Lonely Grape – Wineries & Wines of Mclaren Vale

This is one of the Hardy’s wineries in the Mclaren Vale Wine region (the other is at Chateau Reynella).  Hardy’s was established in 1853 with Tintara Cellars established in 1861 so they have been around for a while.  Hardy’s and Tintara are owned by Constellation Wines.  The Tintara cellar door is on Mclaren Vale’s Main Street (see map).   The cellar door has expansive grounds – both grassed area and gardens and is just the area to sit and relax after or during a hard days wine tasting.  Plenty of room for the kids to run around and the area is the start of the popular end of Mclaren Vale’s main street.  Across the road is the Robern Menz sweets and chocolate factory outlet (I recommend this one to visit for the sweet toothed amongst us) and along the road are many shopping opportunities including excellent cafe’s.  So the kids can play on the lawns or go with Mum to buy some chocolates, Mum can go shopping or have a coffee in one of the cafe’s and Dad can taste some wine – or some other combination!  The cellar door is open 10am to 4:30 pm 7 days per week.  Web address is www.tintara.com.au.

The Tintara Cellar Door has decided to only serving the Tintara range (with an exception of the Oomoo Sparking Shiraz which is available on weekends).  Discussions with the cellar door staff indicated that there is consideration to make other Hardy wines available for tasting (including some overseas wines).  If this occurs I will let the readers of the Lonely Grape know of this change.  The wines are split into 2 groups – the Tintara range (cellar door only wines) and the premium Single Vineyard Range.  I will review the Tintara range this week and the Single Vineyard Series next week.

Tintara Range

The Tintara range has been produced to show all that is good about the Mclaren Vale wine region.  These wines are made from Mclaren Vale fruit only.

2008 Sauvignon Blanc ($A15)

This wine was a pleasant surprise – a Sauvignon Blanc that did not smell and taste of cut grass or vats pee.  The aroma from this wine was passonfruit with hints of citrus and guava on the palate.  Very enjoyable and remember not to drink this too cold.  This one would be great on a Sunday afternoon with friends or with a warn chicken salad.

2007 Spatlese Riesling ($A15)

Another surprise.  Anything with Spatlese normally indicates to me that the wine will be almost lolly sweet with some hope of tasting the wine.  I would not normally even try this wine – but for you my readers I thought there should be a complete tasting.  The wine was somewhat closed on the nose (ie not alot of aroma) and the palate was not cloyed by sugar but showed some lychee characters with a lingering finish.  This wine would be a good compliment with spicy Asian food.

2007 Sangiovese ($A25)

 This wine can be served chilled (the cellar door staff served mine in a chilled glass to bring the temperature of the wine down).  The aroma has hints of cherries with the palate having good fruit, overall a nice lighter style red to have with pizza.

2005 Grenache ($A25)

 This wine won a trophy at the 2008 Royal Adelaide Wine Show for the “Best other varietal/blend” and a Gold Medal at the Mclaren Vale Wine Show.  Even though this wine has 10 months seasoned french oak maturation the wine is quite fruit driven.  The processing of the wine using open top fermenters and basket pressing has been worth the effort as this wine is an excellent expression of Mclaren Vale Grenache as it should be.  Lots of dark cherry fruit with hints of all spice, star anise and cinnamon.  As it is a 2005 wine this wine can be easily enjoyed now or kept for a number of years and in all cases this wine would be enjoyed.  This one came home with me and I will be drinking it with a lamb tagine with the father in law when he comes to visit in a couple of weeks.

2006 Tempranillo ($A25)

 The Tempranillo has had some quality treatment – small oak open topped fermenters, french oak and basket pressed and the wine repays the treatment.  Almost sweet fruit on the nose (I know you cannot smell sweetness but this was the best association I could come up with) and a good structure and lingering finish.

2006 Shiraz ($A27)

 This wine has had 15 months oak treatment (french and american oak) and shows the typical high quality wine we expect from Mclaren Vale Shiraz.  Good plum characters with the spice finish – bring on the BBQ T-bone steak.

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon ($A27)

 This wine had 17 months in french oak and shows the typical cabernet wine – leafy characters with blackcurrant fruit and an almost chocolate finish.  Another good Cabernet from the Mclaren Vale wine region.

