McLaren Vale.... Must do wineries

[craig loves shiraz]

Hi All...

Heading to McLaren Vale for the first time in a couple of weeks. Only really have the Saturday and part of Sunday so we're going to be squeezed for time. Bearing this in mind, and my nick name , what wineries would you recommend as MUST DO wineries???

Also, where would you recommend for accommodation and dining and why???

Cheers & Thanks.....

[tpang]

Craig,

in a similarly time-constricted trip not too long ago, I did Kay Bros Amery (first port of call), Oliver's Taranga, Hugh Hamilton and Primo Estate.

D'Arenberg and Fox Creek(Chris Dix) are nice visits too.

[tonsta]

I tried the Koltz wines on the weekend and thought they were stunning (and not too pricy). I haven't been to their cellar door but will definitely do so now that I've tried their reds.

I would also recommend D'arenberg and Kay Bros as must do's.

Have a great time.

Tony

[silkwood]

Not sure what you mean by a couple of weeks, but the time nears for Drew to open up Noons for a couple of weekends. Mind you, you'd have to like queuing!

Coriole makes for a pleasant experience, Foggo for a knock-out experience and can you really go past a visit to Wirra Wirra (for the entrance alone)?

Cheers,

Mark

[Davo]

Kay Bros
Samuels Gorge
Primo
Scarpantoni
Wirra Wirra
Pennys Hill/Mr Riggs

[Tristram Shandy]

Samuel's Gorge - best wines in McV at the moment (a tipple with Justin is worth the effort)
Paxton - new cellar door, interesting wines
d'Arenberg - widest selection of any cellar door I've been to
Kay Bros - very relaxed, most easy going cellar door
Olivers Taranga - a welcome addition
Foggo - small and friendly
Hugo - a bit out of the way but nice

Tristram

[TORB]

Have a look at my Tour Diaries. They may help.

The first three are all McLaren Vale.

[Craig(NZ)]

havent been for a while but kay brothers stood out for me. the rest didnt really impress like the barossa did.

[Red Bigot]

havent been for a while but kay brothers stood out for me. the rest didnt really impress like the barossa did.

It's a whole new ballgame for 2004/2005/2006 reds, the proportion of high-quality reds from these vintages across many producers is very impressive. Then again the Barossa was equally impressive for these vintages, there are just so many good wines around it's hard to decide what to buy.

[Nick]

Noon's (if it's open)
Kay's
Samuel's Gorge
Oliver's Taranga
Wirra Wirra

And plenty more, but that'd probably be my top 5 at present. And lunch at Fino (in Willunga).

Cheers
Nick

[chuckles]

Leconfield (home of Richard Hamilton) is probably the best place to drop in.

At least there you can taste some < 15 % Shiraz wines that actually display balance as well as some bloody smart Riesling and Rhone Whites and Reds.

If you have had enough McLaren Vale Shiraz Syrup before you get there, you can sample the delectable Leconfield wines from the Coonawarra

Hope you have fun.

[griff]

Leconfield (home of Richard Hamilton) is probably the best place to drop in.

At least there you can taste some < 15 % Shiraz wines that actually display balance as well as some bloody smart Riesling and Rhone Whites and Reds.

If you have had enough McLaren Vale Shiraz Syrup before you get there, you can sample the delectable Leconfield wines from the Coonawarra

Hope you have fun.

While saying Leconfield Coonawarra did a credible cabernet with their latest vintage. The Wynn's BL 2005 does far more for less.

But then he might want to try Mclaren Vale wines. That is what he is asking about after all...

cheers

Carl

p.s. while I haven't visited the area, I would suggest Noons, Samuel's Gorge, Kay Bros, Coriole, D'arenberg and Oliver's Taranga as good wines. While noone has mentioned it have been impressed with Marius wines immensely so don't know if they have a cellar door.

[Red Bigot]

Leconfield (home of Richard Hamilton) is probably the best place to drop in.

