Lonely Grape – Wineries & Wines of Mclaren Vale

Welcome to the third and last installment on the wines I tasted from d’Arenberg’s cellar door.  There is about 35 wines available so I do not recommend trying them all in one go (even when I was spitting the wine out I took 2 cellar door visits to get through them).

d'Arenberg Cellar Door

This session was to taste The Jump Stump range, the remaining red stripe range (1 white & 5 reds) plus the sticky range.  I must say the overall range was again fun to try and it is always a joy to visit such a cellar door.

The Stump Jump Range

The Jump Stump range is made with fruit that does not meet the requirements of the red stripe range.  The first in the range was the red blend and this has been a fruit driven value for money bottle of wine.  I was quite surprised at how far the range has expended.

So if do not continually repeat myself this range had light aromas and flavours, they are fruit driven and are consistently value for money.  They can be consumed with friends with or without food.  I wont go for food matches as they do not necessarily need food to bring out the flavours.

2008 The Stump Jump Sauvignon Blanc ($A11)

A combination of McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills fruit.  The nose has a slightly grassy tone with the palate being an expected light mixture of tropical fruits (mainly passionfruit).

2008 The Stump Jump Riesling ($A11)

One of the few Rieslings found in McLaren Vale.  I found the nose some what challenged but got a hint of rose water.  The palate is what you would expect from a slightly sweet Riesling style – smooth, clean, hints of citrus and a slight sweetness (5.5 g/L sugar) to coat the mouth.  Definitely one for the Sunday afternoon sessions.

2008 The Jump Stump Riesling Sauvignon Blanc Marsanne Roussanne ($A11)

This is known as the Jump Stump White Blend at the cellar door as to read out the full name takes some time.  The nose is again challenging but I found some citrus tones.  The palate has crisp citrus acidity with stone fruit overtones.  The finish was slightly bitter – not enough to be unpleasant.

2008 The Jump Stump Lightly Wooded Chardonnay ($A11)

Again slightly closed nose but did have the usual melon & peach overtones that continued right onto the palate.  The small volume of wine that has undergone barrel fermentation has had a wonderful effect on the dimension of this wine by adding the creaminess and spice that makes this wine drink far about the price would suggest.  I found this the best of the whites from this range.

2008 The Jump Stump Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre ($A11)

I have good memories of first trying this wine so I was looking forward to trying this vintage, and I was not disapointed.  The nose was a fruit compote of red fruits, black cherries and hints of spice and perfume.  The palate continued the theme of fresh (not stewed) berries with a spicy hint and then finishing with light powdery tannins.  A BBQ wine if I have ever tasted one.

2008 The Jump Stump Sticky Chardonnay ($A11 375 mL bottle)

The smell of ripe cumquots mixed with sweet syrup lychees.  The palate has stone fruit (peaches and apricots) with a lighter finish than I expected.  Even though the wine is very sweet there is plenty of acid to ensure it is not cloying.

Red Stripe Range

2008 The Hermit Crab Viognier Marssanne ($A15)

This wine has McLaren vale and Adelaide Hills fruit.  The aromas had the expected apricot from the Viognier plus an unusual pear meets cut straw finish.  When I first put this one in my mouth I was taken by the sweet stone fruit (though the wine is dry) with a citrus finish with just a hint of spice.  There is a lingering finish on this wine that takes it time to move on.  The hint of spice combined with the fruit (but dry) aspects of the wine leads me to a match of Green Chicken Curry.

2007 The High Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon ($A18)

Straight up you get a sense of the vineyard with a real chalkiness on the nose and finishes with long dry (fine tannin) finish.  In between is the black berry combination of black current and blackberries.  There is a balance between the fruit and oak – which is good from a young cabernet.  I had a Beef in Black Bean sauce dish during the week that would have been well matched with this wine.

2007 The Love Glass Shiraz ($A25)

This is a cellar door exclusive wine that is mainly shiraz but has small amounts of a number of other varieties (cabernet, merlot, grenache, tempranillo etc).  The nose was full on fresh plums with a vegetative hint of capsicum, and of course the obligatory shiraz pepper.  The palate was a compote of spicy plums and violet flowers that finished long.  The developed flavours of a beef or pork ragu would work well here.

2006 The Galvo Garage Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Petit Verdot Cabernet Franc ($A29)

At the cellar door this is known as The Blend!  The dark fruits hit the nose well before the class gets close to the nose and there is a cedary lift at the back of the nose.  The black fruit there continues with a real concentration of blackberry cassis so much so that the mouthful is “juicy”.  There is a wonderful structure of fruit, fruit tannins and oak tannins – bring it on with a thick juicy Wychwood Meats grain fed beef T Bone steak!

2008 The Wild Pixie Shiraz Roussanne ($A29)

The nose was “heavy” in a complex sort of way sure there is the usual shiraz fruit here but there is another layer of complexity here.  I found it difficult to describe – maybe tar meets meat in a pleasant sort of way.  The palate is plums all the way to a lifted cedar oak fine tannin finish.  This wine has structure but needs time to bring all the flavours – either by decanting and a long breathe or leave it in the bottle for a few years.  I do not recommend this food match often but give it a go with a plate of strong flavoured cheeses (like a Woodside Cheese Wrights Edith goats milk that is ash rolled), some cured meats and a big stick of fresh bread (like what I normally pick up at the Willunga Farmers Market).

2007 The Laughing Magpie Shiraz Viognier ($A29)

The nose is cranberry meets my Grans spicy fruit cake blended with some apricot juice.  The palate is full of sweet plum characters (though it is a dry wine style) with a floral lift and a dry dusty tannin finish.  Put this one away for a few years before even considering getting the best from it’s contents.

The Stickies

For all of these wines just pick one to go with the traditional Christmas pudding.

2008 The Noble Pranksters Chardonnay Semillon ($A20)

The nose was a little closed – possibly from being a bit cold on serving.  What I did get was the typical apricot and lemon curd.  The palate was immediately coated with the thick viscous offerings of apricots, lemons, limes and quince.

2008 The Noble Mud Pie Viognier Pinot Gris Marsanne ($A20)

The moment I got this near me I knew it was different.  The nose was full of pears and nashi, which continued over to the palate – very sweet and luscious but there is plenty of acid to ensure the sweetness in not cloying.  I liked this so much it graced my family table last Christmas with my home made Xmas Pudding!