing statistic.
I kept on waiting for the cheese, and waiting
and waiting - but it never eventuated. 
After Sue left for
work, we raided the fridge 
and found all sorts of goodies to make
ourselves a snack and did not go to bed hungry. As it turned out, a few less
calories on the day would do us no harm as we more than made up for it in
coming days. By the time I got home I was in serious need of a diet.
Prior to going to work, Sue advised us of a couple of things “we needed to know”. The first was the renovations had not been completed and Hosanna's new room still looked like a construction site. As Hosanna's old room was going to be where Brian was meant to sleep, some logistics were called for. Hosanna did indeed vacate her room for Brian and a mattress was set up in the lounge. The second item of news was something that anyone who lives in the country is well acquainted with; there was a Possum in the ceiling (that wore hobnailed boots) and the possibility of mice crawling around as well. The rodents had only taken up residence in the last couple of days, and whilst the ceiling had been loaded with rat and mouse poison, it had not started to work.
As John was going to be late, we decided not to
wait up for him then headed off to our respective bedrooms. At 3:15 a.m. I was woken up by “the mice” although they sounded more like
industrial munching machines chewing their way through the timber under the
built-in cupboards dividing both bedrooms. After making banging and crashing
noises, they finally shut up and both Brian (in the adjoining bedroom) and I
could get back to sleep.
Day One Friday – McLaren Vale Wineries
By 6:15 a.m. , I had checked my
e-mail and had read a chapter of my book and I was just about to head to the
shower; blow me down, John beat me to it! Normally you have prise John out of
bed with a crowbar and there he is up so early in the morning. He really must
be excited about this trip, either that or he was afraid he was going to wet
the bed. 
Old Vines on the right – Johns vines on the left
Note the sandy soil
John must have read the last Tour Diary as the espresso
coffee he made me this morning was strong enough to make a spoon stand up. 
After
coffee, “Farmer Pie King” 
decided to take Brian for a mandatory tour
through his vineyards. As we were climbing up the sandy slope, we were warned
to be careful to stay on the track and avoid "innocent weed." If you
are not familiar with these thorny, prickly little devils, you are extremely
lucky; there is nothing "innocent" about them. Since John bought the
vineyard last year, his attitude towards wine has changed. He was very quick to
tell us "drinking wine is overrated; all the fun is in the
vineyards." The lad is clearly delusional in his thoughts and judging by
the amount of wine he managed to consume on this trip, he must be suffering
from ‘vine growing/pi$$pot’ schizophrenia. 
However one thing that did come through loud and clear through the whole trip, John's clear obsession with vines and his insatiable thirst to pick up as much knowledge about viticulture as is humanly possible.
After a trip through the vines, we piled into
the new council-owned stretch pie-mobile limo, which is an indescribable colour,
and headed into McLaren Vale for breakfast at Koffee and Snax. Being the start of a holiday, and knowing that
I had absolutely no chance of eating anything like healthy food with these two
guys, bacon and eggs were in order and the guy at Koffe
and Snax does them perfectly. The coffee is also
drinkable.
Koffee and Snax also do great
muffins …
From there, we were off to our first port of call, and
because this winery is generally not open to the public unless by appointment,
it’s a great place to visit at 9 a.m. when no one else is
open or wants to see me. 
Oliverhill is one of the small producers I visit year in and year out.
Whilst the style of wine they make will not appeal to those who like delicate,
refined, low-alcohol wines, I have yet to walk away disappointed. The wines are
always well-made, consistent, fruit driven and excellent value. As we drove up,
we spooked a Balinese cat that bolted off at a rate of knots, seemingly
unperturbed by its lack of one rear leg. John asked if the cat was rare, and as
quick as a flash Brian answered, "only the
three-legged variety." 
Due to the time of the year that we visited, there were not many finished, bottled wines to try but Stuart Miller is always willing to allow us to taste his barrel samples. Whilst in many cases I'm reluctant to post more than brief impressions on barrel samples, past history shows that Stewart’s samples are normally an excellent indication of what is to come.
Oliverhill 2004 Jimmy Section Shiraz
Stuart drawing off samples for us
The winery has recently gained long-term access to
excellent parcels of fruit from a vineyard in Clarendon. The 2004 vintage will
see the release of a new label which has yet to be formally named but will
possibly wind up being called Oliverhill
2004 Clarendon Shiraz
Oliverhill 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon at this early stage of its life is all about structure. Abundant, puckering tannins currently bury the quality fruit but the wine is well balanced and just needs time for the fruit to surface and for the acid, which at this point is sticking up a little, to integrate. It lingers well and should be good in time.
