This was mainly a family trip so wine-related matters were secondary. Even when we did visit it was pretty cursory normally and I didn’t usually interact with the staff as much as I normally might, nor did I seek out anything other than mainstream wineries. Everyone pours in decent stemmed Riedels these days, which is wonderful.
d'Arenberg
26-Dec-24 At “The Cube”, the combined museum/gallery/tasting space. $20/adult entry fee, not refundable. Even for non-winos there’s enough to amuse (and visiting the gents toilet is a must). Tasting room on the 4th floor was very busy on Boxing Day afternoon. Decent Riedel glasses & reasonable pours. Despite sixty(!) different table wines for sale covering 30+ varieties, there are only 2 official flights – white/rose & red – of five fairly entry level wines. With fewer people and some persuasion (if you wanted to buy something expensive) I’m sure they’d pour a bigger range. I also include notes from wines we bought but drank later. Every wine they make hails from McLaren Vale bar the pinot noir and sauvignon blanc from the Adelaide Hills.
- 2015 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Footbolt - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale (26/12/2024)
{screwcap, 14.5%} Some agng from appearance and the chocolatey with red jam nose. Palate is furry in texture, with maturing blueberry and raspberry fruit flavours. Low dusty tannins, medium acidity, not entirely natural. Maturing nicely, but sound and competent rather than exciting in any way. $32 from the cellar door which is reasonable value. - 2024 d'Arenberg Riesling The Dry Dam - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale (27/12/2024)
{screwcap, 10.5%} Pale straw. Fresh nose of custard and stewed apples. Palate is off-dry, with spritzy acid, though it fades quickly. Light/medium weight. Lusciously sweet mild honey flavours, although it doesn't quite have the depth of flavour to be really great. Just cloys a little on the short/medium finish. $22 at the winery yesterday. - NV d'Arenberg Nostalgia Rare Tawny - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale (30/12/2024)
{375ml, screwcap, 21.5%} Murky tawny colour. Caramel, camphor, antique shop aromas. Warm, fumey, vanilla, burnt honey, follows the nose. Quite pointed, with high acidity, warmth on the full-bodied palate. About fully sweet, but balanced enough. Does cloying fractionally at the end of the otherwise long finish. - 2022 d'Arenberg Pinot Noir The Feral Fox - Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Hills (26/12/2024)
{screwcap, A$34} Earth, roses and cherry. Little oak. Gentle tannin, medium acid. A light-bodied wine that avoids sweetness or coarseness. Finishes a little short, but fair value for the price. Not for cellaring. - 2021 d'Arenberg Mencía The Anthropocene Epoch - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale (26/12/2024)
{screwcap, A$32} Charry character, with heavy dark fruit. Not raisiny, but a bit of a bruiser. Low tannin, medium acidity, medium weight. Big wine for a simple meal. - 2020 d'Arenberg d'Arry's Original Shiraz/Grenache - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale (26/12/2024)
{screwcap, A$22} 75% grenache manifesting as a sweet red jam character. Dusty strawberry fruit, mild dusty tannin, medium weight wine. Not much oak evident. Decent length – a good for the price; a bit simple but nothing wrong with it. Was a time this used to age really despite humble price; haven’t had it for years though! - 2021 d'Arenberg Shiraz The Footbolt - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale (26/12/2024)
{screwcap, A$22} Also sweetly fruit-driven (after ‘Original’), with more obvious powdery tannins and medium acidity. Avoids crudeness. Medium weight, with red fruit and blackberry characters. Short/medium length. Has also dumbed down a bit since the 90s – used to be an ‘old vine’ cuvee but not now. Despite the commercial volumes of this they claim there’s still a decent proportion of foot-trodden fruit in here. I’d still drink within 7/8 years of vintage though. - 2018 d'Arenberg The Galvo Garage - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale (26/12/2024)
{screwcap, A$32} Bordeaux blend 70% CS. Standard new world cab blend, blackcurrant, gentle oak, soft powdery tannin, low/medium acid, medium length finish, quite well-balanced, medium-bodied effort. Has come together nicely over the years – ready to drink I reckon.
27-Dec-24 Located in the Botanic Gardens in Adelaide, this is more a commercial/conference space with a few broad historical exhibits, a lot of it as much about wine making generally as about the history of Australian wine specifically. But there is a tasting section, with dozens of oenomatic machines set up to dispense from a selection of a hundred-odd wines. Stick in the supplied plastic card, select taste/half-glass/full-glass for the wine/s of your choice and pay at the bar when you return the card. Broad range of wines arranged by weight/style, plus some ‘icons’ (Hill of Grace at $55/25ml if you want it). Most of the wines were around $6 or so for a taste. I just picked a few I’ve not tasted much before or was especially interested in. A good national selection too – this isn’t SA-focussed by any means.