2007 Reserve Grenache ($A50)

 The wine had 12 months on 3 – 4 year old oak barrels, in other words another fruit driven wine.  A complex wine showing hints of musk, spices and mulberries.  I preferred the 2005 Grenache (reviewed above) to drink now but this wine will only improve with time, give it at least 5 years and you will have a wine you may struggle to want to share with anybody.

Oomoo Range

The Oomoo range was one of the first labels from Hardys in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  Oomoo was adapted from local aboriginal dialect meaning good.

2004 Clare Valley Sparkling Shiraz ($A21)

This wine would normally only be available for tasting on the weekends but I was able to talk my way into a tasting.  The wine was flat so it was not a full tasting appreciation of the overall wine.  However, I could ascertain that this was a bit wine with plenty of fruit structure (dark cherries and spice) mixed with the vanillian oak characters typical of American oak.  This is a serious wine and not just some sweet red with bubbles.  The obvious age on the wine makes it perfect to drink now.  Recommendation for food matching would be liver pate or roast turkey with cranberry sauce (one of these will be on the Christmas table in a few months).

Well another week and another winery from the Mclaren Vale region.  Travelling around the Mclaren Flat area (taking photos for the blog) it was inevitable that Kangarilla Road Winery was to be called upon.  Kangarilla Road Winery is found on the outskirts of Mclaren Flat (see map).

This winery was established by Graham Stevens and called Stevens Cambrai Wines.  Regular readers of the Lonely Grape will know that Graham has come out of retirement and established Graham Stevens Wines (which was reviewed in May 2009).

One thing that draws the eye to Kangarilla Road wines is the simple but stylish label of white background with a grey representation of the vine leaf of the appropriate variety.  This can be seen below by the signs outside the cellar door.

The cellar door has good vineyard views, room for the kids to run around and outdoor settings under a vine covered pergola.  The cellar door area is the domain of 2 winery dogs that are very friendly and welcome any attention they can get from the visitors.  They even have the cellar door staff trained as they bark when they want to get inside the building.  The Cellar Door is open 9 am – 5 pm Monday to Friday and 11 am – 5 pm Saturday & Sundays.   There is a 7.5% discount for purchases of 6 bottles and 15% discount for purchases of 12 bottles.

Contact Details for the winery are:-

Location is on the corner of Kangarilla Road and Hamilton Roads, Mclaren Flat.

Mail address : PO Box 532
                             McLaren Vale, South Australia 5171
                            Australia
Phone: +61 8 8383 0533
E-mail : kangarillaroad@bigpond.com

Web: www.kangarillaroad.com.au

Now for the wines:-

White Wines

2008 Chardonnay ($A16)

30% of this wine saw french oak for 100 days – thus a lightly wooded chardonnay with a slight hint of a creamy finish.

2007 Viognier ($A20)

30% of this wine saw french oak for 9 months and it shows with a slight hint of apricot followed by a real creamy finish.  I could drink lots of this one with freshly shucked Coffin Bay oysters.

Red Wines

2007 Hellbent Shiraz Cabernet ($A10)

This wine was only released a few days ago and is a fruit driven wine (with light oak treatment).  This wine represents good value and I expect it to walk out of the door.

2006 Shiraz ($A20)

This wine saw 18 months oak maturation from 2 & 3 year old barrels, with 50% french oak & 50% American oak.  This wine is typical of the Mclaren Vale style – lost of spice characters and good balance.  I took some of this home with me.

2006 The Devils Whiskers Shiraz ($A30)

This is considered the premium shiraz from Kangarilla Road.  It also has a small amount of Viognier added.  The wine saw 18 months of new American Oak and the fruit was not dominated by the oak treatment.  I would consider this a keeper (the wine maker considers this wine to have a 15 year life).

By the way Devils Whiskers are the lines that form up from the corners of the mouth after drinking quantities of red wine.

2006 Shiraz Viognier ($A30)

This wine had the same oak treatment as the Shiraz above.  The Viognier makes up 8% of the volume of the wine and has been co-fermented (ie the shiraz grapes and the viognier grapes were fermented together).  This wine has a somewhat harsh finish.

2007 Cabernet Sauvignon ($A19)

Oak treatment as per the shiraz above.  The wine has the usual blackberry aromas and on the pallet.

2008 Sangiovese ($A20)

This was the surprise of the wines I tasted at Kangarilla Road.  I quite enjoy some of the Sangiovese wines from makers such as Coriole and even the previous vintage from Kangarilla Road.  These wine show a real earthiness and are different from the “normal” wines available today.  This wine was altogether different!  The wine showed fruity characters – cherries and strawberries on both the aroma and the mouth.  This would be a great wine to drink with seared duck breasts.

