McLaren Vale Wine – Olivers Taranga Vineyards

Posted on October 31, 2009 by Lonely Grape

The Taranga Vineyards are 6th generation owned by the Oliver Family with Corrina Wright (part of the 6th generation) being the winemaker.  The 96 ha of vineyards, first planted in 1841, are home to mainly Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, but also include 14 other varieties.  Most of the grapes are sold, with the added distinction that one block is sold as  Penfolds Grange stock (the only Grange supplier in McLaren Vale).  The family are experimenting with “new” varieties such as Fiano to review the ability of these varieties to assist in sustainable farming (in this case reducing water consumption).  The Olivers are part of the McLaren Vale sustainable initiative called Generational Farming Sustainability Farming where vineyards will be assessed on their sustainability (in the areas of pest & disease control, soil & weed management, water use, environmental management & continuing education).  The system will lead to vineyards being able to obtain a sustainable certification.  About 60 McLaren Vale vineyards have joined this excellent local initiative.

The wines have been of a quality for James Halliday to give the winery a 5 Star rating.

The cellar door is on Seaview Road (see map).  They are open 10 am to 4 pm daily.

Oliver Taranga's Cellar Door

Their website is www.oliverstaranga.com

Olivers Taranga Art Work

It was interesting to note that a winery on the right as you come into McLaren Vale which is now owned by Simon Hackett was once called Taranga (about 25 years ago).  I had thought that this winery was owned by the Olivers.  Corrina put me straight that this winery had no association with the Oliver family.  It was a mistake that many people make and they get asked this quite often.
Olive oil is also available with excellent award winning packaging.  The bottle with an olive wood stopper is classy.
And now the wines……
Please note that the wines attract a discount if you purchase any 6 wines or more from the cellar door.  The pricing below will indicate the individual price first and then the 6+ purchase price second.
White Wines
2009 Fiano ($A24 / $A22)
Plenty of general fruit on the nose with a hint of tropical characters.  Excellent acid finish on the wine with a textured mouthfeel – almost viscous!  One of the Italian trial varieties with the fruit showing good acid even during the hottest growing seasons – like to 2009 growing season.  This is a good food wine and I would like it with a plate of BBQ’d Octopus with a lemon marinade.
2008 Viognier (A$18 / A$15)
I found the nose on this wine a little closed – possibly as the wine was a bit cold.  The palate had lots of apricot and dried fruits with an excellent acid zing on the finish.  This wine should be drunk while young and a pan seared tuna steak would be a good match.
Red Wines
2008 Tempranillo ($A30 / $A28)
This spanish variety is showing some good wines in McLaren Vale.  Taranga Vineyard is doing a good job with this emerging variety.  Some of their grapes are going into other winery wines in the district and the grapes going into this wine are also pretty good too.  The wine has earthy characters with a hint of spice on the nose.  When it enters your mouth it shows lovely black berry fruit and finished with very dry dusty tannins.
2007 Cadenzia Grenache ($A30 / $A28)
The wine has a lighter colour that I would normally expect from a McLaren Vale Grenache, however this does not take anything away from the wine.  With a perfumed nose with hints of stewed plums followed by a flavour packed mouth full of plums, cherries with hints of pepper.  Bring on Mums Sunday Lamb Roast with a bottle or 2 of this wine.
2006 Corrina’s Shiraz / Cabernet Blend ($A30 / $A28)
This wine is a vineyard blend – in other words Corrina has enough confidence in the vineyard blocks that the grapes are picked, crushed and fermented together.  By doing this the extraction from the 2 varieties are different that if the wines were fermented separately.  It is also great to see another example of the blend seen alot back in the 80’s.  There is the black fruits of the Cabernet coming through on the nose.  When the wine hits the mouth there is a lingering composite of blackberries, chocolate, tannins and oak characters.  If this wine style has been out of favour then this wine should be seen as a beacon to say otherwise.  The wine is drinking well now but it has a few more years ahead of it.  I can think of nothing better than to drink this with BBQ’d meats.
2006 Shiraz ($A30 / $A28)
This is a dense big wine that is a joyful arrangement that fills the whole mouth full of licorice and rich ripe black fruits that finished with some spice action.  Fine tannins and good fruit/oak balance makes this a winner.  It maybe me being one dimensional but yet again I see this with a juicy Wychood Meats Rump Steak with an infusion of mushrooms, red capsicum, onions and tomatoes brought together with some Coriole Vin Cotta.
2005 HJ Reserve Shiraz ($A48 / $A45)
The best barrels of the yearly shiraz offerings goes into this reserve wine.  This wine does not disappoint.  A spiced lift on the nose through to the silky smooth palate.  Here is all the black fruits, plums, pepper mixed with the elegant tannins from fine french oak.  This wine has all the finesse one should see in a reserve wine and leaving this for about 10 years would see a gem.
Fortifiedes
NV Banished Fortified Grenache ($A30 / $A30)
This wine is not available at this time – it has been so popular that they had to remove it from sale.  The wine is drawn from a 20 year old solera system, so to keep with wines integrity only a certain amount can be withdrawn.  Expect the wine back at the cellar door in about 6 months.  The wine shows all that you would expect from a 20 year old fortified – rancio characters, hazelnuts and toffee – YUM.  The packaging is first class and I understand this wine has been frequently purchased with gift giving in mind!
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Lonely Grape TV Episode #7