Last year Stuart gave me a sample of their experimental 03 Durif to taste. Only a tiny amount had been produced and it was wisely decided that the wine would not be released as it was not up to the desired standard. The Oliverhill 2004 Durif is a different story. The bouquet is deep, rich and brooding. A big wine with loads of oak and tannins, the fruit is currently lurking below the other components but is in balance. Chocolate, plum, coffee, vanilla and eucalyptus present a savoury profile that finishes with excellent length and persistence. A wine that is heading in the right direction, it will cost about $25 when released.
Oliverhill 2003 Jimmy Section Shiraz sells for $25 by the dozen direct from the winery. What a good way to start the trip: this, the first finished wine tasted has a very attractive nose boasting ripe, intense blackberry, plum, rich chocolate, emerging coffee and vanillin oak characters. The palate follows the bouquet with the addition of pepper and a sappy mid-palate. There is excellent power for its muscular weight and it finishes with good persistence. Complexity is harmonious and well developed. A good wine for the price, it is drinking well now but will improve and is rated as Recommended with **** for value. According to John, the 2003 Jimmy Section would be a great wine to have with bacon and eggs every morning for breakfast. He is not far wrong!
As we tasted the wines, we were joined by Linda Miller who is an excellent complementary foil for her quieter husband. Linda is a character and reminds me of a shorter version of Morticia Adams (Adams Family); it’s always fun to chat with her and Stuart. The summary for this winery visit could have just about been written before I got there. “Good quality, honest wines that are not for the faint hearted and are well priced. Nothing changes here because if it’s not broken, why try and fix it.” The only change necessary to the summary is the addition of two new wines and elimination of their Grenache. Good stuff!
Our next stop was at Brian’s request; he wanted to try the Lloyds Reserve 2002 (which had just been released) from Coriole. The cellar door is quaint and attractive. The winery has a solid range and was one of the pioneers in the experimentation of European varieties in this region. We were looked after by a delightful lady called Lee who turned out to be the partner of the recently deceased Greg Trott. Lee was still, understandably, visibly affected by her recent bereavement but managed to tell us a wonderfully amusing anecdote. At his funeral, on the front of the order of service was a cartoon. It illustrated Greg dressed in his finest suit, standing outside the pearly gates with St Peter, surrounded by cases of wine. The caption read "We have been waiting for you Trotty; the others didn't know it was BYO."
Coriole 2003 Sangiovese sells for $17 at cellar door. A spicy bouquet leads to an intensely savoury palate that is almost a bitter in nature but still maintains its attraction; it's a great food wine that finishes with excellent persistence and whilst it is easy drinking, it is better than that description. Tannins are silky smooth and combine with the deeply seated fruit to form a medium-weight wine, with a supple consistency, and harmonious complexity. Rated as Recommended with **** for value.
Coriole Cellar Door - very cute! ........................
……………
Coriole
2002 Nebbiolo sells for $26.50 at cellar door. Smooth, dusty
tannins and obvious fruit deliver spice and milk chocolate flavours which are
supported with zingy acid (that is not out of whack); the package finishes with
a drying, slightly bitter finish. Medium-weight, the consistency is supple, the
structure solid and the complexity harmonious. A reasonably easy drinking wine
that needs food, it is more attractive than the Sangiovese. Rated as Recommended with *** for value, it will be best
consumed over the next three years.
Coriole 2003 The Old Barn sells for $30 and is only available at cellar door. Production has been limited to 586 dozen and the wine is a Shiraz-Cabernet blend. The bouquet of pepper, plum, vanilla and spice is replicated on the palate with fresh acid that offsets the sweetness. Medium-weight, unobtrusive smooth tannins provide a solid backbone; the consistency is supple and the complexity well developed which results in an easy-drinking, ho-hum wine. Rated as Recommended with *** for value, it is ready to drink now.
Coriole 2002 Mary Kathleen sells for $39 at cellar door. An unusual bouquet for a Cabernet; with spice, blackcurrant, milk chocolate and cedary oak characters; the palate follows the bouquet with a little leafiness and finishes with good persistence. A quality, well-balanced and constructed medium-weight wine, it has a supple consistency, solid structure and harmonious well-developed complexity. Whilst it is easy drinking now, in time it should become seamless and is rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value.