2006 Primitivo ($A20)

This is a Zinfandel wine made in a more European style – lighter than say the Californian style.  The wine shows black cherry and spice flavours and would be great with a wood oven fired pizza.

2005 Zinfandel ($A30)

The wine is made from some of the oldest plantings of Zinfandel in Australia.  They were planted just after the Cape Mentelle vines (Margaret River region of Western Australia) about 40 years ago.  The wine is heavier than the Primitivo (as expected) and has layers of spice and rich berries.  Not everybody likes this style but bring on some braised kangaroo and it is a match worth checking out.

Herb & Sandie Van De Wiel have a boutique gem between Mclaren Vale and Mclaren Flat (see map).  The Foggo Road cellar door is closed on Mondays and open 10:30 – 4:30 Tuesday to Friday plus 11:00 – 5:00 Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.   The winery is based on 2 key items – firstly old vines (some planted in 1915) that are mostly dry grown, and secondly a control of all aspects of the wine making process.  They own and tend the vineyards (Sandie was even pruning the vines before opening the cellar door), make the wines and they even have their own bottling line.  They produce an average of  3,500 cases of wine and it would be very unusual to find their wine for sale anywhere other than the cellar door.  

Some vine highlights would be 95 year old dry grown shiraz, 87 year old dry grown & bush vine grenache and 59 year old Rhone variety Cinsaut (pronounced sinsay).  These red grape vineyard is on Foggo road with the whites coming from a Blewitt Springs vineyard.

My single wine highlight was the age of the wines – all wines are only released when they are in good condition and have both oak age and bottle age.  The Chardonnay was from 2004  and the reds were from 2004 or 2005.

The cellar door has a couple of outdoor tables and some shade sails – you could do worse that taking some time to sit and relax in the vineyard setting.

The Foggo Wines web page can be found at http://www.foggowines.com.au and Herb & Sandie can be contacted via e-mail on info@foggowines.com.au or by phone +61 8 83230131.

Now some comments about the wines:-

This winery is rated as 4 stars by James Halliday in the 2009 Wine Compendium.

2007 Unwooded Chardonnay ($A18)

The Chardonnay from Foggo Wines is cold bunch pressed (not crushed).  This wine has typical melon characters on the palate and is quite enjoyable.  Best to drink this one young and would go well with a plate of BBQ yabbies.

2004 Chardonnay ($A25)

Again cold bunch pressed and fermented in french oak and shows stone fruit characters.  The wine is not showing any real age characters but has a layered complexity with the soft french oak is matched well with the fruit.  This was my favourite white wine.

2007 Unwooded Chardonnay Viognier ($A18)

Good fruit driven wine showing melon and apricot on the palate.  Again, drink this one cold and soon (not one for the cellar).

NV Sparkling Cinsaut Rose ($A18)

The sample tried did not have any bubbles left but it is obviously a good dry style with a hint of strawberries on the finish.  A great one for  drinking with friends on a Sunday afternoon.

2007 Cinsaut Rose ($A15)

A good dry and lighter style Rose – I don’t really like the sugar driven Rose styles.  I could drink this with a lunch of good goats cheese and some crusty bread!

2004 Grenache Shiraz Cinsaut ($A25)

This wine is a 60:30:10 ration blend of the stated varieties.  Has a great nose and the palate has a spice mixed with rubard and the finish is lingering.  This lighter style would work well with white meats such as pork.

2005 Bush Vine Grenache ($A30)

Lots and lots of soft fruit reminiscent of black cherry mixed with subtle oak (french).  So well balanced that even the 15.1% alcohol does not over shadow the wine.   As readers of my blog will know I like a good Mclaren Vale Grenache and this is one on that list.  Drink this one with a slow cooked lamb ragout and, if you were generous, share it with family &/or  friends.

2005 Old Vine Shiraz ($A30)

Bring it on and I would only share this one with loved ones!  The fruit come from the 1915 planted vines on the Foggo Road block and is totally dry grown  – so the vines are low yielding and the fruit concentrated magic.  The fruit is fermented in open topped barrels and is unusually aged in french oak.  Again the wine is so well structured that the 15% alcohol is not overpowering or showing the hot characters expected from this level of alcohol.  If you like shiraz then this is one to try.  I have some waiting for just the right beef roast or a T-bone steak.

