10 May 2008
There are a couple of labels that consistently deliver good quality Australian wine at a price point comfortably below Hughesy’s long-term budget average of $10 per bottle (and, yes, I do keep track of that - current average $8.35). So if we’re wandering through a bottle shop, if one of those ranges are on special there’s a better than even chance I’ll be grabbing a couple of bottles to maintain the diversity in the wine rack.
And, over the years, one of those labels has been McWilliams Hanwood range, which I first noticed several years ago when I tried the Chardonnay - and rated it as quite possibly the best value for money Chardonnay I’d drunk up to that time.
A recommended retail price of around $12 would normally fall outside that preferred price point, but, like the other wines I keep an eye out for the Hanwood wines regularly turn up heavily discounted in the major liquor chains. We were on our way back home after two weeks in Japan when we visited the Townsville lolly shop to find the 2005 Hanwood Shiraz Viognier in half-dozen lots for $49.80 (or $8.30 a bottle, in case you can’t be bothered doing the maths for yourself).
I’ve got a weakness for this blend, originating from the Rhone Valley in France where, according to the bloke we talked to at Bimbadgen in the Hunter Valley, they go as far as growing the varieties together (at about nineteen Shiraz vines to every Viognier vine), picking, crushing and fermenting the grapes at the same time and in the same containers.
The Viognier - a white variety, by the way - softens the Shiraz, supposedly in much the same way that you might add a daub of butter to the vegetables you’re having with tonight’s dinner, and the blend usually results in a very food-friendly wine, particularly when we’re heading into what passes for winter around our way with relevant adjustments to what’s coming out of the kitchen.
In any case, at $8.30 half a dozen seemed like a reasonable investment. The problem now is finding the wine at a similar mark-down, because there are only three left.
I’d thought that the Hanwood range was sourced from Riverland fruit, but a bit of basic research reveals that there are bits and pieces from all over the place - Hilltops (Barwang Vineyard), Limestone Coast, Heathcote, Orange, Riverina, Barossa, Eden Valley, Fleurieu and the Yarra Valley!
I was also interested to note (the internet’s a wonderful source of minor details) the presence of a trace of Durif, which I guess adds body to the wine, which has a nice depth of colour and excellent mouth-feel and a soft juicy finish.
The only problem is keeping my hands off the remaining bottles until we can restock at the right price point.