A Definite Five Stars
On a day when you’ve made your way around half-a-dozen wineries rated five stars in Halliday it takes something special to make one place stand out from the pack.
The first Thursday in November 2008 was always going to be a challenge. I’d planned to start at Jim Barry, loop through Sevenhill, across to Neagles Rock then over to Mitchell before lunch at Skillogalee, on to Kilikanoon and Olssens and a stop at Crabtree on the way back to base if we had time. We weren’t as quick out of the blocks as I would have liked, and the Jim Barry tasting lasted longer than anticipated. Not that I was objecting under the circumstances. It was a nicely spaced tasting of more or less the entire range. Neagles Rock was very enjoyable as well, and when we pulled into the car park alongside the old stone apple shed on Hughes Park Road I was feeling more or less at one with the world. Around half an hour later we were walking back out with lunch in mind and shortly thereafter we encountered the party we’d seen ay Jim Barry earlier in the morning.
Having discovered this was the third day we’d been on the tasting trail around the valley they asked if there was anywhere we particularly recommended. They were booked in for the tour at Sevenhill Cellars and reckoned they could fit another one without overdoing it.
Our unanimous opinion was Go to Mitchell.
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