2004 Cabernet Sauvignon ($A30)

I am continued to be surprised at the high quality of some of the cabernet in Mclaren Vale.  This one won a silver medal in the San Francisco International Wine Competition in 2008.  I found violets on the nose and berries on the palate.

NV Black Myriah Sparking Shiraz ($A35)

This bottle fermented wine has the 2004 Old Vine Shiraz as the base wine and is topped up with a late picked shiraz (see comments below) and has created a lovely character – just the way a sparking shriaz should be.  I had a couple of bottles of this wine with our Xmas turkey and cranberry sauce – a great combination.

2004 Hubertus Reserve Shiraz ($A50)

This wine was not tasted, however it is highly rated by James Halliday (the 2005 vintage was rated 91/100).

Golden Botrytis ($A20 375ml bottle)

Made from Semillon & Chardonnay and shows honey characters and it lighter than the “normal” botrytis styles and would be good with the Xmas plum pudding.

NV Tawny ($A18)

8 year old tawny port style made from shiraz & grenache.  It is a lighter style as you would expect from a relatively young wine of this style.

NV Muscat ($A20)

Again this is a 8 year old wine which shows good raisin fruit.  A good style for drinking on those cold winter nights in front of the open wood fire.

Other Wines

  Foggo wines releases other wines at different time.  They sometimes have cleanskin wines available.  They also have a late picked shiraz (called 3 Sheds Shiraz) which is used as the top up wine for the Black Myriah and the remainder is bottled in 500 ml bottles.  This wine is approximately 18% alcohol with no alcohol additions.  I tried this wine late last year and found it a quite different and enjoyable wine.

Horndale has been around for a while – since 1896 in one form or another.  The distillery is no longer there and the vineyards have been reduced from over 300 acres reduced to just 1.5 acres (of Red Frontignac grapes used to produce a fortified wine).  The current owners bought the Happy Valley facility in 1984 (see map for the location) and the website is at www.horndalewinery.com.au.

Horndale Cellar Door

Horndale Vineyard

The cellar door is different as it is in the sprawling suburbs of southern Adelaide and has an extensive wine list of all styles.  Horndale is known for value for money wines and a vast array of fortifides as the location is shown via this link.

Wines

There are too many wines to review here but I will choose a few:-

N/V Sparkling Shiraz ($A12.50)

This is more than just a sweet red with bubbles.  There is a hint of aged complexity – probably from some smart blending of base wines.  Share this one with friends while eating BBQ’d sausages or ribs.

NV Premium Sparking Shiraz ($A15.90)

This wine is similar to the one above with some extra aged characters.  I suspect that the wine base for this wine is the same as above but aged in or with oak for a longer period.  Drink this wine with roast turkey with cranberry sauce (a classic match for a sparkling red).

2007 Spatburgunder Rotwein ($A12.90) 

A late picked burgundy style showing the European heritage of Horndale’s owner and is made from late picked (17 Be) shiraz grapes from Mclaren Vale.  The wine is surprisingly good from one who does not normally drink sweet reds.  You could drink this on a warm afternoon either while reading a book or with a group of friends.

2006 Shiraz ($A13.90)

A lighter style shiraz with good drinking spice finish.  A good food wine and excellent value,

Tawny Port ($A9.50 or $A5.95/L BYO container with a 2L minimum)

A lighter style fortified that is excellent for use in your own port barrel blending.  20 years ago I used Horndale port to start my 5L port barrel and this blend has never looked back.

Frontignac ($A18.90 or $A15.90/L BYO container with a 2L minimum)

This excellent aged fortified is made from the hand picked grapes from the remaining vineyard surrounding the cellar door – a bargain at this price.  It is cold & raining here in Mclaren Vale and this wine is one to have with your loved one in front of the open fire.

Chocolate Port ($A15.90)

Tawny port infused with chocolate – one for the chocolate lovers!

Bulk Sherry (sweet, dry, medium & cream @ $A7.90 or $A5.90/L BYO container with a 2L minimum)

Nice light styles and again good value for money – thay have a good local following (usually an indicator of good value for money wines).

Cleanskin Wines

The cellar door may have a number of cleanskin or cellar door only (trial) wines.  These are normally a surprise for the cellar door visitor.

