Clare - West Side Story
Having decided to make full use of the facilities on offer at the cottage, Madam had indulged in a sauna the evening after we arrived and I’d indicated that I wouldn’t mind a ride along the Riesling Trail on one of the bikes stored in the shed at the back of the premises.
Yesterday had dawned bleak and drizzly, putting that concept into the Not this morning, Josephine basket, but a cloudless sky took care of any excuses and I set off around 7:10, planning to ride to Leasingham and back before breakfast.
Bearing the fact that I don’t recall riding a bike at any point over the past twenty-plus years and that most of the route along that section of the Riesling Trail covered a gentle uphill slope, the news that I didn’t quite make it into Leasingham mightn’t come as a great surprise.
I turned back when I reached the tank farm behind O’Leary Walker at the time I’d planned to start the return journey and coasted downhill for much of the way back.
After a shower and breakfast it was back to Clare for the start of what I think is definitely the most overwhelming day’s wine tasting I’ve experienced to date.
The basic plan was to start at Jim Barry, pop into Neagles Rock, side-track across the highway to the Quarry Hill lookout and some photos (but no tasting) at historic Sevenhill Cellars, then head around the Spring Gully Loop to Skillogalee for lunch, then on to Mitchell, Kilikanoon, Olssen and (maybe) Crabtree on the way home.
Ambitious? Yes, but I thought it was quite doable with an early start if we were able to space the tasting and slip Mitchell (and maybe Kilikanoon) in before Skillogalee and lunch.
We weren’t out of the blocks as quickly as I would have liked, and it was around ten when we pulled into Jim Barry, just behind a foursome from Brisbane who seem to have had some connection to the winery’s Queensland distributor and were there for a long and leisurely tasting.
With two groups of tasters and a couple of outside interruptions we were there quite a bit longer than I’d planned, and that combination of factors resulted in much more copious tasting notes than I was able to manage elsewhere.
Starting with the Rieslings the 2008 Watervale ($15) was another in the long run of fantastic wines that are, in effect, the Clare Valley’s trade mark. Anyone minded to quibble is reminded that the track running along the old rail line from Auburn to Clare is labelled the Riesling Trail rather than the Shiraz, Semillon Sauvignon Blanc or anything else Trail.
Slightly upmarket, the 2007 Lodge Hill ($18) showed the benefit of bottle age and was quite wonderful but the first knockout punch of the day came with the 2007 Florita ($40) a stellar wine made from free run juice (about 40% of the available volume) that was 100% Riesling without any trace of skin, stem or stalk. Quite simply, a fantastic wine. After that, the 2008 Silly Mid On Sauvignon Blanc Semillon was always going to pale by comparison.
We moved on to the Lavender Hill late picked styles, the 2007 Riesling (quite wonderful) and the 2006 Riesling Semillon, which reminded us of the Pfeiffer’s Late Picked Muscadelle and was on special at $30 the 375 mL half dozen. Accordingly we broke the we’re not buying anything to carry home and invested in a six pack.
We started on the reds with the 2004 Three Little Pigs Shiraz Cabernet Malbec ($18) which was nicely peppery and featured charming label artwork to boot. The 4/6 label features one little pig bowling what appears to be a perfectly flighted leg break!
Questions about the frequent cricket references produced the explanation that the family had bought the old Penola Cricket Ground in the Coonawarra, source of the non-Clare component of The Cover Drive ($18), a blend of Cabernets from Clare and Coonawarra, a really classy wine worthy of comparison to the classic shot of batsmanship.
Things were warming up with the 2006 Lodge Hill Shiraz ($18) with three gold medals to its name and great value at the price.
As we moved into the top of the range the quality, already almost stellar, made a succession of quantum leaps.
The 2005 First XI Cabernet (100% Coonawarra $55) was stunning, the Benbourie Cabernet Sauvignon (100% Clare $90) was sublime and with the 2005 The McRae Wood Shiraz things just kept getting better. By the time we reached the summit (the 2005 The Armagh Shiraz @ $195) I’d run out of superlatives.