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Lonely Grape

Thanks for joining me in a review of two Madeleines handmade original wines in this episode of Lonely Garpe TV.  On this episode I taste a 2008 Nangkita Viognier and a 2007 Nangkita Shiraz.  Both enjoyable wines from a small winery just outside the McLaen Vale wine region (close to Mount Compas).  They do not have a cellar door – check them out on their web site www.vincognita.com.au (note that Vincognita was what the wine used to be called).

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McLaren Vale Wines – Battle of Bosworth Wines & Spring Seed Wine Company

Posted on October 24, 2009 by Lonely Grape

Joch Bosworth took over the Edgehill Vineyards from his parents in 1995 and started to convert them into organic vineyards and now, after alot of work, he and his family have a certified organic vineyard.  The Edgehill vineyard was established in the 1970’s however the Bosworths have been growing grapes in the McLaren Vale district since the late 1840’s.

The company logo shows the flower of the normally classified weed plant called “Sour Sob”.  These yellow flowers sit high on stems that when the stems are picked and chewed or sucked on has a sour taste.  I remember doing this as a kid.  This flowering weed is normally removed by chemical sprays however in Joch’s vineyards they are left to thrive.  These plants will multiply profusely, an over powering other weeds, during the winter months and then die back and in this case provide a summer mulch that reduces water requirements for the grape vines.

Sour Sob Battle of Bosworth Logo

"Sour Sob" Battle of Bosworth Logo

The Battle of Bosworth and Spring Seed Company are the 2 brands from the Edgehill Vineyards of the McLaren Vale wine region.  The Spring Seed Company lable should not be seen as a second lable to the Bosworth range.  These wines are themselves distinct – right from the labling.  This range was first directed to the American market and the wine bottle lables are inspired from vintage seed packets from Bert’s Seed Company.  Joch was so impressed with the artwork organised the rights to allow these brilliantly different lables to be produced.  One should also take note that the rear lable on these bottles also continues with the theme so the packaging is similar to a seed packet!

Web sites are:-

Battle of Bosworth Wines         http://www.edgehill-vineyards.com.au/index.html

Spring Seed Wine Company    http://www.springseedwineco.com.au/

Joch also told me that they are planning to open a cellar door in Mclaren Vale in the not too distant future.

So I should probably talk about the wines…………

Battle of Bosworth Wines

2009 Sauvignon Blanc ($A18)

 This wine is picked early so this is no alcohol bomb – a pleasant 11.5% alcohol.  The vineyard is designed for minimum sun exposure – east/west rows, high trellising and short spacing between the vine rows.  This is all part of the plan to produce a herbaceous and citrusy wine without the sometimes ripe passionfruit flavours that abound in McLaren Vale Sauvignon Blanc.  Upon hearing this I was concerned that I was going to be tasting another New Zealand Sauvingon Blanc clone.  Well I could not have been more wrong.  This wine certainly delivers the lemon characteristics and some cut grass smells but niether are out of place in this wine.  A pan fried scallops dish or even a big messy bowl of freshly cooked banana prawns with a typical seafood sauce would go a treat with this wine. 