- 2023 Crawford River Riesling Strata - Australia, Victoria, Western Victoria, Henty (27/12/2024)
{screwcap, 12.5%} Youthful honey, sweet apple aromas. Palate is honey and lime flavours too, what I would call off-dry for sweetness. Light-bodied, not cloying on the medium length finish – the medium/high acidity holds it all together. - 2023 Jasper Hill Riesling Georgia's Paddock - Australia, Victoria, Central Victoria, Heathcote (27/12/2024)
{screwcap, 12.5%} Talc, lychee and lime, with a bit of melon added on the light/medium weight palate. Medium acid but softly textured, with a gentle medium length finish. Tidy, but not really a cellaring style I think. - 2022 Bubb + Pooley Chardonnay - Australia, Tasmania, Coal River (27/12/2024)
{screwcap} Sweet, sweet oak – vanilla and nuts. Very full-throttle style, even if it turns out to be medium-bodied and the oak isn’t quite as apparent on the palate. It’s still quite buttery and vanilla-tinged though, with a sandalwood flavour. Low/medium acidity, front palate balance, medium length finish. - 2023 Chatto Wines Pinot Noir Huon Valley Franklinii - Australia, Tasmania, Southern Tasmania (27/12/2024)
{screwcap, 13.7%} Spicy aromas of white pepper herald a tart and crisp palate with an explosion of dry cherry flavours, little oak and a crisp, savoury character. Always a bit peppery but never quite unripe. Light-bodied, dry, low chalky tannins, medium length finish. Doesn’t make much mention of pinot on the label. Not convinced about aging here. - 2020 Rockford Rod & Spur - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley (27/12/2024)
{cork, 13.8%} Classic nose of chocolate and vanilla edged with black fruit. Intense nose of perfectly judged ripeness and oak without heat. Medium/full weight but low/medium powdery tannins, and medium acid. Palate tastes exactly as you expect, with spice, jammy flavours as well, but always refined. The shiraz dominates the cabernet I reckon. Medium/long, even finish. Very good, has a decade of improvement easily.
30-Dec-2024 Nearly a quarter-century since I was last here. Now a vast tourist attraction. Tasting room was apparently fully booked for the day, but luckily the situation seemed to have changed after we ate lunch. $15 refundable fee. Seventeen table wines for sale (plus a dozen or so back vintages), along with a dozen fortifieds, although I think they let you buy a tawny from your birth year if you really want and have the $$. Your fee gets you a choice of six from the ‘tasting menu’ comprised of three whites, moscato, rosé, four reds, four fortifieds. And for an extra $100 you can get 10ml of the 100-year-old Para, 1924 vintage – same volume rate as the full bottle price.
- 2018 Seppeltsfield Riesling Watervale - Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Watervale (30/12/2024)
{screwcap, A$35} Mid yellow colour. Broad, developing citric nose. Juicy citrus palate, quite even in presence, definitely maturing. Low/medium acidity, dry, medium weight, short/medium length finish. Decent wine, ready to drink now. A bit costly for what it is. - 2022 Seppeltsfield Shiraz Barossa - Australia, South Australia, Barossa (30/12/2024)
{screwcap, A$35} Youthful spice, vanilla and cherry aromas. Spice & cherry liqueur flavours, medium dusty tannins, light oak flavour. Medium/high acid. A bit underwhelming. Might be better in five years. - 2023 Seppeltsfield Nero d'Avola Barossa - Australia, South Australia, Barossa (30/12/2024)
{screwcap, A$30} Big juicy, plum jam flavours. Little oak, soft dusty tannins, low/medium acidity. Avoids being too flabby or sweet, despite the medium/full weight. Good wine for the short term, decent value. - 2020 Seppeltsfield EC405 Shiraz Mataro - Australia, South Australia, Barossa (30/12/2024)
{screwcap, A$50} 66% shiraz. Rich plummy and blue fruit aromas and flavours. Medium powdery tannins dominate the medium/full weight palate., with medium acid. Unevolved at four years old, but seems quite classy. Front and mid-palate weight. Give it time. - NV Seppeltsfield Muscat DP 63 Grand - Australia, Victoria, North East, Rutherglen (30/12/2024)
{500ml, screwcap, A$35} Fruit cake, cinnamon, five-spice. Consistent with previous tastings. Fully sweet but high acid balances it out. Full-bodied, caramel, rancio and fruit-cake precede a medium/long finish. Very good, and quite distinct from the sibling tokay. - NV Seppeltsfield Tokay Grand DP 57 - Australia, Victoria, North East, Rutherglen (30/12/2024)
{500ml, screwcap, A$35} A bit less sweet than the matching muscat, but this is also more floral, with tea and honey flavours. Medium-sweet, medium-bodied, with a medium/long finish. Very good and decent value too. - 2003 Seppeltsfield Para 21 year old Vintage Tawny - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley (30/12/2024)
{screwcap, A$105} Mostly grenache, these Paras. This has a distinct wood-spice nose, part beehive, part carpenter’s workshop. Caramel and honey on the full-bodied palate, medium-sweet, medium/high acidity. A rich, warm, long, even finish. Terrific.