Bistro

Thew current owners have decommissioned the Spirit Store and opened a Bistro (No.1 Spirit Store Restaurant) that is opened on Friday evenings only – it is busy enough with locals that it is advisable to make a booking if you intend to eat there.   Note that purchases from the cellar door also provides you with a discount voucher for the Bistro.  The No. 1 Spirit Store is available for functions (eg weddings) seating up 50+ people comfortably.  The surrounds of the vineyard and the old distillery buildings make this a good facility for your next function – check it out.

Oak Barrels

Horndale has had a reputation for providing quality oak barrels 2L up to 20L in volume.  Prices are available from the winery.  remember that the price includes the barrel filled with the Tawny Port reviewed above.  One of my friends has a Horndale port barrel and it has performed well for a number of years.  I would recommend one of these for a position on any bar.

Special Bottlings

Horndale can organise special labled bottlings of their port or muscat wines for any occassion – such as weddings or club fundraisers.  The lables are directly printed onto the bottles which is another unusual feature.  They can bottle in 375 mL or 750 mL bottles.  Contact the winery for a quote.

Parri Estate has vineyards in Mclaren Vale (around the cellar door – see map) which in a former life was Ingolby winery plus in the Mount Compass area.  This means that in one winery you can sample the delights of cool and warm climate wines.  Their website can be found at www.parriestate.com.au.

The cellar door is large, warm and inviting, with an open fire and leather lounges.  The surrounds have generous grassed areas (for the kids to run around) and a covered picnic area, that can also be booked for functions (including weddings).  There is also some wine gifts such as 3D wooden puzzles in the shape of wine bottles or wine glasses.  The facility is also associated with wine education with some wine evaluation classes being held there.

A series of wines is labeled as Pangkarra which is a word used by the traditional land owners (Kaurna) for the characters of a particular site (climate, sunshine, rain & soil).

There are a number of Winter Specials from the cellar door & mail order.  The pricing below outlines any noted discounts.

And now for the wines:-

Cool Climate Wines

2007 Sparkling Pinot/Chardonnay ($A24)

Yeasty & creamy characters with Pinot being dominant.  I don’t normally drink white bubbly (I like the red bubbles) but this was quite pleasant.

2008 Southcote Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon/Viognier ($A19 discounted to $A12.50)

Citrus and lemongrass flavours with an acid finish.  The blended components ensures the wine is not overly herbaceous.  It would be nice drunk really cold on a hot day.

2007 Viognier Chardonnay ($A19)

Subtle apricot (from the viognier) and melon (from the chardonnay).  If you like Viognier then check this one out,

2006 Pangkarra Chardonnay ($A20 discounted to$A120/doz.)

Good soft cool climate wine with smart use of french oak.  Chardonnay is not fashionable but this is a good drop.

2005 Noble Semillon (discounted price $A70/doz)

This is surprisingly a light style with hints of sweet nectarines.  This was a pleasant wine but not indicitive of a Noble sticky wine.

2007 Pinot Noir ($A22)

Pinot is not normally my thing but the cherry overtures were more than just pleasant in this wine.  This is one for the Piontphiles should check out.

2005 Southcote Cabernet Shiraz ($A14)

This 60%/40% blend is starting to show some bottle age characters with spice and dark berry showing through.  I would have preferred to taste this wine younger.

2005 Shiraz Viognier ($A20)

This was my favourite Parri Estate cool climate red.  Pepper and dark cherry flavours with a long finish.  The viognier was not dominate.

2004 Pangkarra Cabernet Sauvignon ($A24 discounted to $A144/doz.)

This was a light herbaceous style as expected from cool climate grapes.  The oak did not dominate the lighter fruit style.  Quite a pleasant drink – maybe with a Moroccan targine.

Mclaren Vale Wines

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon ($A20)

Made from fruit from 45 year old vines next to the cellar door.  The wine is dark with loads of blackcurrant and firm tannins.  I prefer this style to the cooler climate wine.

2005 Pangkarra Grenache ($A24)

Oh I do like Mclaren Vale Grenache with hints of cloves, cherries and nutmeg and with complementary oak.  Made from dry grown, bush vines next to the cellar door.   Do yourself a favour and try this one.

2005 Pangkarra Shiraz ($A24)

If there is one wine style I like more than Mclaren Vale Grenache, it would be Mclaren Vale Shiraz.  This wine is another example of how well this grape variety goes in the Vale.  With aromas of spice and coffee combined with even more spice on the in the mouth – Yum!

I must say that everything about this cellar door is a joy.  The location is on Brookman Road, Kupito (overlooking Willunga) – see map and is only open on weekends.  Details on their website www.lazyballerina.com.