2008 Chardonnay Viognier ($A18)

Not tasted

2009 “War of the Roses” Cabernet Rose ($A18)

 The McLaren Vale grapes for this wine were picked earlier that for the fuller red wine.  The time for picking is based on the grape flavour.  The grapes are gently pressed (to ensure little phenolics carry over into the wine) and minimal skin contact.  The product has a bright crimson hue and the aromas make you think of strawberries and cream.  This combination follows through on the palate mixed with red berries.  This is what Rose style wines should be like ie not a sugar bomb and with clean fruit flavours.  I will be enjoying some of this wine on a lazy McLaren Vale summer Sunday watching the kids while sitting back with come Brie and crusty bread!

2008 Shiraz Viognier ($A25)

 It is suggested that the proportion of Viognier added to the Shiraz was about 5% however this is a simplification of what happened.  The Viognier was pressed to produce a free run juice for the Chardonnay Viognier blend and the “wet” skins are added to the Shiraz for fermentation.  Thus the characters from the white skins are mixed with the red skins to produce not your normal Shiraz/Viognier blend.  There is none of the apricot characters in this wine – instead the wine has a lift all of it’s own like the Shiraz was seduced by the Viognier.  There is a real difference to this wine, starting with the floral aromas through to the palate showing a long, lifted almost viscous mouthfeel of floral and red berries with just a hint of the usual spice.

I could really enjoy this wine on it’s own or with some cheese.  However, I am thinking of a mild goat curry going down well with a bottle of this. 

2008 Shiraz ($A25)

 There were 2 pickings from the one vineyard block to produce this complex wine.  This is wine shows why McLaren Vale and Shiraz go so well together.  30% of the wine saw new oak (half French and American oak).  The nose was a little closed as the wine was opened at the time of tasting – however there was a hint of the spicy plum characters you would expect.  On the palate the wine shows a profusion of red berries, plum the great soft mid palate and the finish of white pepper with hints of liquorice.  The wine shows fine tannins and not the vanillian characters I expected from the new American oak – Joch attributes this to the American oak being coopered in France!

Do not rush into opening this new release as it really needs at least another 5 years to start showing what it should.  If you must open it then it needs something strong like braised kangaroo tail with root vegetables to go with it. 

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon ($A25)

Not tasted

2007 “White Boar” ($A45)

 While not tasted I thought this wine deserves a mention.  The wine style is inspired by the Amarone style but is again different where instead of the grapes being harvested and then dried on racks, the grape bunch canes are cut and the grapes are allowed to raisin for about 2 weeks.  The resultant grapes were then hand picked and lovingly guided through the wine making process.  The concentrated wine style is blended into a single vineyard wine.  I tried this wine on a previous occasion (unfortunately I did not write up my notes) and considered the wine very highly.

Spring Seed Company Wines

2008 Four O’clock” Chardonnay ($A15)

 Now I will put my hand up here and say I was again wrong.  When I first approached this wine I thought I could detect slight oak driven characters.  When I mentioned this to Joch he smiled – you know the type of smile that just tells you that you have stuffed up.  This wine is not oaked at all – complexity and mouth filling texture is driven by such things as extended lees contact and stirring the lees to promote contact with the wine.

By the way this wine is vastly more than just the non-oak characters the wine is full of nectarine and white peach flavours with a slight lemon curd flavour lingering on the palate.  This wine could be enjoyed on it’s own (particularly with friends) or with a chicken & fried rice chinese style dish.  

2008 “Scarlet Runner” Shiraz ($A20)

A typical McLaren Vale Shiraz with black fruits on the nose with the white pepper spice coming through as the wine breathes.  On the palate it shows the mouthful of plums and pepper with the supporting tannins and acid.  The oak here is in a supporting capacity only – probably older french oak used for most of the wine.  This needs a couple of years to be at it’s best and I would enjoy this wine with a thick slice of pork shoulder roast.