Coriole 2002 Lloyds Reserve Shiraz sells for $65 at cellar door. Beautiful, deeply-seated, pure fruit which is impeccably balanced to smooth, fine drying tannins delivers smoky oak, rich chocolate, ripe plum, blackberry and a touch of coffee that finishes long. A seriously good quality wine that is approachable now due to its harmonious, sophisticated complexity and solid structure; it will become seamless in time. A classy, indeed impressive, medium-weight tipple that is certainly worthy of cellar space; it is rated as Excellent with *** for value. Certainly the best young Lloyds I've tried for years.
I tried a number of their current releases at a trade tasting late last year. Tasting notes for those wines can be found in the tasting notes section. Coriole is not only a consistent producer; its house style is evident across the whole range. The wines tend to be more subtle and a food friendly than many other wines from McLaren Vale.
The next appointment was at d'Arenberg with Mark Bolton who is the Brand Ambassador and Public Relations Manager; now that title is as much a mouthful as the names of some of their wines. I have visited d'Arenberg on quite a number of occasions, appreciated many of their wines over a long period of time, have multiple vintages of Dead Arm in my cellar and thought I had a reasonable appreciation for what this winery was about; that was until I visited them this time. If there was a Victoria Cross for “winery construction deception”, this place would get it. When you drive into the property and up the hill to cellar door, there are bits of rustic old winemaking equipment around the place, a well manicured lawn, a rather quaint cellar door with a fabulous view over the Vales, as well as a highly regarded restaurant. Yes, the cellar door has a phenomenal range of wine but everything about the cellar door appears to be rustic and one cannot help being left with the impression this is a fairly small operation. And that is where the deception comes in.
A view few visitors see
The cellar door cunningly disguises the scope and magnitude
of this business. Whoever planned this site should get a medal for smart design
because the magnitude of the operation is substantially bigger than the cellar
door could ever suggest, but more of that later. The vineyards surrounding the
winery were first planted in the 1890s. The fruit from 78 ha was sold to the
likes of Kay’s, Edward and Chaffey, Tintara and Hardys etc.
Frank Osborn the second generation
grower, left medical school to build his own winery; it was complete in 1928.
In 1943 Frank's son d'Arry, then aged 16, left school
to help his ill father run the business. In 1957 d'Arry
took over the running of the business completely and two years later bottled
the first of the diagonal red
stripe
labelled wines. It is reported that d’Arry went to Prince Albert College
Today, d'Arenberg is seen as being at the forefront of developing the European grape varieties in McLaren Vale. In reality, there is nothing new in this sort of innovative development at d’Arenberg. In 1959 d'Arenberg introduced Riesling to McLaren Vale. Their 1967 Riesling won 21 gold medals and 12 trophies, so awards are nothing new for this winery either.
After graduating from Roseworthy College Chester
As we meandered up the slight incline behind the winery, much to John's delight, we discussed viticulture and yields.
In terms of yields, in 2002 they wound up producing about 1.5 tonnes per acre. In 2003, yields were down and they produced about 1.3 tonnes per acre. In 2004, yields were up and they scored 2.4 tonnes to the acre and in 2005 it will be somewhere between 1.8 and 2 tonnes to the acre. There are not many wineries of this size that have such low cropping levels, and this could go part of the way to explain the quality of the wines.
I asked Mark to compare the last few vintages in terms of quality. According to him, 2001 is about structure, intensity and grip. 2002 is absolutely about structure; the fruit is more into the red spectrum and thicker. 2003 produced wines that are lovely, forward, round and long. 2004 is pretty smart with wonderful richness but it is too early to tell how good the wines are, and they won't really get a better idea until they get a good look at them again in November.
Unless you went over the small crest and started the gentle descent, you would have no idea there was a winery on this site; it had been very cunningly hidden. Even as you approached the winery it doesn’t look very big. Mark decided the best way to get a real appreciation of the site was for us to climb up a few flights of stairs to the top of a tall set of three tanks (that together hold 500,000 litres – or 666,666 bottles) and even then, whilst the view was stunning, the winery didn't look all that big.
After coming down from the top of the tanks, we received a more intimate view of the winery. Interestingly enough, as we wandered around the buildings each one looked fairly small and we were still left with the impression we were not touring a large operation. It is only when we had come to the end of the tour, and thought about each individual component building that we began to comprehend the magnitude of this winery. Locating the winery out of sight of the cellar door was not by accident and was a smart move. The layout of the buildings, be it by intentional design or an accident of evolution, is certainly incredibly effective.