The cellar door is on the property of James Hook & family and the gardens are magnificent and this alone would be worth spending some time admiring the view.  The walk from the car park to the cellar door entrance allows the visitor to walk through some of the gardens.  The gardens have a number of spots to stop and admire or to investigate further.

The cellar door also provides food (such as pizza) that can be served on the balcony overlooking gardens and the property.  The cellar door is new, clean and inviting and I am sure I will visit there again many times.

The Lazy Ballerina is a venture by James Hook (who is a contract viticulturist in the Mclaren Vale area).  James and his parents decided to make some wine when they observed that a number of the smaller grape growers were being harshly treated by the large wine companies.  They decided to do something about this by purchasing parcels of excellent grapes and make their own wine.  To date the wine has been made by James at the Redheads small wine making facility.  This facility has recently been shutdown and now James needs to find another avenue for his wine making activities.

The wines are small volume and are of high quality.  At the recent tasting the usual wines were sold out and 3 small volume museum release wines (1 from another small winery).

2006 Chardonnay

This was an unusual wine as it had been aged in stainless steel for 2 years – not in oak or the bottle.  The characters were different and the wine did not seem to be as old as it was.  The wine exhibits some clean melon flavours and would be best drunk now.

2005 Lot Thirteen Greanche ($A25)

This wine is from Lot 13 Hahn Rd, Sellicks Hill (S.J. & . J. Mcmillan) and is impressive.  As I have said before I am a fan of Mclaren Vale Grenache and this is a good one.  Lots of plum fruit and smart oak balance.  The wine could be kept for a few years but I am not sure why you would!

2006 Shiraz Viognier  ($A25)

This wine won a Mclaren Vale Show award and it was noted that there was correct use of the vigonier.  Allot of examples of this blend have had increasing proportions of the secondary grape with correspondingly overpowering of the shiraz characters.  This wine is  well balanced and restores my belief that this blend has a place in my collection.

2007 Shiraz (this wine is not normally for tasting)

This is a most impressive wine and is the best 2007 Shiraz I have tasted in a long time.  This wine has great fruit character with the pepper that is apparent in the best Mclaren Vale Shiraz.  The oak here is also impressive and is balanced with the fruit.  I saw how much of this was left at the winery (only a few 6 packs left) – but if you can get some of this it is well worth the investment.

General

This is an impressive winery with something for the whole family – food, wine & somewhere for the kids to run around.  With the current track record this little venture is one to watch.

Bent Creek Vineyards have recently opened a new cellar door on Blewitt Springs Road (just off Kangarilla Road/Main Road) – see map.  The cellar door is adjacent to the Bent Creek Block vineyard.  Web site is at www.bentcreekvineyards.com.au.

The cellar door is very new and has that “new” look.  Very clean lines and good use of corrugated iron and light colours.  The cellar door person was a family member and was very knowledgeable about the wines and vineyards.  It was good to see somebody that was able to have a chat and be able to answer questions with authority.

The cellar door is the domain of an old boarder collie dog (and is the inspiration for one of their wine names).  The dog is friendly (it came up to the car when we pulled up the dog came up to the car to check us out) and not obtrusive as the dog was happy for a quick pat and then it went away to lie down.

And now the wines:-

 Whites

2008 Sauvignon Blanc ($A19)

This wine is made from Adelaide Hills grapes and made the 2008 Advertiser Top 100 Wines.  This wine does not suffer from the usual affliction of the variety where the herbaceous characters can be overpowering (in the form of cut grass or cats pee aromas).  The aromas here are understated and the mouth feel is quite impressive.  This wine would be best consumed soon and cold.

2008 Unwooded Chardonnay ($A17)

Another drink now wine that shows some melon characters

Reds

2008 Shot Bull Rose ($A19)

This wine was made by Linda Domas Wines (the current wine is labeled as such).  A sweet style of rose, which would be best drunk young and very cold (perfect for a hot day and to share with friends).

NV Nero Sparkling Shiraz ($A14)

This is made from a small quantity of grapes that have been allowed to fully ripen in the Mclaren Vale sunshine.  The result is a complex “black bubbles” with a hint of residual sugar.  I find this style a joy to drink and this will be one that will be opened with friends.

2008 Cabernet Merlot($A20)

This is a very fruit driven wine with the aromas and flavours typical of the varieties.  You would best do well to drink this one while relately young – with the good fruit structure why wait for this one.

