McLaren Vale Wine – Shingleback Wines (Part 1)

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Lonely Grape

Shingleback Cellar Door

Shingleback Wines Cellar Door has the distinction of being the first cellar door you drive past or to as you enter McLaren Vale’s main street.  They moved into the current facility a few years ago after being in the Tourist Infoamtion Centre and have not looked back.  The renovated old building looks great and is set up with lounges and art for those that may want to linger or those who are driving and not wanting to have a drink.  The facility has a lot of room so they can set up well for functions.  For the Sea & Vines Festival they put on a great show.

Shingleback’s vineyards are on the flat between McLaren Vale and Willunga.  They are close to Fox Creek Wines – I used to work for Fox Creek so I like the association.  I found some close flavor profiles – particularly with the sparkling red between Shingleback and Fox Creek.  The tastes of McLaren Vale are here for all to see and taste.

I find one of their marketing ploys as fascinating – they have a buy 2 and get a third wine at equal or lesser value (not for the Show Wines).  This makes their wine seem to be better value to the customer and the winery gets more volume sold -quite simply the potential for a wine – wine situation.  This could be a 2 edged sword as some people may take offense to such a strategy, however I am told that the strategy is seen very favorably at the cellar door so well done guys!

There is now a restaurant open next door to the facility – I will talk about this more next week.

Shingleback Cellar Door - Side Door

Red Knot Range

Fruit driven entry level wines – $15/bottle or $30 for 3.

2009 Unwooded Chardonnay

The aromas are quite distinctly missing – maybe the wine was a bit cold.  The flavors are true to variety (melons) and there was not as much of an acid finish as I was hoping for.  A soft drinking style that is not necessarily a food wine – just drink it with friends on a Sunday lunch.

2010 Rose

Your basic Rose – strawberry and rose water mixed with a real acid backbone.  Another one for a hot weekend lunch wine.

2009 Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre

I got a distinct aroma layer of red fruits (red currents and raspberries) with a perfume ending.  This is a real fruit driven wine with all fruits you expect from this blend – red fruits from the Grenache and some fruit tannin and backbone from the Shiraz and Mourvedre.  If you have not tried this blend before and like fruit driven wines then this is a great start.  The wine is under a Zork closure as part of a trial.

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon

At first I was concerned about this wine as I got almost no aromas from my tasting glass with this wine.  What I tasted was completely different – nice black current fruit (as expected) combined with fruit based tannins (skins etc) that are quite fine.  The real thing that got me here was the acid levels that left the tongue tingling.  I can see my favorite beef and chilli pizza going down well with this one.

2009 Shiraz

Again the aromas were closed here.  The flavors are what you expect from a fruit driven Shiraz – particular emphasis on plums.  The acid level is again nice and high and the tannins are quite fine and smooth.  Soft everyday drinking with a BBQ written all over it.

Haycutters Range

Mid level wines $18/bottle or $36 for 3.

2010 Sauvignon Blanc / Semillon

The grassyness of the Semillon comes through as the dominant aroma with some passionfruit there as well (from the ripe Sauvignon Blanc).  There is a real citrus component here – probably from the Semillon.  I found the wine a bit lacking in the mouthfeel department so it would be a pass for me.  

2007 Shiraz Viognier

The wine saw co-fermentation of Viognier skins and the Shiraz.  The aromas of plum also have a lift that you get from the co-fermentation.  I could definitely taste the apricots one expects from this blend but it was just a little apricotty for me.

Show Wines

2006 “The Gate” Shiraz ($A37.50)

As you would expect this is a step up and the wine delivers.  With a 2006 wine there was a number of developed flavors here mixed with licorice all over the place.  The flavors are what McLaren Vale seems to produce the best – chocolate and licorice.  There is a fruit sweetness here also that goes straight into a mouth full of fresh plum character.  The tannins are fine and not over powering.  With the fruit basis of te wine, I would choose a dish of Chicken in Red Wine.

Check out Part 2 of this review to read all about the Shingleback wines plus the rest of the Show Wines.

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Lonely Grape TV Episode #71 – 2008 Pieri Occasione Shiraz

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Lonely Grape

What an unusual wine. The wine from 2008 was passed through the red wine pressings from 2009 – very unusual characters and very pleasant.

