McLaren Vale Wines – Yangarra Estate

20 06 2010

Yangarra Estate is an organic and biodynamic vineyard that concentrates on winemaking in the vineyard and then minimal winemaking interferences.  Wines are picked based on flavor and not on laboratory results.  The small wine batches from each section of the vineyard are kept separate to ensure blending options and the native yeasts are used to ferment the wines instead of things from the packet.  Even barrels are chosen for subtlety and not for any any overpowering influences.

Yangarra Estate Cellar Door Decking

The cellar door overlooks a grassed area that is next to a creek which my son had a great time playing around while dad was wine tasting.  I could see this area being suitable for a picnic – bring a basket and get some good wine there ready for you.

Yangarra Estate Cellar Door Views

The winery has the latest in technology but they are trying to reproduce what is done in the Old World of wine.  The crusher is a de-stemmer that even has a blower that is there to remove any shriveled berries.  I am told that the conveyor is just a clean set of rolling berries.  The numerous vats all have heating and cooling to ensure the temperature can be maintained no matter what the ambient temperature.  The vats also have a mechanical cap plunger that can be moved from one vat to another – that is almost cheating.

Yangarra Estate Vats showing Cap Plunger

I admit that I did not enjoy the white wines – too soft for me.  The red wines are another thing, as I am sure you will see from my descriptions below.

2008 Chardonnay ($A18)

The aromas where restrained (possibly as the wines were cold and it was a cold day).  The flavors were dominated by melons with good acidity (giving a minerality mouthfeel) and an inherent creaminess (from lees stirring).  The wine is un-oaked and no malolactic fermentation so it is an unusual chardonnay where the fruit is just left to it’s own thing.  I am thinking of sitting on an island in Queensland eating a seafood platter with a glass or so of this.

2009 Rousanne ($A28)

This wine is all about the minerals and citrus fruits.  There is a excellent long acid finish and leaves the mouth feeling like you have been licking a lump of stainless steel dipped in lime juice – I think I would prefer the wine instead.  The acid would cut through the fat of a creamy sauce so I recommend a creamy poached chicken breast served on a bed of fresh and crisp blanched beans.

2009 Viognier ($A25)

Green apples was the only real aroma I could determine here.  By this time I could see a theme for the Yangarra whites – let the fruit do the talking with a lovely long acid finish.  Quite restrained and elegant.

2008 Mourvedre ($A28)

Bringing this wine up to the nose brought a smile to my face and the word “WOW” to my lips.  It was such a different wine.  I tasted this wine with a group of people and I took note of what each person was saying about the aromas.  The list was the smell of fruitloops and milk, perfume, rose, creamy, cooked garlic and thick balsamic vinegar.  What a range of aromatic delights.  My comments about the flavors were cranberries and bitter cherries.  This is a smart wine that I am sure will age and it would be interesting to decant the wine and taste progressively over 1 to 2 hours.

2008 Grenache ($A28)

My favorite grape variety did not disappoint all the red fruits one expects backed up with a savory finish.  Bring on a plate full of garlic marinated BBQ’d lamb chops (thanks to Michelle for the suggestion) and a bottle of this – I would be in heaven.  Don’t ask me to share!

2008 Cadensia (Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre) ($A28)

Again I applaud the Cadensia project, where McLaren Vale winemakers are showcasing the unique McLaren Vale grenache based wines under this name.  The aromas are wonderfully complex with the red fruits of the grenache, some perfume and a creamy finish.  On the palate starts with the red fruits (cherries dominated) again and complexes into freshly roasted beetroot and lavender.

2008 Shiraz ($A28)

Oh this is just what one thinks about when you hear the term McLaren Vale Shiraz from Blewitt Springs area.  Concentrated, strong mid palate, plum and red fruit character and the hint of Blewitt Springs peatyness.  Bring on some char grilled kangaroo with a side of bush tomatoes seasoned with saltbush flakes.

