wine tasting/art expo/live music, sunday may 3, adelaide
wine tasting/art expo/live music, sunday may 3, adelaide
From its spectacular location 450metres up in the Adelaide Hills, the Natural Resource Centre will be hosting a unique fusion of wine tasting and art exhibition, this sunday May 3 from 2-5pm. With a glass in hand, listen to live music on the terrace, take in the jaw-dropping views over the city and distant ocean, and browse on the works of some of the region's most talented artists. Join us for this one-off celebration of culture, indulgence and fun. Entry by gold coin donation - proceeds to the Victorian bushfire appeal. Just 30 minutes from the Adelaide central business district. 10 artists, 5 winemakers, 1 hell of a good sunday arvo! 1 Crescent Drive, Norton Summit (20 metres from Scenic Hotel).
The one and a half-hour hike up Morialta falls was an effort, rewarded by this community tasting at the Norton Summit Natural Resource Centre. The rush back down again to beat the darkness and park closing time of 6:30pm was an adventure too… A quick thanks to Tom for mentioning this event on the forum - it was great to meet you. I didn't take any notes, but the following are some highlights from memory:
2005 Whisson Lake White Label Pinot Noir, Piccadilly Valley: Slender and meaty/mineraly and more than a little smoky, masculine and I guess resembling the Corton-like aspects of the vineyard location. Medium-weight, fairly light and good length.
2006 Whisson Lake Pinot Gaz: Very pale colour, rather like free run juice although it is holding firm at three years of age. Very feminine in direct contrast to the previous wine, attractive bath salt characters but it’s a little light and short on the finish.
2007 Whisson Lake White Label Pinot Noir, Piccadilly Valley: This is a major step up, still feminine with bath salts, lemon sherbet and rhubarb but there’s racy/zippy acid and tannin in spades on the finish. This will cellar a long time and is a major step forward for the enterprise.
2008 Whisson Lake Pinot Noir: Almost like a combination of the previous wines, a slightly masculine/meatiness combined with very ripe/tangy beetroot, but lacking the racy acidity or minerality of the white label wines. Good drinking now, but it’s not a keeper.
2005 The Deanery Vineyard Sangiovese: Looking good at five years of age, holding its strong red colour, strong cherry characters with quite minty/herbal elements. Not unlike some of the Coriole examples I was weaned on…
2004 The Deanery Vineyard Bull Paddock Shiraz: First bottle was corked (no surprise as they said a high failure rate convinced them to switch to screwcap since the vintage). Second opened on the spot was developing nicely, very cool Adelaide Hills berries with a lick of earth, medium weight and decent length.
2005 The Deanery Vineyard Bull Paddock Shiraz: There’s a little pong on the nose, but nothing to be too concerned about; the palate’s peppery with ripe raspberries and liquorice, finishing with strong acid and better length than the ‘04. A little more McLaren Vale in style, but in this case I think it’s a positive thing.
2008 Domaine Lucci Pinot Noir: A lovely, expressive nose full of creamy rhubarb, tea leaf and lemony spices, while the palate has a good spine of acidity wrapped up in lovely rich fruit. I was a little surprised when winemaker Anton van Klopper said he thought this would be an early drinker because it’s made of pressings and stalks; the fruit and acidity is so good right now I couldn’t imagine much better paired with Peking duck.
2008 Lucy Margaux Vineyards Monomeith Vineyard Pinot Noir: A slender and slightly meaty nose with some burnt toast/coffee characters, and the palate’s just as lean but long with tight, lemony acidity and zippy tannin marking the finish. While at the moment it looks awkward Anton thinks it will flesh out with many years cellaring – that said right now it’s a little hard to look past that previous wine…
2008 Domaine Lucci Red: Made as a Cote du Rhone-style red with virtually everything except Rhone varietals! The mixture certainly does a good job of mimicking the sweetness of Grenache, while other funky/peppery elements abound in this light to medium weight wine. Not a keeper, but I can see this as a great food wine.
2005 Basket Range Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Petit Verdot: Medium weight style like some of the WA Cabernet Merlot blends I was weaned on, with tea leaf/cloves and blueberries/mulberries, very slurpable and a good café-style.
2006 Basket Range Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Petit Verdot: Similar to the previous vintage, but just a little better again, fatter/tangy with additional grainy tannins on the finish.
Cheers,
Ian
2005 Whisson Lake White Label Pinot Noir, Piccadilly Valley: Slender and meaty/mineraly and more than a little smoky, masculine and I guess resembling the Corton-like aspects of the vineyard location. Medium-weight, fairly light and good length.
2006 Whisson Lake Pinot Gaz: Very pale colour, rather like free run juice although it is holding firm at three years of age. Very feminine in direct contrast to the previous wine, attractive bath salt characters but it’s a little light and short on the finish.
2007 Whisson Lake White Label Pinot Noir, Piccadilly Valley: This is a major step up, still feminine with bath salts, lemon sherbet and rhubarb but there’s racy/zippy acid and tannin in spades on the finish. This will cellar a long time and is a major step forward for the enterprise.
2008 Whisson Lake Pinot Noir: Almost like a combination of the previous wines, a slightly masculine/meatiness combined with very ripe/tangy beetroot, but lacking the racy acidity or minerality of the white label wines. Good drinking now, but it’s not a keeper.
2005 The Deanery Vineyard Sangiovese: Looking good at five years of age, holding its strong red colour, strong cherry characters with quite minty/herbal elements. Not unlike some of the Coriole examples I was weaned on…
2004 The Deanery Vineyard Bull Paddock Shiraz: First bottle was corked (no surprise as they said a high failure rate convinced them to switch to screwcap since the vintage). Second opened on the spot was developing nicely, very cool Adelaide Hills berries with a lick of earth, medium weight and decent length.
2005 The Deanery Vineyard Bull Paddock Shiraz: There’s a little pong on the nose, but nothing to be too concerned about; the palate’s peppery with ripe raspberries and liquorice, finishing with strong acid and better length than the ‘04. A little more McLaren Vale in style, but in this case I think it’s a positive thing.
2008 Domaine Lucci Pinot Noir: A lovely, expressive nose full of creamy rhubarb, tea leaf and lemony spices, while the palate has a good spine of acidity wrapped up in lovely rich fruit. I was a little surprised when winemaker Anton van Klopper said he thought this would be an early drinker because it’s made of pressings and stalks; the fruit and acidity is so good right now I couldn’t imagine much better paired with Peking duck.
2008 Lucy Margaux Vineyards Monomeith Vineyard Pinot Noir: A slender and slightly meaty nose with some burnt toast/coffee characters, and the palate’s just as lean but long with tight, lemony acidity and zippy tannin marking the finish. While at the moment it looks awkward Anton thinks it will flesh out with many years cellaring – that said right now it’s a little hard to look past that previous wine…
2008 Domaine Lucci Red: Made as a Cote du Rhone-style red with virtually everything except Rhone varietals! The mixture certainly does a good job of mimicking the sweetness of Grenache, while other funky/peppery elements abound in this light to medium weight wine. Not a keeper, but I can see this as a great food wine.
2005 Basket Range Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Petit Verdot: Medium weight style like some of the WA Cabernet Merlot blends I was weaned on, with tea leaf/cloves and blueberries/mulberries, very slurpable and a good café-style.
2006 Basket Range Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Petit Verdot: Similar to the previous vintage, but just a little better again, fatter/tangy with additional grainy tannins on the finish.
Cheers,
Ian
Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone.