Olssens of Watervale
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 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. Even if it had, I think I might have been tempted to get out and walk.
The out of the way character goes a little deeper than locating your operation at the end of a less than optimal standard dirt road, however.
I was mildly amazed, when I got home and started looking, to find that here’s a winery without a website. You’d assume they manage to sell most of what they produce, and they seem to have managed to penetrate into some interesting markets. We were tasting our way through the range when a young bloke from Scandinavia lobbed on the doorstep, en route from Darwin to Melbourne, and obviously visiting based on tasting experiences at home.
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 20005 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.
The Olssens of Watervale entry in the 2012 Halliday notes the passing of Helen Olssen, and a recent Google revealed the property is on the market, though details beyond a note that Expressions of Interest closed on 11 November 2011 are unclear.