Madam picked up some ice-cream on the way out, planning to give it time to soften a little on the way to nearby Seppeltsfield. On the way, we passed two wineries that my research suggested could well be worth visiting, but the game plan brooked no variation.
Approaching Seppeltsfield Madam was impressed by the hilltop Seppelt Family Mausoleum looking out across the valley, and by the avenues of huge ancient date palms along the way.
A pause in the precipitation gave me a chance to duck over into the tasting room while Madam sat in the car with the ice-cream.
Safely inside the tasting area, I took a stroll around the museum displays.
Having been sold off by Fosters, Seppeltsfield is now owned by the same interests as Kilikanoon. In the processes involved with the sale the stocks of table wines were separated from the fortified stocks.
So while there were table wines available to taste, they were going to be much the same as some of the range I’d sampled at Kilikanoon the day before.
In any case, I wasn’t there for the table wines.
The starting point on the fortified trail was the Flora Fino (500mL $22), absolutely bone dry and an excellent aperitif or a delightful accompaniment to tapas. It was made from Palomino, as was the Clara Blanca Amontillado (500 mL $20), wine which had, believe it or not, sixteen years in wood.
And it showed.