Trip Notes Barossa (very short)/Clare

[Irregular]

Barossa
We were heading to Clare from Adelaide, the Barossa not on our itinerary given we'd been there a few of times over the past 5 years or so. However, we left Adelaide early and knew we had a fairly short drive ahead of us and knowing one of our favourite wineries, Rockford was but a short detour, thought, 'why not'. So we did.

Rockford
Didn't take notes as it was 'just a detour'.
The 2010 Basket Press Shiraz is one of the best years I've tried as a new release. it's a great wine now and will likely prove to be one of the classic vintages - buy.
Also really liked the Rifle Range, another buy.

So now we're off to Clare, problem being there are loads of wineries on the way out of the Barossa, so we did a couple more.

Tscharke's
We're recent fans of Tscharke's wines but on this visit only came across a couple we particularly liked, these being:
2012 600x10 Syrah $24 and the 2012 Matching Socks Touriga $21.

Greenock Creek
We were now off to Clare via a shortcut to the highway. The road/track goes past Greenock Creek which we didn't think would be open. Driving past, noticed their sign 'Closed Tuesday'. I skidded to a halt, and did a u-turn, it was Monday!

Greenock Creek seems to be one of those 'in and out of fashion' wineries. I'd started buying here from the '96 vintage until around '02 or '03. I stopped buying because I was a little concerned about alcohol levels and the wines ability to cellar. However, over the past year or two, I've opened a cross section of the labels (Alices, Apricot, Seven Acre, and Creek Block) from the late '90's/early 2000's and have loved every one of them. They've all been terrific wines.
So we had to drop in, and so glad we did.

We were the only ones in the tiny cellar door and spent over an hour here chatting and trying what was on offer. Ended up getting a Cornerstone and Alices for the trip. Have since had both with the Alices in particular great.

The whole range wasn't on offer as some have sold out, however we were fortunate enough to taste the '06 Roennfeldt Shiraz which is an absolute cracker of a wine. Ended up getting to Clare after sunset!


Clare
Naturally loads of good Riesling on offer here, but don't overlook the reds, some good 'uns among them. Speaking of good Clare Riesling, we've been enjoying a range of 10 plus year old's on the trip which have been quite superb. If I can figure out how to put images up here, I'll provide a few shots/short notes.

As per previous posts, I'm only putting up wines which we thought were good, too many to list otherwise.

Kirrihill
Never heard of these guys before, but they make a couple of half decent drops including the 2012 Slate Creek Riesling $18 and the 2012 Tullymore Vineyard Shiraz $22.

Claymore
Our most disappointing cellar door as I was keen to try the latest Dark Side of the Moon, alsas, all gone!

Mitchell
It's been so long since I've had a Mitchell wine, probably 15 years or so. These used to be a 'staple' back in the day - the old Peppertree Shiraz, fond memories.
This is going to get monotonous, however, the 2012 Watervale Reisling $22 is very good. The '06 McNicol Reisling $35 is still way too young, but good, although I'm not sure it will be spectacular in its prime? Liked the '09 GSM $22, '06 Cab, stacks of tannin and the perennial favourite, '09 Peppertree Shiraz. The '04 McNical Shiraz $40 was also a delightful wine, represents good value given it's age and that the fruit is specially selected.

Paulet
Good Riesling's here, but not cheap. 2012 Antonina $50, this is a beautifully structured wine which should age superbly. 2012 Polish Hill $22 was good without being great, whereas the 2007 Ages Release Polish Hill Riesling $50 was lovely.

Sevenhill
OK, I have a confession to make, if you'll pardon the pun! I have been a critic of Sevenhill for years, never having had what I considered to be a good wine from them, so I was really reluctant to go here. Well, I was wrong, there’s some really nice gear coming out of the old place.
2012 Inigo Riesling $20, wow, sharp and acidic, needs a decade.
2009 St Aloysius Riesling $35, the extra couple of years bottle age makes this wine so much more approachable, it’s quite good.
2010 Four Buckets Touriga Shiraz, Malbec $20, liked this one, interesting and enjoyable blend, very approachable now.
2010 Inigo Barbera $25, "sugar and spice and all things nice". Loved the spicy nose on this little number, quite different and deliciously good.
2010 Inigo Shiraz $25. Oh yeah, this is pretty much my go to sort of wine, bring it on. Great oak treatment, lovely balanced mouth feel, and a very good finish. This is a complete wine, liked it a lot.
2010 St Ignatius $40 another quite lovely wine even though it's so young, clearly reflective of the year. Tried the 08 of this and it has lost a lot, nowhere near as good as the 2010.

