Taste McLaren Vale - bringing you quality McLaren Vale wine to your door

Category Archives: McLaren Vale

McLaren Vale Wine Functions – Unearthing Grandfathers (DeadReds) Wine Dinner

Monday, 30 April 2012 00:21
0 Comments

Charlie-Helen Robinson had the vision – lets have a wine dinner with a group of people from Adelaide coming to a venue in McLaren Vale to celebrate the knowledge and experience that our grandparents have and what this role means to on-coming generations.  In particular in the McLaren Vale wine scene and what role this older generation means to today’s wine industry.

Within what seemed like a short period of time the big day was upon us and the Cellar at The Victory Hotel was descended upon by a 30 strong group of keen and enthusiastic people from diverse backgrounds all brought together by Charlie.  Great job Charlie!

The Victory Hotel Cellar

The venue was well set up and when the bus arrived it was all go.  The first course soon arrived.  The chicken and seafood was matched well with a 2008 Karra Yerta Eden Valley Riesling, that was full of limes – particularly lime zesty.  The second course of rabbit pie came with a 2010 Kay Brothers Mataro.  2010 was an excellent vintage and this wine was no exception with flavours of cherry and plum with hints of violets and a meatiness that I tend to find with this variety.  The tannins were a little grainy but this is part of what Mataro is usually about.  Without letting Colin Kay, the current head of Kay Brothers, finish his rabbit pie he was standing up and sharing with us some of the rich history of the Mataro grape in Australia plus the even richer history of the Kay family in McLaren Vale.  We were all delighted with his stories and also delighted that Colin was willing to share with us copies of his family daily records from the late 1890’s.  These documents had me convinced on how well their fortified sales were back then – only to be told that Tawny was the name of one of the family cows and the volume mentioned was not the volume of Tawny “Port” sold but how much milk Tawny (the cow) produced daily.

Colin Kay at Unearthing Grandfathers

The third course was for me a steak and I enjoyed the Rudderless 2006 Grenache which is made from the vines surrounding the hotel.  As a fan of McLaren Vale Grenache I was looking forward to and was not disappointed.   The perfumed red fruits combined with fruit strength and mid weight tannins was just what we were looking for.

A wine options game with 2 wines was an interesting venture during the night.  Each person was given their own stash a fake Deadred Dollars and were able to bet on 1 of 3 options for the category of what vintage did the wine come from, what grape variety the wine was made from and lastly what winery the wine came from.  There were 2 wines that were covered to ensure nobody could cheat.  The wines ended up being a Zinfandel from the Inkwell stable from 2009 and 2010.  These wines are so different and so it was interesting to see the reaction when people were told the 2 wines came from the same winery, same vineyard and same winemaker.

The Vintage Cheddar with dried muscatels, quince paste and crackers went down a treat mixed with the Graham Stevens Wines 2010 Vintage Shiraz.  This wine is just essence of Shiraz mixed with clean spirit.  It is interesting that the Vintage fortified style is not a big seller however almost all in the room were delighted with the finishing wine of the night.

A big thanks to all that attended that made the night something to remember but special mention must be made for Colin Kay for the generous giving of his time and experiences, for Ron who was the bus driver and had to sit and watch most of us indulge in good wines and to Charlie for bringing the night together.

I already look forward to the next Unearthing Dinner……

McLaren Vale Wine – Vale Cru Twilight Tasting

Monday, 23 April 2012 20:06
0 Comments

On the evening of April 14th I had the pleasure of attending the Vale Cru tasting at the McLaren Vale Piazza.
For a measly $10 fee I was able to attend a function where there we number of small McLaren Vale wineries (some not having a cellar door) were each showcasing 2 wines.  A local band, The Yearlings, were playing in the background and locally made Italian sausages were a cooking.  It was hard to ask for more.
I know most of the wineries and more importantly the people from these wineries and for me the evening was just like a social event where I could catch up with friends and talk about their wine.  What was not to enjoy?
I must admit that when the idea for the Piazza in the main street of McLaren Vale was first mentioned I was skeptical on how was the facility going to be used.  I had no issue with how the area looks but I was not sure it was money well spent.  Well after this evening I have been won over.  The facility was great with excellent use of space and levels – even the acoustics of the band worked well.  Speaking of the band, I would recommend The Yearlings for any such function.  For me the big winner was the volume.  We all heard the band and was able to enjoy their music while still being able to have a conversation and not having to shout or strain to be heard – a big tick from me on this one guys.
In no particular order we were able to enjoy wines from the following wineries:-

Lazy Ballerina

Waywood Wines

Maximus Wines

Samuels Gorge

Alpha Box and Dice

J&J Vineyards

Brash Higgins

Settlement Wines

Five Geese

Geddes Wines

Old Faithful Project

Rudderless Wines

Ulithorne

Vigna Bottin

 

The memorable wines for me from the night (again in no particular order) was:-
Brash Higgins Nero d’Avola

I have been watching this wine from early days.  I spoke to Brad Hickey (aka Brash Higgins) about this variety a number of years ago.  I was even offered to help in picking the grapes for this wine (unfortunately I was not able to make it) and I even saw the wines sitting in their clay Amphora Pots in the winery – so I was very keen to see what the wine was like.  I would firstly have to say different, for me a good different.  The wine showed lavender and citrus peel notes (probably mandarin) with clean cherry fruit character and a very interesting textural mouthfeel.  This texture really dragged me in as it was so different.  I suspect the texture comes from the wine being left on skins for many months and provides an almost chewy feel.  This wine provides the drinker with a quandary as the wine is of a lighter style but there is a lot of complexity- bring on the lamb shanks.
J&J Vineyards Reserve Shiraz

Plums and spice and all things nice that is what McLaren Vale Shiraz is made of.  This wine shows depth of character but is not a heavy tannic wine – not too heavy but just right to drink now.
2010 Waywood Wines Nebbiolo

The citrus notes one expects from Nebbiolo Thant I find so interesting in a red wine.  There was chewie tannins that probably more time to settle down.  I will be interested to see how it goes.
A big thanks must go out to Gill from Fall From Grace who organized the night.