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Lonely Grape TV #6 Graham Stevens Wines

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Lonely Grape

This weeks Lonely Grape TV is brought to you by Graham Stevens Wines (information page link).

Let me know what you think.

Regards

Shane

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McLaren Vale Wines – Genders McLaren Park Wines

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Lonely Grape

 Genders McLaren Park Wines (Genders) is what should be termed a micro winery (no more than 2000 cases of wine produced).  It has 2 generations of history from the 1960’s where the current property was purchased in 1948 by Keith Genders and was a vigneron until 1968 where the first shed was erected to alow the wine to be produced.  In the first shed Keith worked with Ron Potter (of the Potter Fermenter fame) to install the first stainless steel fermenter for the area.  The experience from this first fermenter was used to make modifications to the next fermenters (and I suspect used towards the Potter Fermenter designs).  It is also interesting to note that the grapes are not really crushed – more like de-stemmed and they have about 50% whole berries go into the ferments.  The winery has a relatively large number of small fermenters/vats that allow individual batches of wine to be produced and then back blended into the final wines to ensure quality can be achieved.

Original Genders Fermenter (1968)

Original Genders Fermenter (1968)

Today the vineyards and winery is run by Diana Genders (Wagga Graduate with significant experience) who “came home” in 1997.

Pedler creek runs through the property and bisects the vineyard and delineating the  2 soil types.  The vineyard has 2 main soil types – brown clay and Bay of Biscay (Black) both with underlying limestone (there are areas of limestone rocks evident at the surface).  It also appears that the vineyard is subjected to lower temperatures than most of the McLaren Vale plains vineyards (not sure why, but I can attest that the adjoining footy oval was very cold during last winters Sunday mornings).

All wines are only released when they are considered ready for consumption – not what the accountants would consider a good practice, but what a bonus for us the consumer!

2008 Chardonnay ($A17)

Genders Chardonnay Vines

Genders Chardonnay Vines

Lots and lots of peaches and white fleshed nectarines with cream. The oak is balanced and is an integral part of the enjoyment of the wine (not over done).  There is some lees contact which helps to give a good mouth feel.  AT 12&% alcohol also provides a balanced wine that is not hot on the finish. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!!!

N/V Freds Red ($A15)

The wine is a blend of separate small batches of wine that does not fit into any of the other red wines (see below) to produce a good every day drinking red. On the nose has plums, blackcurrant with the floral additions of violets. The palate has lots of plums & spice even a hint of candy apple on the finish. Good entry level wine that has good structure.

This wine would be good at any BBQ.  If you are bringing this wine please let me know so I can be there!

2003 Park Drive ($A25)

The wine is a blend of 64% Shiraz (from the black soil vineyard) and 32% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Baby Cabernet block.  The wine parcels were kept separate in the winery and in oak.  Approximately 50% French and American oak of which a total of 24% was new oak.  When ready for bottling the wines were blended for optimal balance and flavour profile.

As for the next 2 wines I strongly suggest the wines are left open to breathe for at least 30 minutes.  From opening there were earthy and herby overtones.  Over the next hour the aromas changed to mushrooms with a perfume taint through to a licorice overtone.  The palate is full of dusty tannins with the usual dark fruits.

How about a wood fired meat based pizza or a grilled lamb chops with a creamy sweat potato mash.

2001 McLaren Park Shiraz ($A40)

Genders 13 Rows Shiraz Vines

Genders 13 Rows Shiraz Vines

The wine is made from the 13 rows of Shiraz from the Brown Clay soils section of the property vineyard.  The vines are from the Genders Clone, hand pruned to ensure low yields and are dry grown.  The wine is aged for 2 years on approvimately 50% new American oak and 50% 1 or 2 year old French oak. 

Breathing this wine is a must – we let this sample breathe for about an hour and over this time the aromas of plums and blackberries with notes of vanillian oak characters that only intensified over the time.  The plum and berries continued on the palate with hints of cumin and chocolate developing.