Old Slate Fementers ................................... New Stainless Steel Fermenters ........
............... with chilling pipes - locked in place ........................................ Offer more flexibility .............................................
As we walked into the winery, slap bang in front of us was an impressive array of old slate fermenters which are used for their top wines. Turning out high-quality wine year in and year out is no accident, and whilst having terrific quality grapes is an excellent start, every step in the winemaking process has the potential to reduce the quality of the finished product. To put it bluntly, if you have top grapes to begin with, the objective is not the screw it up with the winemaking process.
Mark explained how the old slate fermenters are used in great detail and whilst I normally don't normally get into this level of sordid detail, this is pretty special and worth sharing. The reds are crushed very lightly and go into a must chiller and then the entire contents goes straight into the fermenter; that's free run, seeds, skin, the whole works, even the bugs. The whole lot is then covered with boards and inoculated with yeast.
The fermentation is extremely violent. It
starts off pink and after a fortnight is black. Chester
The wine is not pumped over, nor is it plunged. As most of the berries are whole when they go in, the fermentation is more like a carbonic maceration process; the berries expand and burst which results in a softer tannin structure. As a result of this process the wine is so clean it doesn't require any fining or filtering. The wine is pressed with about a half a degree of beaume which leaves enough sugar to kick-start malolactic fermentation and the wine sits on its solids all the way through the rest of the process.
The Old Casks ......................
.............
Not all wines are made in this fashion. Fifty percent of the blend of High Trellis, Custodian, d’Arry’s Original, and Footbolt, are matured in huge old casks that were coopered the 1920s, some of which came from the original Tatachilla site. Naturally they don't impart any oak character but they do stabilise the colour and the oxygen passing through this stave joints softens the tannins. Maturing wines in this fashion is a nightmare in terms of both attention to detail and maintenance, but the results, according to Mark, are worth it. The balance of the blends are matured in barriques. So far, what we have seen is certainly a lot more rustic and less high-tech than I would have expected. As well as the slate fermenters, there are literally hundreds of other more modern stainless steel fermenters that can be moved around from place-to-place with forklifts, but the old fashioned process are still used through the whole operation; with a twist. For example, instead of using the more common wooden baskets in the presses, they make their own aluminium (stainless steel?) baskets on site for much of the pressing work .
In terms of oak treatment, the winery uses about 60% French and 40% American.
Once we got into the barrel room, the size and scope of the winery started to become apparent. Every single barrel is individually numbered and kept within its batch. There is normally around 14 barrels in each batch and some wines will have over a hundred batches in its final configuration. Not only is every batch of wine kept separate but every barrel is kept separate until last moment when the wines are blended. When you consider that there are 30 products to make up, the task must be awesome and most of the time they are working with multiple vintages of wines. The logistics and complexity of keeping track of about 9000 barrels at any one time is beyond belief.
.................The Old Basket Press ......................The New Homemade Aluminium Press
Every single individual barrel is checked on a regular basis. If you think that is difficult, consider the work involved when it comes to blending decisions, when every single barrel is up for reclassification.
Just prior to the last vintage they went
through and checked every single barrel; the Shiraz
After the winery tour, we were taken to a special tasting room where there was a huge array of wines to work through. Joining us on the tour was a husband and wife team from a WA wine retailer and they started at one end and worked their way right through the range. Needless to say, I skipped the c-through section and went straight into the reds. Even then, with the amount of time available I decided to only taste selected bottles as taking notes takes time.
There were 19 bottles sealed under cork and four
of them were suffering from cork-related defects. One could easily say this is
an aberration in the law of averages, however given the number of times similar
instances occurred on this tour, I am not sure this is the case. It may be
possible that Australia
Now onto the tasting notes.
d'Arenberg 2003 High Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon sells for $18 at cellar door. Deeply seated ripe fruit drives the wine and delivers aniseed, blackberry, leafy notes and chocolate. Although the consistency is firm, to the point of being almost hard, there is a rich mouthful of fruit that delivers good value for the dollar. Rated as Acceptable with *** for value.
d'Arenberg 2003 The Cadenzia sells for $25 at cellar door and is a GSM blend. The bouquet shows good complexity with sweet upfront raspberry fruit that dominates the profile. Although there are abundant fine-grain tannins they do not get in the way and the wine is well-balanced. Very sweet on the uptake with an equally off sweet mid-palate which finishes to dark blackberry and meaty flavours. Muscular-weight with a firm consistency, solid structure and well-developed complexity; this is a good quality wine but a love it, or hate it style. Rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value.