2007 Black Dog Shiraz ($A22)

The wine is named after the cellar door dog (as described above).  Made from a mixture of old dry grown vines, from next to the homestead, with young vines from two different vineyards.  There is good structure here with typically Mclaren Vale soft tannins with smart oak treatment.  I have put a couple of these away for a rainy day.

2003 The Nude Shiraz ($A30) & 2006 Reserve Shiraz ($A39)

These wines are made from a dry grown vineyard on Blewitt Springs Road.  The difference between the two is when the yields are so low and the vines look almost naked of fruit then The Nude Shiraz is made (no more than 500 cases).  In the other years the Reserve Shiraz is produced.  These wines were not tasted as they are not available for tasting at the cellar door

General

The wines tried were good without finding anything spectacular.  I suspect the Reserve and Nude Shiraz’s would be excellent – but without trying I can only postulate.

I was going to add video to this blog – as yet I am to work this all out so I will post the blog now and add the video later.

DogRidge has recently opened their cellar door facility on the outskirts of McLaren Flat on Bagshaws Road (click for location map).  The web site is at www.dogridge.com.au.

Being at the far end of McLaren Flat you get a sense of history as you drive past and through vines that are 60+ years old on the way to this cellar door.  The cellar door building is also the offices for the winery but this does not take anything away from the tasting experience as the tasting is conducted so you are looking away from any offices and out across the adjacent vineyard.  I was pleasantly surprised when we were not only greeted with a smiling face but the door was also opened for us.  The decor was simple and tasteful and I enjoyed my time there.

And now the wines,  the wines are split into 3 main areas:-

“The Pup” range (younger wines @ $A18)

2009 The Pup Sauvignon Blanc

Surprising to see a 2009 wine released so soon.  It seems the 2008 was sold out so they decided to release the 2009 quickly.  This wine is mainly McLaren Vale fruit with some addition of Adelaide Hills fruit.  The wine is understated and not the over bearing herbaceous wines that one frequently sees from this variety.  This wine shows varietal charachters and would be good drinking very cold on a hot summers day.

2007 The Pup Cabernet Merlot 

This was the usual easy drinking, drink now, wine expected from this blend and it would be a good Sunday afternoon red watching the rain outside while sitting in front of an open fire.

2007 The Pup Shiraz

As with the other of this range this is an easy drinking style with soft tannins and ripe fruit characters.  Again, the open fire place beckons.

DogRidge Wines

2006 Cadenzia Grenache ($A25)

Firstly I would like to recognise the marketing effort by a number of McLaren Vale wine producers to provide a jointly agreed naming of one of the regions icon wines (but not fashionable over the lazy 10 years) Grenache based wines as Cadenzia.

This wine shows good plum characters and has been given good (but not overwhelming) oak treatment and is typical of the grape variety from the Vale.

2007 Shirtfront Shiraz ($A25)

Oh what good fruit structure combined with smart use of oak can do with Shiraz in McLaren Vale – and yet again another example.  I have added some of this wine to my ever expanding collection of McLaren Vale Shiraz.

2006 Square Cut Cabernet Sauvignon ($A25)

I am continually surprised by the quality of Cabernet from the Vale.  This wine is again good drinking.

Not for tasting – 2005 Most Valuable Player Petit Verdot & 2004 + 2005 Most Valuable Player Shiraz, both available for $A65

Back Vintages

I am not sure if these back vintage wines are available as the varites are difficult to sell at this time or that there was a conscience decision to release mature wines.  In either case these wines are worth trying.

 2005 Wylpena Chardonnay ($A22)

The vines to produce this chardonnay are about 100 years old and have been grafted to chardonnay (from Grenache a number of years ago).   The lightly oaked wine is showing some aged characters and should be drunk soon.

 Duck Chase Petit Verdot ($A22)

There is a hint of violets in this wine and is one of the few varietal wines of this variety in the Vale.  This is a well made wine from an unfashionable variety.  Try this wine if you get the chance and make up your own mind.

2005 Cadenzia Grenache ($A22)

Another vintage of the Dogridge wine reviewed above.  Shows vintage variation to the 2006.  Difficult to say which was the better wine – again try them both and make up your own mind.

Other Information

James Hook produces a blog on viticulture.  Anybody that wants to learn more about this technical and diverse subject chech out his blog.  I have added this blog address to the blogroll.