Check out this wine from www.tastemclarenvale.com.au in their Backyard Shed Cru Red Pack #4

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McLaren Vale Wine – Taste McLaren Vale

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Lonely Grape

 

I have to say this review is about my other self – yes, Taste McLaren Vale is the wine sales web site for the same person who writes this blog.  I can already hear you ask why am I reviewing myself.  Well I am glad you asked!  I have been asking people who I have met around McLaren Vale, who know me as the person behind the Lonely Grape Blog, but did not know about the web site called Taste McLaren Vale.

So now you know, I thought I would give some background to the web site and what I can offer the consumer.

Background

About 2 years ago I was retrenched and thought a change in career was an option – so I found a job working as a Laboratory Technician for Fox Creek Wines starting in the 2009 Vintage.  I also took time to conduct a study on starting a wine sales business as a cellar door working on behalf of 10+ different small McLaren Vale wineries who did not have their own cellar door.  Well I had a great time working at the winery and eventually found the cellar door was too risky to proceed with at this difficult time in the Australian wine industry but I was hooked with the idea.  The concept of the web site and blog was my way to start something with wine.

A little while later I have the web site and blog and supplying a service to you out there in cyber world.

Unfortunately, I have had to move on from on from Fox Creek but the Taste McLaren Vale services have been slowly strengthening.

So what can Taste McLaren Vale web site do to help you?

  1. Create a pack of 6 wines, from 6 different wineries and from wineries that you normally cannot find in the bottle shops.
  2. Release a new 6 pack every 3 months
  3. Freight free in Australia
  4. Membership entitlement is 10% discount for a minimum of 2 packs per year
  5. easy to use website with payment with credit card or PayPal

These wine packs are called Backyard Shed Cru packs as they are made by small producers usually in their sheds behind their house or vineyard.

The service does not stop here.  If you are looking for wine from a hard to get winery, or a particular wine style then let me know at shane@tastemclarenvale.com.au and I will do my best to find the right wines for you.  So far I have managed to find an old style heavily wooded, buttery Chardonnay for a client in Melbourne.  For a client in outback Queensland has received high end priced wines as a tasting pack and then he picks his favorites and orders dozens to go into his cellar.

If any of these concepts give you ideas on McLaren Vale wines you wish to get, or you have your own ideas, then just let me know how I can help.

I can be contacted by:-

e-mail           Shane@tastemclarenvale.com.au

Twitter         http://www.twitter.com/LonelyGrape

Facebook   http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/pages/Taste-McLaren-Vale/178693392084

 

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Lonely Grape TV Episode #70 – 2006 Pikkara Shiraz

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Lonely Grape

Yet again another little gem I found while checking out the wines of McLaren Vale. From the McMurtrie family vineyards. Watch out for their Cabernet – just released. This wine is part of http://www.tastemclarenvale.com.au in their Backyard Shed Cru Red Pack #4.

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McLaren Vale Wines – Mandelli Estate

Posted on February 13, 2011 by Lonely Grape

This newly opened cellar door in McLaren Vale has a claim to fame – it is the first South Australian licensed collective cellar door on the new licensing laws.

Mandelli Estate Cellar Door

The cellar door is the reincarnation of the old Clarence Hill premises and has had a total makeover.  This new facility has the following features:-

Inside Mandelli Estate Cellar Door

Cellar Door for Mandelli Wines and Simply Organolecptic Wines

Devonshire teas (lovely hand made scones with jam made from fruit on the property)

Espresso coffee

Art galery

Function centre – private and corporate functions, weddings

Estate grown jams, olives and almonds

Pick your own fruit in season

Oils and balsamic vinegar from The Passionate Foodie

Jewellry

The facility also has WiFi available for those that just want to hang out while checking their Facebook page.

The Mandelli Estate wines are made at Dennis Wines with mentoring assistance from Linda Domas.  The wines are labeled as Diplomats Daughter – simply because Caroline was just that, a Diplomats daughter.

Mandelli Estate Wines

2010 Diplomats Daughter Secret Service Sauvignon Blanc ($A15)

Made from Fleurieu fruit and even though it is very aromatic it is a different Savy.  Minerality and pear aromas combines with a lovely lime acid finish that does not scream Sauvignon Blanc.  Still not for me, however those that like lots of acid in their white wines should give this a try with a big plate of freshly caught and cooked seafood.

2010 Diplomats Daughter A Spy Named Rose ($A18)

A Shiraz wine (Sellicks Beach fruit) made in a dry style.  Aromas of rose and plums with a hint of toffee on the back of the nose.  The flavors are red fruit based but not the normal strawberries and cream one can get with this style.  More of a serious Rose than a lot of lolly water wines of this style.