Tim Adams
Three wines stood out.
2010 Shiraz $22, ticks all the boxes.
2008 Reserve Cabernet Malbec $35, a most enjoyable blend, the Malbec adds a new dimension.
2009 Aberfeldy Shiraz $50. Wasn't expecting much from this given the year, but wow, this is a complete and stunning wine. Simply excellent and will cellar a treat, full of fruit, brilliant structure, awesome finish. While $50 is up there, this really represents value.

Kilikanoon
These guys have a fairly big range and probably an even bigger reputation.
Two 2012 Watervale Rieslings here, Morts Block $20 and Mort's Reserve $32. Both were very good and surprisingly quite approachable, although I couldn't really pick a $12 difference between the two.
The entry level Killerman's Run Shiraz $18 is a soft, flavoursome wine offering good drinking now. But the two heavy hitting Shiraz's are where the action is. 2010 Covenant Shiraz $38 is a multi vineyard blend which is put into 1 and 2 year old oak, and is a seriously nice drop. The 2009 Oracle' Shiraz $75 sees new and 1 year old oak. This is a big wine, brooding, bold, brash. Give it time. It's good, will it be great? Most probably yes.

O'Leary Walker
I know these guys have been making wine forever, and that the O'Learly Walker brand has also been around for a number of years, however, this was the first time we'd seen any of their wines, and we were really impressed. So for us, this was the discovery of the region.

They had six Riesling's on offer and we liked most of them.
2012 Polish Hill $22. Big isn't a word I'd usually use for a Riesling, but this was 'big'- good too.
2012 Watervale $20. I like this type of situation, you know, when you prefer a less expensive wine over the more expensive one. Yes, I preferred the Watervale, liked it a lot.
2010 Polish Hill $25. This was pretty tidy, lovely stuff, best so far.
2006 Watervale $30. The pick of the Rieslings, super stuff, great mouth feel, balanced and structured.

Onto the reds.
They do an Adelaide Hills Pinot here, 2012, $22. As a general rule of thumb, I'm not a fan of AH Pinot's, however, this wasn't too bad, although not your typical Pinot. It's in the bold, big, rather than feminine fragrant spectrum of Pinot's. It was actually quite good.
By contrast, I love Adelaide Hills Shiraz, and the 2010 Wyebo Shiraz $35 from the AH is a ripper and typical of the region. I loved this wine, it's so different from mainstream Shiraz, get a bottle, experiment, you'll love it.
Both the 2010 $22 and 2007 $25 Clare/McLaren Vale Shiraz's were very good, great fruit spectrum, quite powerful wines which will cellar well. We grabbed a couple of 2010's for the road.
2010 Clare Cabernet $22 was also very good, but cellar it.
'The' wine here for us was the 2008 'Claire' Reserve Shiraz $90. Wow! This is simply awesome, excellent in every way, loved it.
For those into fortified's, the 2010 'Wyatt Earp' is a BUY. Magnificent.
WA next.

[Michael McNally]

Sounds like a great trip, Irregular. Never been to Clare, but must go one day.

Cheers

Michael

[Scotty vino]

Claymore
Our most disappointing cellar door as I was keen to try the latest Dark Side of the Moon, alsas, all gone!

Did you manage to try the Black Magic Woman Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon??
This was really good IMO so I grabbed some.
Probably not the most rustic cellar door going around, but always very friendly and their Nirvana Reserve Shiraz is also one of the really good Reds in the region if you're looking to break free from the Rieslings.

I'll be heading to Clare in about 3 weeks for a few days of tasting and toe warming by the fire.

[Mark Carrington]

Cheers for the report.

[Matt]

I headed to the Barossa last week. Great trip.
Very briefly the highlights;

The Willows 2008 Shiraz - Great use of American oak. I loved this wine, grippy and plenty of pepper and spice. The Bonesettler was very good too. Very nice host.
Rockford Cellar door - Knowlegable and generous pours. Found the Rifle Range more approachable than the Basket Press at this stage. The Alicante Bouchet went very well with the food at Ferment Asian - Tanunda.
Torbreck - Knowlegable and generous pours. "
Gomersal - Very welcoming hosts - very good inky black 2009 shiraz and the $50 blend was very nice too.
Winter Creek - Nice suprise - great Barossa shiraz - grabbed some 2006 and 2010.
Tscharke - Grabbed some 2010 Stonewall Cab Sav as I've heard its very good. The Touriga was was different and interesting - good.

Thoughts are just from the pours, will expand upon once the wines arrive in the post.