d'Arenberg
2002 d’Arrys Origional is a Grenache Shiraz
blend and sells for $18 at cellar door. The bouquet shows good complexity with
loads of sweet notes but luckily, this is not replicated on the palate. The
sweet uptake immediately turns off-sweet with savoury spices; there is nothing
NutraSweet about this baby, raspberry, dark chocolate, plums and meaty flavours
all finish with great intensity. Muscular-weight, the wine is well-balanced
with fine, grippy, drying tannins and fresh youthful
acid. With a sensational bang for the buck, it is rated as Highly Recommended with **** for value.
d'Arenberg 2003 The Sticks and Stones sells for $35 at cellar door and is a blend of Tempranillo, Grenache and Souzao. I tasted this at Wine Australia last November and at that stage I didn't like it at all. but it looked much better on this occasion. Well built and well-balanced, it needs time to develop and come together. On the palate, the wine is extremely interesting. It is certainly not sweet on the uptake, but there is an undercurrent of sweet fruit running through the wine that is pleasantly contrasted by fresh acidity. Loads of oak character and rich dark chocolate add to the diverse complexity of this muscular-weight wine. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value.
d'Arenberg 2003 The Galvo Garage sells for $30 at cellar door and is a
traditional Bordeaux
d'Arenberg 2002 The Twenty Eight Road
d'Arenberg 2002 The Ironstone Pressings is their top GSM blend
and sells for $60 at cellar door. A big brooding nose showing blackberry,
chocolate and earthy mushroom notes. The palate shows more Mourvedre and Shiraz
d'Arenberg 2003 The Dead Arm sells for $60 at cellar door and will be released later this year. The bouquet exhibited charred oak but the fruit is up to the task. The wine has only been recently bottled so it is currently all over the place but it has sensational, rich dark fruit that is deeply seated. It finishes long with dark coffee, Lindt 85% dark chocolate and mint. Whilst there is some slight sappiness to the mid-palate, the wine is still attractive and is bang on style. Naturally it is a full-bodied wine, with a firm consistency, a solid structure that is still tight, and a well-developed complexity. Once it gets a little bottle age, I expected to be rated as Excellent.
There was one “interesting” occurrence that took place during the tasting. In the early part of the tasting, I was trying wines well ahead of the pack and stated that I thought one particular wine was corked. Our host briefly tried the wine in question and categorically dismissed my assessment and said “no, the wine was fine.” As I was 100% sure the wine was corked, I did not review it and moved on. About 10 minutes later I came across another wine that I was confident was also defective but was not game to say anything and just passed on to the next wine in the line up. When Mark got to the wine that I had stated was corked, after tasting it and then waxing lyrical about it for a minute or two, he decided it was corked and opened another bottle. At no stage did he apologise for putting me down in front of the four other people. I might add that the second bottle that I thought was defective was replaced when Mark got to it.
Is this the wineries secret ingredient?.......
Whys so much kitty litter?..................
...........
In summary, d'Arenberg is certainly a winery that runs like
a well-oiled machine; Chester
The wines tasted showed the 2003 wines are clearly more approachable than their 2002 counterparts. Whilst the mouth feel of the 2003 wines are good, in some way the tannins from this vintage are harder, and in general, I preferred most of the 02’s. The visit was an eye opener and I learned much about the secrets behind this winery’s deserved success; the attention to detail is mind blowing. Mark, our host, certainly is a great ambassador for the brand.
No one could walk away from a tour like that without being impressed so Brian and John decided a dose of reality was called for and, unfortunately, it was off to the local McLaren Vale bakery for lunch. I don't know why John keeps going back to this place, every time he does he complains the pies are not as good as they used to be but that did not stop the Pie King having a couple of them, although his trademark coffee milk was missing. Brian, knowing this, is obviously a glutton for punishment because he had a pie too. I'm beginning to be concerned about Brian's pie-eating habits, here I was thinking he was into gourmet tastes and fine food and it looks like he may be a closet pie-eating junkie. Mind you, my choice of a healthy wholemeal bread roll with chicken and salad tasted extremely ordinary too.
McLaren Vale is well-known for its almonds; in
fact the area originally grew more almonds than grapes. One secret of keeping
your palate halfway sane when tasting big reds all day is to refresh your mouth
by either chewing on bread, dry biscuits or nuts. With this in mind, Brian
brought a couple of packets of locally grown almonds. When Brian offered John
an almond, his Pieship said "personally I feel
almonds taste a lot better when they are cashews.” 