At least there you can taste some < 15 % Shiraz wines that actually display balance as well as some bloody smart Riesling and Rhone Whites and Reds.

If you have had enough McLaren Vale Shiraz Syrup before you get there, you can sample the delectable Leconfield wines from the Coonawarra

Hope you have fun.

Luckily for McLarenVale there seem to be many who don't share your view, myself being one of them. FWIW, during our visit in September we found few syrupy over-ripe reds and many at around 14.5-15% that were impeccably balanced. There were probably more, but I don't often look at the alcohol content unless it sticks out. Also showing well were quite a few excellent Cabernets/blends and few very smart Grenache.

c-l-s, do check out the TORB Tour Diary.

Marius don't have a cellar door, but if you really want to try the 3 current reds send Roger Pike an email and he might invite you out so he can rabbit on about his "quaternary alluvial gravel" vineyard base, introduce you to his individually named and pampered vines and let you taste the wines. http://www.mariuswines.com.au/contact.htm

[RogerPike]

Marius don't have a cellar door, but if you really want to try the 3 current reds send Roger Pike an email and he might invite you out so he can rabbit on about his "quaternary alluvial gravel" vineyard base, introduce you to his individually named and pampered vines and let you taste the wines. http://www.mariuswines.com.au/contact.htm

Yep.

Roger

[seanwines]

This would be my ideal visiting order and eating suggestions

1st tasting- Paxton
\/
2nd tasting- Samuel's Gorge
\/
3rd tasting- Kay Bros
\/
Lunch- Blessed Cheese McLaren Vale (Great value meals)
\/
4th tasting- Pennys Hill
\/
5th tasting- Wirra Wirra
\/
Dinner- Russels Pizza Willunga (but you have to book ahead)(its only BYO)

[Santa]

Marius don't have a cellar door, but if you really want to try the 3 current reds send Roger Pike an email and he might invite you out so he can rabbit on about his "quaternary alluvial gravel" vineyard base, introduce you to his individually named and pampered vines and let you taste the wines. http://www.mariuswines.com.au/contact.htm

Yep.

Roger

I believe I have a photo of that gravel

Maria

[Red Bigot]

The wines are more exciting then the gravel.

[Anonymous]

my list would be favourite to least from when I visited recently....

coriole

d'arenberg

wirra wirra

hugh hamilton

pirramimma

Chapel Hill Winery

hoffmans

fox creek

For dining I highly reccommend the Star Of Greece restaurant (you may need to book), at Port Willunga about 15min drive from Willunga. I had a terrific meal, and I am hard to please as I am used to many good restaurants here in Melbourne. It also has great sea views.

For accomidation, I would look in Willunga, there are plenty of B&Bs.

[craig loves shiraz]

For all the recommendations and feedback.

So far, we're off to Kay Bros, Marius (Gotta call Roger ) and probably D'arenberg (For lunch) and Chapel Hill...

Anyone recommend any other "Boutique" type wineries??? i.e. The small ones that you CAN'T buy at vintage cellars...

[Gary W]

Have a look at Lazy Ballerina at Redheads studio. La Curio also doing good stuff.
GW

[Pamela Dyson-Harvey]

For a taste of some excellent McLaren Vale wines made by a 'boutique style winery' you might like to contact Martin Lightfoot, of Hastwell & Lightfoot. http://www.hastwellandlightfoot.com.au
You won't be disappointed.

[craig loves shiraz]

Hi All...

Got back from our trip yesterday and had a great time. Thanks to everyone for all their good advice. Quick overview of the trip:

Dinner Friday night at the Barn. Good value and you get what you pay for here. We ate from the Tapas and enjoyed a bottle of the Mollydooker Boxer. Great place for something a bit better than take away, but not a full on dinner. Very relaxing and enjoyable.

Saturday wineries were;

Kay Bros - Great wine, great staff. A real "must do" winery. A couple of cases on their way home as we speak.

Olivers Taranga - Great winerey with a "new" feel. If you've been to Two hands, this is avery simlar experience. Some very good wines too!

