The first stop was Castagna in Beechworth. The wines are biodynamic and Julian Castagan is a fantastic host. All up we spent close to two hours with him, as he drew samples off various barrels and opened bottle after bottle of his beautiful wines. Both the 2008 and 2010 GENESIS SYRAH are wonderful wines: savoury, earth wines made to accompany food more in the Northern Rhone style. I am keen to add both to my cellar. I liked the Castagna 2012 Un Segreto (Sangiovese/Syrah) but was more taken by the Adams Rib 2012 The Red (Nebbiolo/Syrah) which is so moorish right now. I also loved his Castagna Vermouth - Classic Dry which his son talked him into making after he decided his 2011 was not up to standard and therefore he released no wines in that year. I then used the Vermouth to make awesome Negronis all the way south.
By complete contrast, a visit to Pennyweight Winery around the corner from Castagna had us face to face with staff at a cellar door who were sadly jaded by the weight of humanity that came to sample their wines. Frankly if the front office people find talking to visitors about their wines so tedious, I have to wonder why they bother having a cellar door! I did however buy some Pennyweight Gold which is a pleasant aperitif in the Lillet style and excellent over ice on a hot day.
Next up was Epis Wines in Macedon Ranges. Again another winery by appointment and another mad passionate owner who walked us up and down the rows of his wines showing us the different trellis set up, the difference between the grapes on close planted pinots and those which were initially more widely planted. Alec, the owner, is a wonderful host and it is superb to see individuals who are passionate about what they do and love where life has taken them. His pinots are clearly in the top echelon of pinots made in Australia and the Epis 2012 Pinot Noir is a superb example: forest floors and mushrooms with roses and strawberry fruit. The output is so small, last year only 300 cases but I would love to put a case way each year. The Epis 2013 Chardonnay was fresh, crisp with white nectarine with a long finish.
From Macedon we headed down to Cape Bridgewater, almost by the SA border. The idea had been to stop at Crawford River and try their rieslings but the kids were tired so we pushed straight through simply stopping at The Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld in the Southern Grampians. Sadly it was just lunch in the Bistro with the kids but the wine list is truly as amazing as people say, being 3-4 cms thick and one day I will return for a decent meal.
Returning after nearly a month down south we stopped at Chambers Rosewood Winery in Rutherglen. In some ways this was the most interesting of all the stops. On approaching the winery in a backlane, you drive past vines that are gnarlly and as thick as tree trunks. When I asked the lovely people at Chambers about this plot, they said it dates back to the late 1800s. Cellar door tasting at Chambers should be a must for anyone passing through the region. First up it is a unique Australian icon. Secondly when you walk in, the tasting bench is lined with close to thirty bottles including their Grand Muscat and tastings are on an honour system, meaning you pour and taste until you have had enough and want to buy. Aside from the obvious, the most compelling reason for going IMO is their Gouais 2005. Gouais is the ancestor of many traditional French and German grape varieties, including chardonnay and riesling. Apparently there are only 4 plots in the world, one at Davis University in LA, one in France and a second commercial plot in Switzerland. Chambers have released the current vintage with 10 years in the bottle and its a fascinating wine, bone dry on the finish, one can taste both chardonnay and riesling. Oh did I mention they also sell it for just $7
Yes we picked up a case and I will keep ordering it for years to come.The final stop was Clonakilla. Sadly packed with endless tourists talking and not buying. In and out in under 5 mins with a quick 6 pack of 2013 Shiraz Viognier fo the cellar and we were back on the road heading home.
So what did we learn apart from the fact we live in a beautiful country: phone the wineries that are your heros. Get off the beaten track. Engage with owners who welcome fellow wine nuts. They may not welcome busloads of freeloaders but they are proud of what they produce and happily spend time sharing their experience.