2004 Diplomats Daughter Spooks Shiraz ($A20)

The first wine made by Caroline and was literally made in the Sellicks Hill vineyard that it was licked.  The wine is all about secondary flavors.  Mushrooms and moss aromas combine with flavors of chocolate covered mushrooms.  If you want to see a wine that is transitional from fruit based to these secondary flavor profiles than this is one to check out.  A forest mushroom risotto with lots of Parmesan cheese.

Simply Organolecptic Wines

2010 Perception ($A15)

Mount Compass fruit is used in this very unusual blend – Chardonnay, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier.  It produced a wine with lemongrass, white flower and apple aromas with flavors that scream minerallity with pear and lemongrass.  I enjoyed this blend and would  to try it with grilled chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto.

2010 The Collaboration Cabernet Rose ($A18)

Another dry Rose wine but very different from it’s stable mate.  The aromas are very fruity with perfume wafting around the glass.  There is blackcurrent sweetness flavors with quite an interesting creamy mouthfeel.  Try it with some crusty bread and some runny brie – yum!

2008 Nothing But Cabernet Sauvignon ($20)

McLaren Vale comes to the front yet again – the wine shows all the chocolate aromas and mid palate that this wonderful wine region is known for.  The wine shows blackberries with a dry dusty tannin finish.  One for the Cabernet lovers out there to check out, with a pan fried lamb loin steak.

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Lonely Grape TV Episode # 69 – 2009 La Curio Grenache Shiraz

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Lonely Grape

A new format with only tasting 1 wine – so to reduce the size of the videos. Also I am reviewing a wine I have for sale on www.tastemclarenvale.com.au web site. The wine – 2009 La Curio “The Nubile” McLaren Vale Grenache Shiraz. Just gorgeous!

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Taste McLaren Vale’s Backyard Shed Crew Red Pack #4

Posted on February 6, 2011 by Lonely Grape

Every 3 months Taste McLaren Vale puts together a tasting pack called the Backyard Shed Cru pack.  This time it is a red wine pack.  While I review small artisan wineries from McLaren Vale I not only write about them but also look to providing you with the value for money pure McLaren Vale yummyness wines from these small producers.  The price also includes freight to anywhere in Australia!

You can check out the wines and order at the Taste McLaren Vale web site in the next couple of days.

Below is my reviews of the 6 wines that appear in the Backyard Shed Cru Red Pack #4 – I hope you enjoy, and remember any questions about these wines or any other McLaren Vale wine please let me know how I can help you.

2008 Thorpe Wines Shiraz

There was about 30 – 35 tonne of grapes used to make this wine and was picked before the heat wave of that year.  The picking date was based on flavor profiles and not based on the impact of the heat wave.  The aromas were the usual plum and berry character plus the same iodine background that I found in the Cabernet from the same vintage.  The flavors hit me with citrus notes combined with plums plus the spice character of nutmeg and star anise (not the normally associated pepper flavors of Shiraz).  The finish was savory but not overly tannic (the wine spent 1 year on 2 year old oak).  There was an overall delicious factor that stuck me as definitely providing value.  When tasting this wine I thought of charred (BBQ) meats – maybe a good burger with lots of onion, cheese, lettuce, tomato and beetroot smothered in tomato sauce.

Check out my review of Thorpe Wines.

2008 Pieri Occasione

Made the classical Ripasso style and from Shiraz grapes.  Unlike the amarone style above I have never had this wine style before.  This wine creates difference by taking the red wine from last year’s vintage and pass it through this years skins after they have been pressed – talk about a point of difference!  The wine was aged in older French & American oak so oak is not a dominate factor.  The aromas showed strength of plums and currents.  The strength of the fruit was not expected – particularly as these aromas were not jammy.  The flavors were an interesting contrast of some bitterness (from the skins), sweetness and drying tannins.  The fruit flavors are in line with the aromas, so the Shiraz-ness is true.  Drink it with just about anything but just drink it to try wine of this style.

Check out my Review of Redheads Studio where you can get Pieri wines.