Walking out of the tasting room I remarked that it was just as well we’d planned a sightseeing diversion before the next winery because the palate (and the mind, for that matter) needed time to clear after what we’d just encountered.
We stopped at the lookout at Quarry Hill (spectacular views over the Polish Hill River area) and the Sevenhill Cellars, where Madam had a wander while I sat in the car trying to gather my thoughts before the next flurry of activity which was going to feature a succession of more five-star wineries.
A tough task, but we weren’t planning on a return visit that would allow me to visit the ones we missed this time.
We pulled up outside Neagles Rock for long enough for me to alight so Madam could continue over to investigate the adjacent Tourist Information Centre, leaving me to negotiate my way past the extremely friendly winery dog and make my way into the Cellar Door.
Tasting kicked off with the NV Chardonnay Pinot Noir ($19), an everyday drinking style that’d be worth investing in if we drank more of that style. Unfortunately we still have 4/6 of last year’s bubbly purchase on hand, but anyone who drinks this style regularly should find it worth checking out.
Predictably, the 2007 Riesling ($19) was yet another classic Clare Riesling and the 2007 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc ($19) was also excellent though I was inclined to disagree with the suggestion that Clare does the style just as well as it does Riesling, but maybe I’m biased towards the straight variety rather than the blend.
Personally, I found that every Riesling I tried in the area fitted into the same recognisable regional style and the wines, while showing subtle variations, were consistently superb expressions of the style. Most of the Semillon Sauvignon Blancs were very good wines though I didn’t pick up the same consistency of style.
Or maybe it’s just a case of Hughesy loves Riesling.
Moving into the reds, the 2008 Sweet Dorothy Cabernet Rose ($19) was, as the name suggests, a sweeter style than most I’d tried, but that wasn’t a problem as far as I was concerned. Perfect summer drinking (yet again).
The 2006 Grenache Shiraz ($20) was smooth, and would be almost unrecognisable to anyone who’d cut his teeth on the big grenaches of yesteryear. They were on the last stocks of the 2005 Shiraz ($25) which was excellent but you’d need to be quick.
The 2006 Sangiovese ($25) was excellent with a lovely velvety mouth-feel and every inch the 94-point wine that Halliday rates it as while the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon ($25) was summed up very nicely in the cellar notes as not shy in any way. At the same time it’s not an aggressive wine, making its presence felt without trying to knock your block off.
By this stage it was about 11:45 with the next planned activity being a circuit around the Spring Gully Loop for a photo opportunity at the Spring Gully Lookout before visiting one (or possibly two) wineries before lunch at Skillogalee, where I wasn’t planning to do any tasting. The Lookout wasn’t quite what we’d been hoping for (I’d thought we’d be looking east across the vineyards whereas we ended up looking over towards the sun would be setting in a few hours’ time.
The time factor, after we’d spent much longer than planned at Jim Barry (not that I’m objecting, mind you) meant that it was a case of one winery before lunch so we headed over to the old stone apple shed that houses Mitchell Wines. Once we’d finished there it wasn’t quite time for lunch, but at the same time there wasn’t time for another, particularly when the next stop was going to be Kilikanoon.
Lack of something to scribble on close at hand means that I’m relying on memory to describe a relatively hurried visit to a winery where I liked everything on offer very much. The 2006 Watervale Riesling ($22) was another in a succession of fantastic wines. The 2004 GSM Grenache was excellent, with the S originating from Sangiovese rather than the usual Shiraz. The quality continued with the 2006 Peppertree Vineyard Shiraz ($25), the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon ($25) and the stunning 2000 McNicol Shiraz ($40).