During my visit last May, I spent time touring an ancient derelict building at the start of the main road into McLaren Vale; "handy man's dream or renovator's delight” would have been the understatement of the year when describing what has now become a swish, classy- looking cellar door. This newly restored and renovated building is home to Fonthill Winery and they also showcase the Anvers range. Brian was particularly keen to try the range but I concentrated on the wines I had not tried previously.
Anvers
2002 Shiraz Cabernet sells for $22 at cellar door. The bouquet showed a touch
of blackberry, dusty, leafy notes, pepper, blackcurrant and chocolate. With
blackberry on the uptake, a spicy mid-palate with zingy acid, and chocolate;
the intense blackberry finished with good persistence. Good tannin management
backed a solid, firm wine of ample-weight with a diverse complexity. Worth
trying for something a little different, the wine may get a little better when
the acid settles down around 2007; it is rated as Acceptable with *** for
value.
Anvers 2002 Langhorne Creek Cabernet sells for $28 at cellar door. The bouquet shows clean fruit which is dominated by dusty oak. The palate delivers ripe fruit on the uptake with savoury, sappy blackberry on the mid-palate and finish; it is not as obviously oaky as the bouquet suggests. Well-balanced with unobtrusive smooth tannins, and refreshing acid; there is enough fruit to complete the package. Ample-weight with a firm but supple consistency and an agreeable complexity, this is a nice wine that should improve as it matures. Rated as Recommended with *** for value.
Fonthill 2003 Dust of Ages Grenache sells for $25 at cellar door. Not your average lolly sweet Grenache, the bouquet shows good complexity with interesting nuances; raspberry, pepper, milk chocolate cherry and earthy notes. Deeply-seated, obvious fruit delivers an off-sweet peppery uptake with milk chocolate and liquorice that finishes to savoury spice and coffee over a layer of slightly sweet underlying fruit flavours which is further complemented and offset by fresh acid. A well-constructed, attractive wine with a creamy mouth feel, it is medium-weight with an intricate complexity. There is nothing simple about this baby; it is a more seriously structured Grenache and is worth consideration. Rated as Recommended with **** for value, the rating may increase as the wine matures around 2009.
Fonthill 2002 Silk Road Shiraz is a wine that I'd tried previously, but unfortunately the last bottle was slightly corked and did not give a true indication of the wine. The bouquet is interesting, a little different but most definitely closed down. The wine is well-balanced and constructed with tight, abundant, long drying tannins, fresh acid and pure fruit. Sweet ripe fruit, coffee, blackberry and chocolate flavour are terrific but unfortunately it’s marred by a sappy green oak characteristic. Muscular-weight, the wine may be going through an awkward period. Rated as Recommended with *** for value, the rating may improve as the wine matures.
Our next appointment was with one of the
larger-than-life characters: Tony Delisio. He runs one of my
favourite wineries in McLaren Vale, Classic McLaren Wines. (When spell checking
with Microsoft Word, the first suggested replacement for “Delisio”
is “Delusion”. 
) I have been buying
wine from Tony since the early days, before he was even making commercial
quantities of wine. In the early to mid-1990s he started making a homebrew and
to say it was “pretty good” would be like saying a Newfoundland
Tony Delisio ................................
…………………………..
When Tony first started making small commercial quantities
of wine, his La Testa 1997 Shiraz Chihuahua Shiraz
Never wishing to do anything by half, Tony found a financial partner with extremely deep pockets and in the last five years or so, about $10 million has been invested in the operation. In that time, Tony has built a winery from scratch that is now loaded with inventory. When you consider the state of the wine industry, to quote Yes Minister, "that's a courageous move."
Over the past few years, Tony and I have had a number of frank and open conversations. Tony is a sensational winemaker and has access to first-class fruit; you can take that statement to the bank! On the negative side of the ledger, whilst he has been building up huge amounts of inventory I kept on telling him the price of his La Testa range was too high and even more importantly, he had better work out how and where he was going to sell the stock. Every time I visited the winery, especial in the last two years, the growth in buildings, winemaking equipment and most importantly barrels of wine, has been phenomenal.
During this visit, whilst Tony was as irrepressible as ever, it was however apparent that the pressure of inventory and the need to move wine was starting to show; but then anyone who had so much unsold wine and was trying to break into a market would be feeling the strain.