2007 Iron Heart Shiraz ($A80)

As one would expect based on the price, this wine is a significant step up from the above wine.  There is an increase in aromatics with some more obvious oak and blackberries.  The flavors are a meaty combination of a plum/blackberry conserve with even a licorice and meaty finish.  The flavor is lasting and bring on the osso bucco with a bottle of this and I would be happy – but not happy to share.

2007 High Sands Grenache ($A90)

If I though the Iron Heart was a memorable wine then I had to hold onto my head when I tried this as I thought my head was going to explode.  An expression of my favorite grape variety where there is just so much happening!  The old old bush vine grenache from the highest part of the vineyard makes something I believe everybody should try just to see how good Grenache can be.  Aromas of red fruits and creme caramel moves through such a concentrated mouthful of red and black fruits, chocolate and fennel with such a lovely savory finish.  My words almost do not do justice to this wine.


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Mclaren Vale, wine

McLaren Vale Wineries – Hugh Hamilton

27 02 2010

Hugh Hamilton Wines has a theme of Hugh being the black sheep of the family and this theme is branded right across the business.  From the wine labels to the wine names to the merchandise and even the road signs entering the winery.

Hugh Hamilton Wines Cellar Door

The views from the cellar door are worth the visit alone.  You can get about 300 degree views of the surrounding vineyard based countryside – just spectacular!  For the location check out the Cellar Door Map.

The merchandise is high quality and are really promote the Black Sheep brand.  The white t-shirt range is a particular favorite with a play on some of the wine names – I will leave it to your imagination what “The Madam” looks like!

They also have a wine club that allows you to obtain their rare wines, discounts and functions, on the basis of purchasing 2 dozen wines per year.

Black Sheep Club Benefits are:-

FREE membership & FREE freight for whole cases
Priority access to our scarcest wines
Our premium wines automatically delivered to your door, anywhere in Australia, twice a year
Significant savings of up to $50-00 per case for each allocation including rare wines
15% saving on all Hugh Hamilton wines and merchandise all year round
Gift service – we will send wine & merchandise on your behalf to family & friends with a personalised card
Invitations to cellar door events and bonus offers
Hugh’s vintage report & tasting notes with suggestions of when to drink and food accompaniments
Replacement guarantee for any damaged wines
Your choice of a red, white or mixed pack for your ongoing allocation
Surprise gift or special offer in each allocation

You can check out the wine club and all the other aspects of this winery at their web site www.hamiltonwines.com.au.

Along with the branding the wines are also something that is different and shows individual character.

2009 “The Trickster” Verdelho ($A18.50)

This wine is interesting if for no other reason that is has only 11% alcohol.  Either the grapes for this wine were picked earlier than is normal McLaren Vale practice or alcohol has been removed from the wine via reverse osmosis technology.  Either way the product is a light and refreshing infusion of fruit salad and citrus on the nose and grassy citrus on the palate.  There is not as much acid on the finish as I would expect.  The light nature of the wine means it is an excellent hot afternoon with family & friends.  It would also work with a fish entree – I had a smoked salmon dish tonight that would have gone well with this wine.

2009 “The Scallywag” Unwooded Chardonnay ($A18.50)

The grapes here are from 1975 planting of the “OF” clone.  The subtle nose is a mixture of melons and guava.  The melon theme continues on the palate with hints of tropical fruits.  I normally think that Chardonnay should have some oak treatment to get the best from this variety however I could imagine drinking this with a Cesar Salad and enjoying the matching.

2008 “The Loose Cannon” Viognier ($A22.50)

An interesting expression of orange blossom and nashi on the nose followed by the nashi and lime finish on the palate.

2009 “The Floozie” Tempranillo Rose

The 24 hour skin contact has waved its magic wand to produce a musky and Turkish Delight (both on the nose and palate) with a lovely stone fruit but dry finish.  How about a plate of Salt and Pepper Squid.

2008 “The Mongrel” Sangiovese Blend ($A22.50)

A blend of 85% Sangiovese, 10% Merlot and 5% Tempranillo.  When I saw this wine on offer I straight away thought of the standard earthy and grainy taninic styles (such as from Coriole).  I was wrong (again) – yes there was some earthyness on the nose but this was no where near being dominate.  Instead I got hints of Rosemary and Cloves on the nose with a medium bodied cherries on the palate with smooth tannins.  Any tomato based pasta dish would do justice to a bottle or two of this wine.