Samuels Gorge - Small winery with limited wines but what they do have is worth tasting. Only purchased a half case but their shiraz was good as was their Sav Blank from another winery. Great view with space for you to bring a picnic and relax with a glass of their wine. Though the poor guys was run off his feet!

Coriole - Meh. Pretty dissappointing really. Fairly average all round including wine and staff!

Noon - Was open the weekend we were there. By the time we got there they were down to three wines only left. To be honest, we failed to see what all the hype was about. There was talk of people lining up at 6:00am. For what, I'll never know. Perhaps they sold all the "good" stuff before we got there..

Marius - This cannot be missed!! Save this for the last winery of your day and relax with Roger on the Verandah over a glass or two of great Australian Shiraz grown right in front of you!! This truly was the highlight of our trip. Fabulous wine, Fabulous people. For those of you that haven't tried his symphany shiraz, you are missing out. A case is enroute as we speak It's by appointment only but you can contact him via mariuswines.com.au or purchase via this website (auswine.com.au)

Saturday night - Dinner at Salopian. Very nice. Good quality restaurant in the country. Expect to pay a little more for it but it's money well spent. Great for a romantic/intimate dinner for two or a social gathering of close friends. Not the best restaurant in the world, but pretty darn good nonetheless.

Wirra Wirra - Sunday morning before lunch. Not impressed to be honest. Big commercial winery with a few good wines but nothing to rave about. Beautiful cellar door, but all to often, overcrowded and lacking in atmosphere. Though we did grap some of the Mrs Qwiggly Moscato..

D'arenberg - lunch at D'Arrys, tastings at the cellar door. Great lunch with a magnificent view in a beutifully appointed restaurant. Can't help but feel that they were rushing us out for their 2nd sitting!! Very annoying.. But great food nonetheless....

As for the cellar door, some nice wines, but nothing I couldn't buy at the corner bottleshop. Is it just me or does anyone elsae think that they are trying to do "Too much"?? i.e. There were about 25 or more wines on taste!! Makes me think that they are spreading themselves a bit thin! I liked their riesling and enjoyed the Dead Arm of course but I felt like I was at Brown Brothers if you know what I mean.

We stayed at the "Vintage" B&B. Beautiful accommodation with everything you need. Lovely views over the adjacent vineyard and afully appointed accomodation. On the more expensive end of the scale but well worth it if you like the finer things.

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable weekend!

[tonsta]

Great feedback Craig.

Did you get a chance to try the RSW shiraz or Angelus cab while you were at Wirra Wirra? If so what were they like? Ive heard good things about them and was looking to purchase some...

Tony

[Red Bigot]

Great feedback Craig.

Did you get a chance to try the RSW shiraz or Angelus cab while you were at Wirra Wirra? If so what were they like? Ive heard good things about them and was looking to purchase some...

Tony

Check out here: http://www.torbwine.com/pf/SA2007C2.htm

and here for the RSW: http://www.winorama.com.au/index.php?s= ... ama+Search

Jeremy Oliver didn't like the RSW so much, scoring it 88, drink 2010-2013 or the Angelus, scoring it 86 drink 2007-2010+.

I preferred the Angelus to the RSW this vintage and it can be had about $10pb cheaper than the RSW as well (unless that particular e-tailer made a pricing mistake).

[tonsta]

Cheers RB!

[craig loves shiraz]

Great feedback Craig.

Did you get a chance to try the RSW shiraz or Angelus cab while you were at Wirra Wirra? If so what were they like? Ive heard good things about them and was looking to purchase some...

Tony

No... Apparently they weren't on tasting...

And as I said to the guy there, "Well they're not on sale then are they??" He assured me that they were, but it wasn't until I reinforced the point with "I might as well buy something at Dan Murphy's and take pot luck" that he got the gist of whit I meant... Harsh I know, but fair to I think.

So sorry Tony, really can't help you with either.

[tonsta]

Fair point too Craig. Thanks anyway!

Tony