2006 Petanga Wines Dio

A Grenache (70%), Shiraz (30%) and Mourvedre (10%) blend and what another joy.  Dio means God – there is nothing more behind this name that it is the sister wine to Diavolo, which means Devil.  Here we have the musk lolly smell, with more obvious red fruits (red currents) and the familiar fennel linger on the back of the nose.  Paul tells me this wine has a relatively high volatile acid level which would also increase the “funkyness” on the nose.  Again, this is a big wine but has a silky finish that includes a real floral and perfume element which I would expect comes from the Mourvedre.  Make sure you decant the wine and let it breathe – it will be worth the effort.  Talk about expression of of the vineyard and the sense of place, this wine is just sensational now and will only get better over the next 10 years (if it lasts that long).  This wine screams food, so don’t let it down and have it with a beef stir fry that has some Chinese five spice that will go so well with the fennel notes of the wine.

Check out my review of Petanga Wines wonderful wines.

2006 Danshi Rise Shiraz

Just essence of McLaren Vale Shiraz here – all the plum, licorice and just a little chocolate.  The mid palate that McLaren Vale red wines are famous for is shown so well here.  Added to this is a sense of place – the minerallity of the soil mixes well with the strength of the fruit and the grainy tannins.  The tannins are interesting as there are lots of them but they just meld so well together with the weight of the fruit.  This is a wine that is all round complexity and even though it could be drunk now would continue to get better over the next 5+ years.  Slap a Wychwood Meats T-bone steak in front of me with this wine and get out of may as this would be devouring time!

And yes another review – this time of Steve’s Danshi Rise wines.

2006 Pikkara Shiraz

This wine was a surprise from the moment I tried it.  Pikkara is a small wine label from a 5th generation McMurtrie family growers and Nat has decided to make some wine with the help of the guys at Redhead Studios.  The aromas start with lovely cedary notes from the French oak combined with the classical plum one expects from McLaren Vale Shiraz.  As the wine breathes the obvious cedar blows away and the silky smooth plum tends to dominate.  The flavours show the savory characters of that classical McLaren Vale Shiraz with the chocolate plums enveloped in lovely fine tannins.  As the wine opened up I found some cherry character also coming through.  The best way to understand this wine’s underlying strength is that at no time during the tasting did I pick up on the 15% alcohol!  Drink over the next 5 years and enjoy it with  that has been slow cooked with garlic and rosemary.

2009 La Curio The Nubile Grenache Shiraz

I was lucky enough to taste some of Adam Hooper’s wines in barrel from the 2009 vintage about a year ago and knew these wines were going to be good.  As soon as I poured this wine I knew it was going to be interesting.  The wine was quite light and a dark pink colour.  The aromas just jumped out of the glass as soon as this pouring occurred.  Lots of raspberries and cherries combined with just a hint of cedar oak – no oak monster here!  The flavors were all about easy drinking with lovely raspberries wrapped around silky smooth tannins.  the 30% Shiraz component added some plum strength on the finish of the wine which just allowed the whole experience to stay in your mouth for quite a while.  This easy drinking red wine can be consumed in almost all occasions, and why not when the quality is this good.  Forget this wine if you are looking for the strength of a Shiraz but for drinkability count me in – especially if there is a Chinese banquet ready to be consumed also.

My review of La Curio (previous vintage wines) is here.

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McLaren Vale Wine – Danshi Rise Wines

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Lonely Grape

Danshi Rise Winery

Steve (owner, grape grower and winemaker) has been making wine from his lovingly tendered vineyard since 2003 (with the exception of 2005) and has supplied grapes to many well known McLaren Vale wineries – wineries that only look for grapes that will provide strength and character in the wine.  Strength and character is what is delivered consistently under the wines tasted for this label.

The business model for this stable is to sell some grapes and make wine with some and hope that makes enough money to live on.  There is no website for Danshi Rise and there is no real marketing for the wine either.  With payment issues from restaurants and the cut throat nature of selling to the wine retailers, Steve seems to sell what he can through word of mouth.  I suspect this word of mouth works to some degree because the wines are so full of what a lot of wine consumers would be looking for – including the price.  All the wines to date are sold for $25/bottle – even though advice has been given from many wine industry people that the wine should be priced about $40 (so people could see this is a serious wine).  Steve can see the benefits of a price increase for his wine, but declines to do so – as he does not want to upset his current following.  I applaud this sentiment and I can see a large following being happy to almost steal the wine at the lower price.  One would be vary lucky indeed if you could find a wine so packed full of flavor at this price range.  The wines are at their best with food – I had a bottle with a lovely rump steak dinner and I was a very happy man.