2008 “The Ratbag” Merlot ($A24.50)

I have not made is a secret that Merlot is not my drink of choice, as the style tends to be a softer and a short soft tannin finish.  For my palate I tend towards the bigger red wine styles.  That is a generalisation and I will admit generalisations can be dangerous to hang your hat on!  Here is one of those times.  When I tasted the wine my first thought was that I had the wrong wine poured into my glass as this wine had “body”!  After checking the label I was convinced that, in fact, it was a Merlot I gave it another try.  The nose was really nice spiced plums.  Red plums continue on the palate combined with dark berries and a tobacco leaf finish.  I would love to have this wine with some Italian Sausages with a pan fried melody of seasonal vegetables.

2008 “The Scoundrel” Tempranillo ($A24.50)

WOW!!!!!!!  This is the most pleasantly different example of Tempranillo.  The nose had white pepper with preserved strawberries.  Strawberries continued on the palate with plums and a soft tannin finish.  Such a difference compared to other Tempranillo wines I have tasted, and I am better for this experience.  Some of this wine came home with me and I look forward to drinking it with either grilled pork chops or one of my home made pizzas – now the only decision is do I share the wine!

2007 “The Rascal” Shiraz ($A24.50)

Shiraz does so well in McLaren Vale and for 2007 being a drought year the wine is of high quality and worth checking out.  It has ripe fresh plums with cardamon and black olives mixed in.  The palate has vanilla (from the oak treatment) with plums, spice and fine tannins on the finish.  Nothing here is over the top and the components are well balanced.  Bring on a thick juicy Wychwood Meats T-bone steak.

2007 “The Villain” Cabernet Sauvignon ($A24.50)

I cannot help but think about lamb while I was tasting this wine – with no pun intended.  This has the expected nose of blackcurrents but there are hints of freshly picked thyme and other spices.  The palate continues with the blackcurrents and black olives with the oak as a supportive role only as there is a soft tannic finish.  How could you not think of lamb with this wine?

N/V “The Madam” Sparkling Tempranillo Sangiovese ($A22.50)

For the regular readers of the Lonely Grape would know that I am a sparkling red fan.  Hug Hamilton used to make a sparkling Merlot that was not on my “to drink list”.  Now this is some thing different – a sparkling Tempranillo Sangiovese blend.  I just had to try this one.

Well this was worth the visit to the cellar door!  The nose had an earthy, spiced dark plums (fresh plums not stewed).  When you drink this you are immediately seduced by a full bodied wine (hints of plums, olives and a little chocolate) followed by soft silky tannins.  There is some sweetness here but not excessive.

2009 “Goldilocks” Light Fruity White

This “light fruity wine” is made from Gewurtztraminer – an unfashionable variety.  It has been picked early and is only 11% alcohol.  Hugh says that this wine is to be enjoyed and who cares about the wine snobs that would dismiss this wine.  There is a mixture of musk lollies with rose water and the palate drives straight into tropical melons and lemon zest clean finish.  I was surprised that there was 31 g/L in the wine as it did not seem overly sweet – there must be a lot of acid here to offset.  Try something spicy with this – maybe a Thai Noodle Salad.

N/V “The Ruffian” Liqueur Muscat ($A24.50)

Along with the usual alcohol nose tingle the nose was full of raisins, Christmas pudding and candied citrus peel.  When tasted I directly thought of 2 words – luscious and lingering.  The high viscosity of the wine coated the mouth with liquid raisins, peel and slightly burnt caramel – somebody please pass the blue cheese.


Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Mclaren Vale, wine

McLaren Vale Wines – Alpha Box & Dice Cellar Door

19 12 2009

Justin Lane (the Alpha Box & Dice winemaker) has a reputation for being something different and that he does things his own way.  Their facility – including the cellar door is across the road from Maxwell Wines in  what I remember as the Manning Park cellar door and more recently Settlement Wines cellar door.  There has been an effort to clean up the site and make it reflect the Lane family philosophy.  The cellar door is not your new style with lots of polished wood and glass – here is all about character.  With Justin being a character and his wines showing a lot of character then it should follow that the cellar door has character.  There is also a view to setting up a courtyard area for BBQ’s etc.

The wines are very different in a positive way.  When I was offered a Dolcetto as the first wine to taste from his range, I was concerned as in my very limited experience with this variety it was sweet wine style.  How wrong I was!  The wines show an overall structure with selected fruit parcels (the emphasis is on sourcing the correct fruit to produce a style) with old oak maturation in specially sourced oak barrels plus some funky treatments to produce experience wines.

The cellar door is open weekends and I recommend this as a visit  

Dead Winemakers Society 2008 Dolcetto ($A20)

The Dolcetto grapes comes from a Scott Hicks Kupito vineyard and is aged in old 500L puncheons.  The wine is a pleasant surprise with distinct orange peel aromas.  The low tannic nature of the wine strikes you the moment it hits the palate with the orange peel nature continuing with some fennel overtones and a eucalypt finish (the vineyard is surrounded with gum trees).  Oak plays only a minimum part on the flavour profile and there is long acid finish that is complementary to the rest of the flavours.  The wine is very dry wine that would go well with complex slow cooked food or the citrus nature would appeal to the duck lovers out there.

Fog 2006 Nebbiolo Cabernet Tanant ($A30)

The wine is made up of 80% Nebbiolo from Blewitt Springs and aged in old 500L oak puncheons, 10% McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon (aged in new french oak) and 10% Kupitto Tanant (also aged in new french oak).  The Nebbiolo had extended skins contact (4 weeks) and then a long time in barrel to ensure the different tannins to integrate.

The citrus characters continue on the nose - this time it is reminiscent of mandarin peel.  On the palate there is a fruit sweetness (though it is a dry wine) with lots of sour cherries.  There is a layering effect of tannins (grape tannins and oak tannins) probably assisted by the use of Tanant, fruit and citrus flavours, high volatile acid and high acids generally.  All of these components make this an enjoyable and complex wine.  Food matches would be the same as for the Dolcetta. 

Blood of Jupiter 2006 Sangiovese Cabernet ($A25)

The wine is made of 85% Sangiovese and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon – both from McLaren Vale.  The Sangiovese free run juice went straight into old oak pungeons and the Sangiovese pressings and the Cabernet Sauvignon went into new Burgundian Bariques and had extended time on the lees.

The nose showed the typical Sangivese earthy and peaty characters with distinct sour cherries.  These carry over onto the palate that has layers of fine tannins, oak char and fruit sweetness.  Again there is an almost viscous mouthfeel that is very pleasant.

Apostie 2008 Shiraz Durif ($A30)

The wine is made of 50% McLaren Vale Shiraz, 23% Barossa Shiraz and 27% Durif, that went into Burgundian Buriques of which 70% were new.  The first item of note for this wine is that it is 14.1% alcohol - the wine is neither a fruit or alcohol bomb.  The nose has elements of spice with red and black fruits – but is not typical of Shiraz I have drunk lately, it has a more refined and delicate.  The palate has lots of plums and layered tannins with a real lift due to the textural structure and wonderful acid.

Changing Lanes 2005 Tempranillo Cabernet ($A35)

An interesting mix of 50/50 blend of Margaret River Tempranillo with McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon (from the Willunga foothills) – again the wine has seen Burgundian Bariques of which 70% were new.  Three years in oak and 1 year in bottle was required for Justin to be happy to release this wine.  Some Tempranillo funkyness came through on the nose.  On the palate was this fruit sweetness even though the wine would be considered dry.  Combining well with this fruitiness was layers of dry and dusty layers of tannins that was just starting to show some aged characteristics.  Another wine to buy and experieince a wine that is enjoyable but not main stream.


Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories : Mclaren Vale, wine

Next Entries »


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 4,197 other followers