This wine has alot of strength and character with any food matches needing to be the same.  Think game (say venison), veal saltimbucca or Coq au Vin.  

2002 Duncan Cabernet ($A40)

This very small production is made in honour of Dianna’s late brother and as such is only made during exceptional vintages.  The wines were aged in french oak for 2 years and now only released when the components of the wine were balanced to Diana’s approval.

The wine is starting to show some red tones.  The aromas really change with breathing time.  In the 45 minutes we had the wine open and going back to the wine showed the following order of aromas:-

  • Floral – violets
  • Fennel
  • Cumquots (almost candied small)
  • peppermint and blackcurrant
  • Chalky overtones

On the palate the wine shows red fruits (red currents) with fine dusty tannins that form an elegant infusion.  The wine is drinking well now and has quite a few years left in it.

This elegant wine yearns for roast duck or a few juicy slices of roast pork (and I would be nice by giving the crackling to my wife – but I get the wine).

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Lonely Grape TV #5

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Lonely Grape

A wine tasting at the Fox Creek Cellar Door. I tasted Vixen (Sparkling Red) and 2008 Red Baron Shiraz. Also views of the cellar door surrounds have been added.

Fox Creek Wines presents: FOX MANOR Welcome to Fox Manor, homestead of the Fox, explorer, adventurer, wild bird collector and above all wine maker par excellence.

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McLaren Vale Wines – Marius Wines

Posted on October 10, 2009 by Lonely Grape

Marius Wines is the third winery I am reviewing from the Vale Cru event held in McLaren Vale on 20th September.

What another small producer joy from the vines of Roger Pike nestled is the foothills between McLaren Vale and Willunga on Binney Road.  Right off the bat I could tell 2 things.  Firstly, quality single vineyard fruit (Shiraz and Mourvedre) and secondly a very passionate producer in Roger.  Roger is very passionate about what he does and the McLaren Vale region as a whole.

For a vineyard experience Roger is providing a point of difference with a grape picking experience where he provides his “friends” where about 3 different days during vintage he looks to get helpers to pick grapes and then provides good food and wine for those that have helped.  I do not know if I have done the right thing – I have signed up to assist the grape picking for next vintage, even though I have done grape picking for a friend in Western Australia and it was really hard  work on my back – and that was 15 years ago.  Maybe I had better start getting into shape (which would be a real difference) so the day will be an all round positive McLaren Vale wine experience!

Check out the web site at http://www.mariuswines.com.au

And now the wines:-

All dozen wine get a $15 discount (over the dozen) plus free delivery.

2006 Marius Simpatico Single Vineyard McLaren Vale Shiraz ($A27.50)

Medium bodied Shiraz flushed with good red fruits on the nose and palate – cherries and red currents.  Hints of American oak combines with fine tannins and the reliable McLaren Vale soft mid palate and great acidity create a wine worth drinking    and enjoying.  Roger tells me that out of his range almost everybody likes this wine and I can see why.  You could drink it now but I suspect this will only get better in the coming 5+ years – if you can leave it that long.

Try taking this wine to a BBQ and you would have many friends that suddenly understand that the wine they brought was not up to standards that should be set for red wine enjoyment.

2006 Symposium McLaren Vale Shiraz Mourvedre ($A33)

50% of the Shiraz and Mourvedre and what an enjoyable combination.  Mulberries and violets on the nose with intense (but not over the top) fruit mixed with fine tannins and chocolate flavourings.  The denseness and perfume aromas of the Mourvedre (of which some of the Australian readers will be more familiar with the term Mataro) sets this wine up for a long and happy life and will provide some serious joy when consumed.  I bought some and this will be a while before the contents see the light of day.

This wine is a little harder to match with food, it has power and finesse with layers of complexity all in one glass.  Maybe go for comfort food like a slow cooked beef casserole or a roast leg of lamb that has been “spiked” with rosemary and garlic slivers. 