There are currently two ranges of wine in their
portfolio. Whilst I may have criticised Tony in the past over the pricing of
the La Testa range, over the last couple of years the prices have been reduced
and all of them except the Shiraz CMC ) range is absolutely sensational value and
finding this level of quality at this price point is rare; the range over-delivers
big-time in terms of value.
Start off with pristine, top-quality fruit, add clever winemaking and mature all the wines in Rolls-Royce quality French oak prior to releasing them with a few years of the bottle age and you have the basis of a successful wine business -- but there is one thing missing; a realistic marketing plan. Unfortunately this has been the single biggest weakness in the operation and one that is now coming back to haunt the business, which is a pity because they make some of the best wine in McLaren Vale. The current range of wines are from the 2001 vintage and according to Tony, export sales are going well, it's the domestic sales for the holding things up. I reviewed the 2001 wines during my last visit and my tasting notes for those can be found here (half way down the page.) If you haven't tried their wines, contact the winery and organise yourself a mixed tasting pack, you won't be disappointed.
On this visit, we were greeted by a new four-month old
German Shepherd that Tony thought should be named
“Cappuccino”, due to the milk-coffee colour of his coat. Even at this tender
age, Tony’s wife Krys, has done an exceptionally good job of training him and
Tony is concerned for two reasons. Firstly, when Krys
tells him to do something, unlike Tony, the dog does what it is told, and
according to Tony, when the dog is sitting there it looks smarter than Tony. 
Whilst we were tasting the wine, at one
point the dog brought over its empty water bowl and dropped it at Tony's feet;
now that’s smart for a four-month old pup. But as smart as the dog may be, it's
not a smart as the wine.
Classic McLaren 2002 Grenache sells for $16 at cellar door by the dozen. Cropped at 1 1/2 tonnes to the acre, the bouquet is attractive and unusual for an Australian Grenache with intense blackberry, spice, white pepper and milk chocolate. Deep, strong fruit has fantastic intensity and power delivering the blackberry, plum, blackcurrant, rich chocolate and white pepper. A medium-weight wine with a supple consistency, an intricate, well developed and refined complexity, the wine should become seamless in time. Naturally, it's a good food wine and has definite Rhône style characters, but more guts and finesse. Rated as Recommended with ***** for value, drink over the next four years.
Classic McLaren 2002 La Testa Grenache sells for $32 at cellar door. A
deeper more concentrated wine than the CMC , it has lovely aromatics with
coffee from the French oak. Despite its 15% alcohol, there is no heat and the
silky tannins provide a seamless structure. The flavour profile is 100% savoury
with coffee and blackberry flavours finishing with great power and length. The
complexity is already well developed and harmonious, this is a bloody serious
Grenache and one that I would be happy to drink at any time; in fact it was so
good, I didn't want to spit it. Rated as Highly
Recommended with *** for value, the
rating may improve as the wine reaches maturity over the next six years.
Classic McLaren 2002 Cabernet Merlot sells for $18 at cellar door. The bouquet is both leafy and varietal showing blackberry, milk chocolate and dusty oak. Chewy, slightly-coarse drying tannins combined with distinct fruit to form an ample-weight, firm, solid wine with an agreeable complexity. Ripe blackberry, dark chocolate, mint, leafy characters and coffee grows on you as you drink it. It should be a good food wine and may improve with a little time. Not the best wine from this winery but still credible. Rated as Recommended with **** for value
Classic McLaren 2002 Shiraz sells for $22 at cellar door. The oak is noticeable on the bouquet with hints of char, mocha, spice and liquorice aromas. Pure, deep, strong fruit together with smooth, chewy tannins form the backbone for this firm, full-bodied wine with a well developed complexity that has all the components but needs time to come together. A big wine with loads of everything, the oak influence is obvious; savoury through and through with liquorice, briary black fruit (a product of the cool growing season) and coffee essence; there is enough fruit to balance the oak. Rated as Recommended with **** for value, the rating may improve as the wine matures; it is sensational value and worth buying. I like it and I will!
Classic McLaren 2002 La Testa Merlot sells for $39 at cellar door. I'm not a fan of straight Merlot but this is definitely one of the better ones available; it's a damn serious wine. Deep, strong fruit is savoury, delivering black coffee essence, plum and black chocolate flavours that finish long and dry. There are loads of oak characters which will eventually integrate and this solid, ample-weight wine should peak around 2009. Rated as Highly Recommended with *** for value.