McLaren Vale Grape Condiment – Zimmermann Wines Verjuice

Monday, 16 April 2012 23:56
0 Comments

A quick quizz – what is the oldest known condiment?

The answer is – crushed mustard seeds mixed with crushed unfermented grape juice.

It is speculated that the unfermented grape juice would have had to be high in acid to mix with the mustard.

Zimmermann Verjuice

Verjuice is the juice from unripened grapes that has not been fermented and thus this early condiment base was Verjuice.  This juice can be used for many culinary devices.  I use it as part of a salad dressing (mixed with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar), sauce or gravy base (use it to deglase the pan after cooking meat and then reduce for a jus or gravy) or a baste when roasting meats.  I have also used it as a drink base mixed with soda water to produce a very refreshing summer drink.

How does it taste, I hear you ask.  Well this one is made from Chardonnay grapes.  It has the aroma of apples – both Granny Smiths and Jonathon’s but more like an apple pie as opposed to the fresh fruit.  As expected the high level of acid dominates the palate with a slight sour taste (like unripe apples) and just a hint of sugar.  The palate is left clean and refreshed after tasting it.

Maggie Beer has raised the profile of Verjuice and this offering will work well over a number of uses.  At the going price around $15 for a 500mL bottle I think everybody should have a bottle of this in their fridge.

Purchase McLaren Vale Wines – Backyard Shed Cru Pack

Saturday, 07 April 2012 22:49
0 Comments

The web site www.tastemclarenvale.com.au has a membership offered where a pack of 6 wines from six different small artisan winemakers from McLaren Vale.  These wines are selected to be a show case of these small winemakers as well as McLaren Vale.  The members who can sign up easily on the site (check out the link here) and will automatically receive a six pack every six months – freight free.  Check out this offer plus other membership benefits here.

These packs have been dubbed – Backyard Shed Cru packs.  The name comes from the backyard nature of a number of the winemakers.

Alternatively these six packs can be purchased (without the membership discount) from the web site here.

The current Backyard Shed Cru Pack has the following wines:-

2009 Grancari Estate Dry Grown Organic Grenache

2010 Waywood Wines Quattro Vini

2008 Danshi Rise Shiraz

2006 Braydun Hill Single Vineyard Premium Shiraz

2009 Pikkara “McMurtrie” Cabernet Sauvignon

2010 Graham Stevens Wines Liqueur Muscat

McLaren Vale Wine – Tintara (part 2)

Sunday, 01 April 2012 21:37
0 Comments

Check out my general review of the Tintara Cellar Door here.  For the red wines see below.

Tintara Cellar Door

2010 Hardy’s Oomoo Shiraz ($A18)

Form a good vintage this wine comes from good stock.  With the black fruits of blackberry and black current with the classical oak influence that manufests itself as cinamun that brings the Christmas cake thoughts straight to my palate.  Good clean wine that sits well at this price point.

2009 Tintara McLaren Vale Shiraz ($A27)

Plum or Christmas cake combined with dusty oak aromas lead one to a typical McLaren Vale Shiraz – lots of plums plus the wonderfully soft butgenerous mid palate.  This wpen will get better over the next few years but I am not sure one will wait.

2008 Reynella Basket Press Shiraz 2008 ($A54)

This wine has an excellent reputation and I was so glad that it was available for tasting. The last few times I have wondered into the cellar door as well as the one in Reynella it has not been available.  The wine was opened at the time of tasting and passed through a Vinturi aerator.  Even after doing this the aromas were closed and all I could get was some darkness.  The flavors were dark as well with intense black fruits with a concentrated almost viscous mouthfeel to the wine.  The oak was present but was not dominant as the blackness was all encompassing.  This is definately a wine that needs a number of years to approach it’s best.  I drank a similar wine recently that was 12 years old and it was just coming into it’s own.  I think this wine is of a similar nature.

Inside Tintara Cellar Door

2009 Hardys Oomoo Cabernet Sauvignon ($A18)

The cooler nature of Coonawarra fruit comes through here straight away.  The essence of blackcurrent aromas is very different to those from McLaren Vale.  The blackcurrent theme continues on the palate with hints of red fruits and the mintiness that Cabernet can sometimes produce.  Yet again the Oomoo range over delivers – I just wonder if people are put off by the label?

2008 Tintara McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon ($A27)

The difference between Cabernet from Coonawarra and McLaren Vale is shown hen you try this wine after the one above.  The Cabernet aromas of black current come through but the chocolate one tends to associate with McLaren Vale is here.  There is bright cabernet fruit flavors but there is no Cabernet hole here.  Cabernet is know for lacking in flavor on the mid palate but McLaren Vale is know for a generous mid palate – there is definitely a mid palate here.  Maybe, just maybe, the “terroir” of McLaren Vale is dominating!

2007 Reynella Basket Pressed Cabernet Sauvignon ($A54)

Unlike the Tintara labeled wine this wine shows significant finesse with black current combined with sage and mint aromas.  The herbs here added complexity and interest straight away.  The flavors backed up a mouthful of typical Cabernet flavors with maybe a hint of American oak sweetness.  For the Cabernet lovers out there this wine shows that McLaren Vale and seriously good Cabernet can be used in the same sentence.

Free Blog Notification Subscription