Which is the way I like it, because these places are supposed to be all about the wine. Multimillion dollar winery complexes are all very well, but you can’t help suspecting the showy exterior might, in some way, be an attempt to distract you from the wine which is supposed to be what it’s all about.
And these wines were, once again, stunning.
The 2006 Hand Picked Eden Valley Riesling ($19) was excellent. Loads of flavour, a lovely finish, a match for anything we’d tried over the previous couple of days. Even better was the 2004 Local Growers Semillon, an aged style that, in the words of the cellar door tasting notes invites itself to lunch. At $18 I suspect I’ll be inviting some into the wine rack.
The 2008 White Frontignac ($15.50) had a touch of sweetness without being cloying, much like the Gewurztraminers we’d tried in Clare, and was another wine that would go well with spicier dishes.
Moving on to the red side of things, the 2008 Alicante Bouchet is a lovely light summer red, an almost ideal Rose style without any sweetness. One to chill and chill out over while nibbling on a Christmas/New Year lunch. One of my first acts on returning home was to order a case. The 2004 Moppa Springs (47% Grenache, 40% Mataro 13% Shiraz $23.50) was nicely complex with a fantastic rounded mouth-feel and a joy to swirl slowly around the palate. One to savour.
The 2005 Rod & Spur ($29.50), named for the traditional pruning method, was a huge wine that took absolutely no prisoners but was surprisingly mild for its size, while the 2005 Rifle Range Cabernet Sauvignon was another big full-bodied style with real cabernet character, huge and earthy but still mild with it. Fantastic.
It isn’t usually available for tasting but there was an opened bottle of the 2001 Shiraz VP ($62.50) so we had the chance to try an absolutely stunning wine that should last for years. One to buy and lay down for a 50th birthday (assuming you have offspring born in 2001) or, maybe those of us born in ‘51 might think about laying one down if we’re confident of making it to the century mark.
I was more than happy with the state of the world when we headed away from Rockford, following the Scenic Heritage Drive, but the weather conditions didn’t favour sightseeing so Madam suggested that I might like to visit another winery, which provided the opportunity to readmit Thorn-Clarke to the tasting schedule.