Classic McLaren 2002 La Testa Cabernet Sauvignon sells for $45 at cellar door. A
varietally leafy nose, perfumed blackcurrant and dusty oak are all proudly
displayed. Deep, pure fruit and smooth, chewy tannins provide all the
components that this wine will need, but it will take years for it to show its
best; about 2012 should do the trick. Intensely savoury with black olives,
coffee and leafy flavours; it is bloody big wine; its firm and solid with a
well developed complexity that will improve. Rated as Highly
Recommended with *** for value, the rating
should increase as the wine matures, and even at this time, it has enough flavour
to cut through the chilli almonds that Brian was 
chewing on.
Classic McLaren 2002 La Testa Blend sells for $36 at cellar door and is a blend of 50% Shiraz
Classic McLaren 2002 La Testa Shiraz sells for $90 at cellar door. Intense and inviting coffee bean, blackberry and milk chocolate dominate the bouquet. The wine is supremely balanced and structured with ultra-fine, tightly-grained tannins and pure, deep strong fruit. Coffee, black pepper, cedar oak with some charry influence; there is enough black fruit to absorb the oak; and it finishes with long drying chocolate and coffee flavours. Muscular-weight, with a supple consistency, the wine is still tight and the solid structure should become seamless in time. Complexity is well developed and will improve. An impressive, classy package with an authoritative power-to-weight ratio, it is rated as Excellent with ** for value, it should peak around 2012.
From there, we went and tasted through a huge range of barrel samples. In a good winery, this is one way to get a true appreciation of what is really going on. For example, when we got to the La Testa Grenache, Tony told us the fruit came from Yangara Estate, a property that is considered to have some of the best old vine Grenache in the district. Luckily, it is on the "right side" of the road; if it was on the other side of the road it would not be deemed McLaren Vale and would have to be called Adelaide Hills. The grapes that go into this wine come from four different parcels, all with different soil profiles and all contributing something different. This particular Yangara property provides grapes that are primarily about structure; and what great structure.
What Tony really drinks
Speaking of structure, Tony does not believe in adding tannin to wine.
If the viticulture is correct and there are enough blending options, is not
required and any minor adjustments can be made using oak; an interesting
philosophy and way of doing things. Whilst tasting my way through the 2002
wines, although the tannins were very fine, they did not seem quite as fine as
the previous vintages. When I mentioned this to Tony, he told me that it is no
longer using fully imported barrels. The barrels are put together in Australia
Nevertheless, the myriad of barrels samples we tried showed the fantastic quality and consistency of the wine being made here. This winery really has potential to be a forced to be reckoned with in the McLaren Vale area; ….now if they can just work out a realistic marketing plan. In the meantime, get in on the ground floor and buy some of those 2001’s, as I have said previously, you won't be sorry.
Brian John and Sue - notice the subtle message on the Pie Kings Apron!..
But who is doing the cooking?...................................
…………………… ….
What a great
way to finish the working day; every single wine and barrel sample we tried was
high-quality and credible and that says it all. It was only a ten minute drive
back to Pie King Bridge Vineyards but John being hungry, did it in seven. As
soon as we were there, John produced a plate of three different types of cheese
and Brian opened a bottle of the recently released Turkey Flat Sparkling
Shiraz. The cheese plate was just what the doctor called for, and fortunately
the same could not be said for the FRS , and this time the emphasis was on
the “S”. Much debate took place about the wine and whether it was off or not,
to my palate it was either off or undrinkable, the distinction did not make a
lot of difference. It had a bad sulphur-dioxide stink and taste that never
really blew off completely. None of us were too concerned about it because
there was plenty more to drink and we were going to Turkey Flat in a few days
time and would re-taste it there. (I’ve had another from the same batch and it
was fine)
I opened a bottle of Rosemount 1996 Balmoral Shiraz which is drinking superbly now. It has entered its peak drinking window but should hold for some years to come. Brian served a masked bottle of wine. It opened up to be extremely stinky and dominated by smoky oak. After an hour in the decanter, the stink dissipated and the fruit started to surface. The wine was medium-weight and had lovely fruit under the smoky oak. The wine turned out to be a New Zealand Shiraz (Brookfield 2002 Hillside Syrah).
John decided to do another low calorie dinner, this time a
barbecued mixed grill; just what my cholesterol needed. Sue prepared a
delicious salad; I could have happily made a meal out of it. I decided to have
an early night as we were leaving for Coonawarra at 6 a.m. the following morning. The trip to
Coonawarra is always special so stay tuned for the next chapter, where you will
read all about it, in all its gory detail.
To be continued ……..
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