31-Dec-2024 The spiritual home of Australian wine, in many ways – also a quarter-century since I last visited. New buildings – a lot of it unrecognisable from 2000! There’s a set tasting menu of 7 wines for $15 (refundable) but for a range of extra cost you can taste some flagships including Grange ($50). There are 46 table wines on offer to sell – I’m sure they’ve most of them under-the-counter for pouring if push comes to shove. As a note-taker I was asked if there were other wines I was interested in tasting, so they seem to have just the right attitude. It’s actually good value, what they pour, even if the selling prices are understandably at about the highest retail level. Also there’s a range of Cellar Reserve wines that you don’t see elsewhere. Plus other exhibits, a full line-up of every Grange vintage, etc. Recommended without hesitation.
- 2024 Penfolds Riesling Cellar Reserve Polish Hill River - Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Polish Hill River (31/12/2024)
{screwcap, A$45} Clean lemon citrus nose, in the PH style. Palate is quite tart, with medium/high acid, a hint of apple juice amongst the citrus, medium weight, and a medium length zingy, crunchy finish. Seems to have an easy decade’s aging in front of it. - 2023 Penfolds Chardonnay Bin 311 - Australia, South Eastern (31/12/2024)
{screwcap, A$55} Oak, butter, vanilla. A much more lavish style than I remember from vintages ago. There’s some bright grapefruit fighting to push through the butter/malo flavours, and the oak, but it’s quite vibrant anyway with medium/high acidity and medium weight, even if the dry-finishing palate is only around short/medium in length. A fair bit of Tasmanian fruit here amongst other cool-climate regions. - 2023 Penfolds Pinot Noir Bin 23 - Australia, Tasmania (31/12/2024)
{screwcap, A$55} I’ve tasted a lot of $40-$80 Tasmanian pinot, and this is right in the mould, notwithstanding the Penfolds name. Fruity, floral, and cherry notes. Light-bodied, with low dusty tannins, restrained oak, medium/high acid. Rose and cherry flavours. Medium length finish. Nothing wrong, but nothing terribly special either. Sound effort for five years’ aging. - 2019 Penfolds Shiraz Bin 150 Marananga - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley (31/12/2024)
{screwcap, A$100} Chocolate & blueberry aromas. Very ripe and Barossa-like. Toasty oak on the palate, ripe jammy black and blue fruits. Full-bodied, medium/high fine powdery tannins, medium acidity. Magisterial medium/long finish. Maybe it’s the extra few years (or the vintage difference) but I thought this head and shoulders above the following 22 Bin 389. Should improve for a decade easily. - 2022 Penfolds Bin 389 - Australia, South Australia (31/12/2024)
{screwcap, A$120} The cabernet influence is immediately apparent here after tasting an (older) Bin 150. That said, it’s very roasted in character, with a raw raisin-like character. Plenty ripe on the medium/full weighted palate, with black fruit, spice, liquorice. Lots of oak, medium/high gritty tannins, medium acidity, medium length finish. Needs quite a bit of time. Not sure about this vintage, to be honest. - 2019 Penfolds Shiraz St. Henri - Australia, South Australia (31/12/2024)
{screwcap, A$135} Plum and chocolate, but with less of the oakiness that the Bin 150 showed, and with a regal sort of air about it. Polished red and blue fruit flavours, medium/full in weight, with medium dusty tannins and nicely balanced acidity. Feels very much ‘of a piece’, this. Medium/long finish, all class. Very drinkable now at 5, but should improve effortlessly for a decade. Seems to have been a very good year (along with 21) for Penfolds. - 2016 Penfolds Shiraz Magill Estate - Australia, South Australia, Mount Lofty Ranges, Adelaide Plains (31/12/2024)
{cork, A$165} Spice and pepper. Shouts cool-climate (or vintage) with spicy bright cherry fruit; very lean after the St Henri. Medium weight, with medium dusty tannins, medium acid. Fresh, spicy palate; beautifully even along the tongue. Tidy, medium length finish. Doesn’t hugely impress, despite eight years aging already; it’s a decent wine but doesn’t really justify its considerable price except on rarity or historical grounds. Should age OK for another 5-8 years, assuming the cork works. - 2021 Penfolds Bin 600 California - USA, California (31/12/2024)
{cork, A$90} This was poured as a bonus when the staff got generous and I couldn’t immediately think of something else to try without running into the ‘extra charge’ options. 80% cabernet. Liquorice and blackcurrant aromas and flavours, medium/full in weight, with a polished sort of texture, medium/high powdery tannins, medium acidity and a medium long finish. Sound and nicely balanced, reflecting the house style. I liked this better than the 22 Bin 389 as well!