The vineyard is almost all planted to Shiraz (~14 acres) with some Cabernet (0.5 acre) plus Tempranillo (1 acre).  most of the vines are about 12 years old with the Tempranillo planted last year.  The vineyard is situated on the Willunga “foothills” between the Willunga township and Aldinga.  The views from the winery are just sensational – firstly overlooking vineyards that seem to stretch out to the sea.

Danshi Rise Views

I filmed a episode of Lonely Grape TV at Danshi Rise – check it out.

And now the wines…….

Barrel Samples

2010 Shiraz

This wine took some time in the glass to open up, but I got clean fresh plum fruits and milk chocolate aromas.  The milk chocolate theme continued over onto the palate with rich plums and chewy tannins – in a word rich.

2009 Shiraz

The wine I tried was a mix of different barrel samples to try to show how the overall effect would be.  The effect in a word was – WOW!  The aromas were an intense infusion of licorice and plums with just a hint of tobacco.  The intensity continues with the flavors where the fruit, licorice and grainy tannins bring strength and balance.

2008 Shiraz

This wine is not far from bottling and I for one am looking forward to this.  Again there is a theme of intensity with the constant being expanded to the licorice and plumyness.  What is different here is that I get some of the American oak coconut and more of a fruit sweetness that I got with the other wines.  I also got a sense of minerallity – more than the other wines – oh so very interesting.

2009 Tempranillo

The wine is not far from bottling and this is a small volume wine (1 barrel) that shows why this variety is being lauded as the next big thing from McLaren Vale.  The aromas are just full of red and black fruits wrapped in an American oak coconut sweetness envelope.  The flavors are earthy cherries with fine soft tannins that has, dare I say it, sexy smooth and lasting finish.  Bring it on in the bottle, I say.

Bottled Wine

2006 Shiraz

Just essence of McLaren Vale Shiraz here – all the plum, licorice and just a little chocolate.  The mid palate that McLaren Vale red wines are famous for is shown so well here.  Added to this is a sense of place – the minerallity of the soil mixes well with the strength of the fruit and the grainy tannins.  The tannins are interesting as there are lots of them but they just meld so well together with the weight of the fruit.  This is a wine that is all round complexity and even though it could be drunk now would continue to get better over the next 5+ years. 

2007 Shiraz

Combined with plums is a sense of black fruit and just a hint of coconut from the American oak.  The wine is all about strength and structure but at the same time providing a smooth experience for the palate.  This wine was slightly softer than the 2006, but not by much.  Definitely a food wine – steak all around!

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Lonely Grape TV Episode #67 – Danshi Rise Shiraz

Posted on January 18, 2011 by Lonely Grape

Danshi Rise is a very small winery producing Shiraz wines of great depth and structure. Lots of alcohol and flavor here. Check out my tasting in the winery.

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McLaren Vale On Line – Connect McLaren Vale

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Lonely Grape

Just for something totally different, I am not reviewing a winery but a note about the fact that the McLaren Vale iPhone App is here – called Connect McLaren Vale.  The App is built by Connect Broadcast and sponsored in part by the Onkaparinga Council

App Front Page

The App is free and can be downloaded from the iTunes store.  Here is the link to the iTunes store.

The main menu has 9 components:-

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each menu item has an overview page, a list of items and a Google Map set up for the area.  The whole set up is very easy to use – even for a Noob like me who does not even have an iPhone (yet).

This lists are not comprehensive – 33 wineries are listed when there is over 65 cellar doors open almost every day and about 20 more that are open by appointment.  The information provided is factual and the link to the map is an excellent function.  I checked the map and found the locations of a number of wineries and eateries were not entirely correct, enough that for those who are new to the area to end up quite confused.  I have previously heard that GPS information has been confusing in the Vale before so I suspect this is the same issue.

While doing the review I was connected to the internet and found a few items, I think photos, taking longer to load up than I was prepared to wait – so I just went to another page.

I like the fact there is information on so much more that wineries here – even a large number of public toilets are shown on the map.

If you want to know more about the App – particularly if you want your information to be included (at a cost of course) then contact Mark at Connect Broadcast.

There are big plans for the App with new features expected over the coming months, including events calendar, GPS directs to wineries or attractions, social media links GPS audio links plus audio and videos.  You never know maybe the Lonely Grape may make an appearance.

So what do I think overall this is a great start to help bring McLaren Vale to the world!

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