2006 Symphony Single Vineyard McLaren Vale Shiraz ($A37)

The best Shiraz fruit goes into the Symphony with the remainder going into the Simpatico.   This is simply a fruit and power bomb.  All the expected components of McLaren Vale Shiraz are here plums, spice, pepper with a hint of chocolate on the lingering and very pleasant finish.  There is plenty going on in this wine and I suspect there will be a larger symphony of flavours as the wine ages.  A classy wine that will need many years to get to its best.

In its current form, this wine yells out steak – a thick juicy T-bone covered with lashings of creamy masala mushroom sauce.

I tasted a barrel sample of the 2007 Symphony which looked spectacular – still time to go before being released but the pedigree looks like another winner for marius Wines.

Wine Club

Marius runs a wine club where you can get a great discount on the wines (15+%).  The club membership is free and there is no committment to purchase wines.  All Australian wine club members go into a draw (twice yearly) for a 2 pack of wine.  New members will get an oportunity to purchase a tasting pack (1 of each wine) at a special price.  There will be some museum releases and special bottlings that will be for Wine Club members only.  It should also be noted that Wine Club members will get preference on wine purchases.  As the quality of Marius wines gets out there could be some difficulties in getting these wines in the future.

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Lonely Grape TV #4

Posted on October 6, 2009 by Lonely Grape

Welcome to Lonely Grape TV #4 where I do a wine tasting at the Cellar Door of Coriole Wines in McLaren Vale.  This is a first of what I hope to be a series of Cellar Door based tastings.  Please let me know if you think the cellar door tasting is a good idea (or otherwise) in the comments below.

Coriole Tasting

Here I taste the 2009 Chnnin Blanc and the 2008 Sangiovese – both are part of Coriole’s history and are excellent wines.

The following video shows some of the surrounds and views that are just so much part of the Coriole magic.  I hope you check it out and let me know what you think in the below comments section.

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McLaren Vale Winery – La Curio

Posted on October 3, 2009 by Lonely Grape

This is the second winery being reviewed from the Vale Cru event on the 20th September.

All wines from this winery just yelled out class to me while I was tasting.  There is a “different” element about the wines that I could not originally explain.  However, after asking a few questions and listening to what was being said, I understand why these wines are gems.  The wines were made at Redheads Studio – this McLaren Vale small batch wine making facility maybe closing down and so I am not sure where the wines will be made in the future.  Nothing has been spared to produce flavour in the wines.  Grapes are selected from a few quality vineyards and then the fun begins in the winery.  Techniques such as carbonic maceration, extended lees aging, hand plunging, basket pressing ………

The winery website is www.lacuriowines.com.

Now my spin on the wines:-

2008 La Curio “Nubile ” Grenache/Shiraz ($A19)

 Predominantly Grenache that shows spices of cimamin and white pepper on the nose followed by volumes of plums and red berries on the palate with just a hint of mocha.

this wine would work well with any lamb based dish – maybe a morroccan targine with some preserved lemon Cous Cous.

2008 La Curio Reserve Bush Vine Grenache ($A24)

 if I thought the last wine was good then it did not prepare me for the blast of this essence of  a proportion of 100 year old vine Grenache berries.  Rolling layers of raspberries (almost sweet fruit) and pepper integrating with the oak characteristics. Yummmmmmmmmmmmm. 

Lets have this wine with a Fleurieu Dorper Lamb Roast Leg (with plenty of roasted garlic and rosemery) with roast root vegetables (don’t forget lots of beetroot and kumera) and smothered in a lamb jus.

2008 La Curio Reserve Shraz ($A28)

After the above wine I thought things could not get better – maybe not better, but definately not worse.  Before I could get my nose into the glass I could smell lots of pepper and typical blackberry, cimiamon and a hint of licorish.  The wine did not dissapoint when I got the glass to my lips as there was layers of flavours in line with the aromas with good cedar oak qualities – so good I am not sure I could share my bottles with anyone, maybe if there was a thick jucy T-Bone steak to be had!

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Lonely Grape TV #3

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Lonely Grape

Click on the YouTube embedded link to view the latest installment of Lonely Grape TV – where I talk about letting a wine breathe and the effect on the tasting.  The wines discussed are the same as the last episode of Lonely Grape TV.

Let me know what you think.

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