The range didn’t seem to be offering anything out of the ordinary, and the wines are widely available and often discounted.
Everything was sound, well-made and perfectly acceptable. I’d be happy with the Riesling if it turned up on a restaurant wine list, for instance. In our part of the world, that’d be a likely prospect, but over the past couple of days, I’d tried a number of wines that would, in my opinion, be better investments when you’re looking at a dozen bottles you’re not likely to find at the local bottle shop.
We arrived at Martindale Hall to find the gates closed, and since they weren’t scheduled to open for another twenty minutes (all we wanted was a couple of photos, after all) we decided to bid a fond farewell to the Clare Valley and make for the winemaking big smoke.
The trip through Manoora, Riverton, Tarlee and Kapunda was uneventful apart from a mild degree of concern as to whether the fuel supply would hold out. Just before midday, we turned off in Tanunda in search of parking and information.
On the way, we’d passed Penfolds and a host of other wineries that it would probably be worth a visit, but a quick check in the Barossa guide book we picked up listed fifty-five wineries. So, working on, say, five a day we’d be looking at more than a week and a half if we were going to be visiting them all. As it was, we didn’t have a full day at our disposal before the car was due back in Adelaide.