If that seems to be giving the place short shift, when I asked Madam for her impression of the place she suggested that it was probably the best winery we’d visited that day and when we met the foursome we’d seen at Jim Barry over lunch I was quite emphatic. They had to visit Mitchell.
Getting to Skillogalee and lunch meant a slight slice of backtracking, and since were there slightly before the time we’d booked I tried some of the range on offer - just, you understand, to fill in some time, but it was enough to suggest that a glass of the Riesling would go well with lunch.
From the time we were seated under the old olive tree the reasons we’d been told that lunch at Skillogalee was a must do were obvious. It’s a lovely spot, the views across the vines were divine and the food was superb.
From the daily specials I ordered half a dozen Coffin Bay oysters (hence the decision to go with a glass of the Riesling) and both of us went for the pasta with a creamy prawn and pea sauce which, quite frankly, couldn’t possibly be faulted.
Back on the road, we headed to Kilikanoon, where I was struck by the clear contrast between the 2008 ‘Mort’s Block’ Riesling ($21) another wonderful expression of one of my all-time favourite wine styles and the 2008 ‘Mort’s Reserve’ Riesling ($30) taken from selected rows from the same vineyard. The difference was absolutely noticeable. I’d be absolutely happy to drink the former in any appropriate circumstance while the latter is absolutely stunning.
The 2007 Barrel Fermented Semillon ($18) had picked up some buttery characteristics along the way, which was fine with me, while the 2007 Second Fiddle Rose ($18) was a full-bodied, balanced, medium style and another excellent summer wine, as was the 2006 Prodigal Grenache, another one in the contemporary softer style.
The 2005 Medley Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre was the sort of Mediterranean style that’d be the perfect match for Italian meat or pasta dishes and is the sort of wine that creeps up on you. Maybe it should carry a label advising caution when approaching the bottle.
The 2006 Blocks Road Cabernet Sauvignon ($29) wasn’t quite my cup of tea, though when she tried a sip Madam disagreed, and the 2005 Covenant Shiraz ($38) had a lovely long finish thought took quite a bit of swirling in the glass to bring it out.
Small wineries don’t come much more interesting than Olssens of Watervale, located at the end of a dirt track that might encourage the less fanatical among us to turn back. My iPod note reads unusual varieties such as carmenere and primitivo di Gioia so turning back wasn’t going to be an option unless the road started degenerating into impassability.
And even if it had, I think I might have been tempted to get out and walk.
Once again this was a no notes taken episode and while I liked the whole range, for me the standouts were the ones I came for, the 2006 BHV Primitivo ($35), the 2006 BHV Carmenere ($35), the 2005 BHV MMS ($25) and, finally, the 2005 The Olssen Six, featuring all six of the classic Bordeaux varieties, something that doesn’t even happen in Bordeaux any more. We had the time and it was on the way home, so we stopped into Crabtree Watervale Wines (as much for the view across the village of Watervale as for the tasting opportunity but I couldn’t help myself and wandered into the Cellar Door while Madam took a few photos.
The 2008 Pomona Individual Block Riesling ($30) was stunning, the result of the winery’s decision to pick and ferment every block of Riesling as a separate package. One particular parcel stood out, and a mere hundred dozen bottled. Definitely a wine for Riesling fans. The 2008 Hilltop Riesling ($15 cellar door only) was a slightly sweeter early drinking style while the 2008 Watervale Riesling was very much in the traditional Watervale style.
Of the remaining wines I tried before closing time, which was fast approaching, the 2007 Watervale Zibibbo would work with spicy food in much the same way as a gewurztraminer, the 2006 Watervale Riesling was, predictably stellar and the 2007 Tempranillo prompted me to shell out for a bottle in the expectation that we might need something to go with a pizza or pasta over the rest of the trip.
Back in Auburn, the evening dining options needed investigating and a walk around the village revealed the presence of a pizza option closing at eight o’clock (last orders half an hour earlier) so we decided to stroll back to the cottage, phone in an order just after seven and have an early night.