Hunter Valley Trip - any new/obscure wineries you recommend?

[Hindmarsh]

The better half and I will be relaxing in the Hunter Valley in late July, and I am keen to head to some of the wineries (as you would expect). I intend to go to some of the regulars / more obvious wineries (Tyrrell's, Thomas, McWilliams, Brokenwood, Tullock etc), but would love to hear of any new/exciting/obscure places people on the forum would recommend.

Cheers in advance (and I hope to update you all on my thoughts / experiences).

RB

[TiggerK]

Margan and Meerea Park come immediately to mind... Maybe mainstream, but just in case you needed reminding!

[Zinisking]

Being a local I will give you the tip on some not so well known places


Piggs Peake - Hermitage Road - This is a specialist Winemaker - they do not have a vineyard and buy all their fruit in. They "were" a Halliday 5 star winery but they are not allowed in anymore (they told them the assistant winemaker was Hugh Jorgan and Halliday printed it - 2009)

Small Winemakers Centre - this is opposite Brokenwood and has Winemakers such as Margan, and Andrew Thomas Wines....

Marsh Estate - Seriously good wines - all estate grown and dry farmed

Tullochs - Lots of Cellar Door only wines

Over in Lovedale

Tatlers

Capercaille

Allandale

Sandlans

hope this helps

[qwertt]

I really like Keith Tulloch (not to be confused with Tullochs) in addition to some of the ones already mentioned above.

[Pat]

I would recommend the wines from Earnest Hill, particularly the whites. Obviously a mainstream winery however I always go to Audrey Wilkinson if for nothing else than the view, although it helps that the wines are good.

[ACG]

Mistletoe's most recent whites have been very good. De Iullis also producing gooduns.

[Zinisking]

Actually Hermitage Rd area is a bit of a winner

De Illius
Kieth Tulloch
Piggs Peake
Mistletoe

All good wineries and can't go wrong with any of them

[Hindmarsh]

Great - thanks for all the replies! That will give me plenty of places to explore in July. I will report back on any standouts / suprises when I get back.

Cheers

Rod

[Polymer]

Boutique Wine Centre..Definitely. Has Meerea Park, Glenguin plus a few others.
Margan, David Hook, De illius and Mistletoe are excellent as well.
Lakes Folly - If they still have wine available.

You might also like Capercaillie, McLeish and Petersons (not the sparking wine house on Broke).

Bimbadgen has a nice estate..Some good wine, some ok wine...
Glandore might be interesting as well.

A few other comments...I don't think Thomas has a cellar door yet (although I could be wrong. Small Winemakers has Thomas and Margan on sale but my problem with them is A: They have a VERY limited selection and B: They actually charge more than full retail which doesn't make any sense.

[Zinisking]

Thomas doesn't have a cellar door - he actually leases the winery in Hermitage rd (where Salsa is)

BUT

The small winemakers centre lets you taste and then there is nothing stopping you getting on Thomas or Margan website and buying directly - you'd be crazy not too....

[beachbum1971]

I cannot recommend Marsh enough, great wines and a great experience.

Just down the road a bit is Tintilla, they can be a bit all over the place but last weekend I was blown away by their high end shiraz.

Krinklewood out at Broke.

Folly of course, David Hook and in the more mainstream Brokenwood is always a great experience, Tower, Peppertree (if they stop hiding their Hunter wines), De Illius and Allandale.

Will have to give Piggs Peat a wack next time.

[reschsmooth]

I also recommend Keith Tulloch who, I believe, is the brother of the owner/winemaker at Tullochs. I had a few of their 2000 Kester Shiraz and, when I opened the last one 2 years ago, I had that moment of sadness knowing it was my last, that's how much I enjoyed them.

[kyliep]

I was up in the Hunter on the June long weekend and spent a delightful day trying the wineries in the Mount View area. This little pocket is closer to Cessnock and away from the main Pokolbin area but the 10 minutes or so spent driving from Pokolbin to get there is worth it. We visited Petersens, Briar Ridge, Mount View Estate, Tallavera Grove and some much smaller wineries further beyond these names and enjoyed the country drive. Briar Ridge estate has a lovely spot for lunch - Briar Grillade - as does Tallavera Grove (stunning views from the Bistro - owned by Robert and Sally Molines formerly of Robert's at Peppertree fame). One very pleasant find was a boutique winery that had only just opened up on Mount Bright Road - directly opposite the lookout which is how we found it. Called Tallowwood, the cellar door had only been opened the weekend before, but when we were there on the Sunday afternoon there were quite a few interested parties (including us) tasting their small selection of very enjoyable wines. On the long weekend, when the Hunter was buzzing, it was nice to find an area that felt like you were a little bit away from it all.

[GraemeG]

Piggs Peake - Hermitage Road...They "were" a Halliday 5 star winery but they are not allowed in anymore (they told them the assistant winemaker was Hugh Jorgan and Halliday printed it - 2009)

Now look - I love a good gag as much as anyone, but this doesn't ring true. I checked the 2009 Wine Companion and PP is indeed 5 stars, but under 'Winemaker' it reads 'Steve Langham, Michael Partridge'.
If they wsubmitted a joke, it got picked up by the editors. Haven't seen 2010, though...
cheers,
G