The Auswine Forum

Thanks to everyone who gave me assistance in this thread. As a thankyou I thought I should provide a trip report.

In New England I went to Peterson's (just outside Armidale) and Wright Robertson (Glencoe). Peterson's did not impress me. Wright Robertson was pretty good though. The 2011 Black Poll shiraz ($22) was a cool climate shiraz with a nice amount of complexity and a very European feel to it. I had a glass at a pub in Armidale from a bottle which had presumably been open a while and it wasn't as good as when I popped and poured, so drink now I guess. Also an interesting wine was their Pinot Gris/Gewurztraminer blend ($20ish). From memory it was 2012, a cold vintage in an already cold region, so the wine did struggle a little for ripeness, but it had nice acid structure and I quite like the blend - the Pinot Gris cutting back on the more exuberant tendencies of the Gewurz.

From there, after an interval, it was on to the Hunter Valley. I have never been before and was a convert. For starters it's probably the prettiest wine region I have been to in Australia. And many of the wines were stunning. Thanks to all who suggested Meerea Park as that was my favourite. Their 2003 Terracotta Semillon was possibly the best semillon I've ever had and for only $30. It was perfectly aged, the woman serving me said she wouldn't pour the rest of the bottle the next day as it was old enough that it wouldn't survive the night. I've come to the conclusion that for me, semillon is largely about how well aged it is. I can't handle it young at all. This is unlike many other wines (riesling, chardonnay, reds in general) where while age sometimes improves them, I have no issue drinking them young.

At Meerea I also bought the Hell Hole Shiraz. The Small Winemakers Centre was another favourite. I bought a couple of Shiraz, one by I think the Little Wine Company? not sure about that, for $35. One by Andrew Thomas, the Sweetwater Shiraz. Both were amazing, particularly the latter, which with the Terracotta Semillon was my favourite wine of the trip.

I had lunch at Hungerford Hill which was really nice, thanks for that recommendation too. I also bought their Tumbarumba Chardonnay. Rounding out my purchases was Tulloch's Tawny Port, which I don't think is necessarily an incredible wine, but I had to buy it for that point of difference to South Australian tawnies. That medium-weight, savoury Hunter edge came through in the tawny too. Tulloch otherwise I thought was OK, the Pokolbin Dry Red was a nice wine without me really wanting to purchase it.

Other places I visited and didn't buy from (and yes, I do get through a lot of places in a day):

De Iulius (or however you spell it): I liked it here. The Limited Release Shiraz was very good, but I couldn't quite justify $60. All their other wines were nice, but a little too purist Hunter for my palate I guess? I found the kind of earthy/vegetal finish they had a bit confronting. Quality, but rough-edged, while I found e.g. Meerea Park's wines more sleek and composed. I did actually buy their sparkling to consume that night, more as a courtesy than anything though as I will always buy at least one bottle from any cellar door that has treated me well.

Mt Pleasant and Tyrrell's: Well, Tyrrell's was a very pretty spot. But both places had a Penfolds-esque vibe to them, where I thought they were turning out pretty generic wines at the lower end and then the upper-end stuff was either not being tasted or was overpriced (Tyrrell's had the Johnno's Shiraz and Vat 9 Shiraz open). I am pretty knowledgable about wine and the smaller places kind of changed their tone when they realised that. The woman at De Iulius in particular really changed her demeanour after I made a couple of comments that showed some knowledge and interest, she got more engaged and pulled out their under the counter stuff for me to taste. At Mt Pleasant and Tyrrell's they were too busy treating me like just another guy off a bus tour or whatever to figure out that I was a more savvy customer than that. I find that a bit annoying.

Also, Mt Pleasant putting 15% of McLaren Vale Shiraz or whatever it is into the Phillip is not on, imo. I'm not necessarily opposed to multi-regional blends but not when the impetus is that it needs to be made bigger and beefier or it won't sell. I get it, you give the consumers what they want, that's fine. But at that point you're a mass-market brand and I'm not interested. I'd rather see an honest Hunter shiraz.

Edit: Oh, and Brokenwood. Same sort of thing. Overpriced wines and too much stuff not from the Hunter.

McLeish: Seemed good but most of what they did was young-ish semillon, and I need it aged otherwise I can't hack it. I don't have enough experience to figure out which ones will be good if I cellar them.

I think that was it.

Then Orange, I was going to go there today but when I looked up Phillip Shaw they're only open weekends, so I gave the whole region a miss. I did stop in Bathurst Dan Murphy and buy a Phillip Shaw Shiraz though and am currently consuming it. I was expecting more obvious cool climate (pepper and herbs and that sort of thing) but it's just a nicely balanced medium weight wine. Very nice.

That's about it. Thanks for the help everyone. Had a great time.

hi chris,

Did you try the 'Alexander Munro' Shiraz at Meerea park as well?the 2003 Terracotta Semillon is one of my favorite too, best to drink it now.

last time we had the johnnos and vat 9 2011 , they have a second tasting menu underneath the bench , as you mentioned some cellar doors are hiding the good stuff for people who really loves wine. sometimes they do have back vintages opened up for tasting.

I tried the Alex Munro yeah. I don't remember it that clearly but I remember feeling that the price jump over the Hell Hole wasn't worth it. The Hell Hole was already pricey but I stretched for it because the woman at CD was nice and I'd enjoyed their wines across the board. I almost went for two of the Aunt's Shiraz instead but wanted to go home with something tops.

Yeah I tasted the Johnno's and Vat 9, I felt they were overpriced though. Priced the same as the Hell Hole and De Iulius Limited Release and not close to as good imo. I mentioned this to the woman at De Iuliis and she smiled and said "that's why we're winning". Heh.

Last time I was at Tyrrell's (2010 I think), Bruce was pouring very generous half glasses of 1998 HVD and 2000? Vat 1, along with a list of their mid-tier wines as long as your arm. Same deal at Brokenwood, although we showed up there late in the day, and the guy serving wanted to open a few nice bottles so that he had decent knock off drinks, so there we had Mistress Block and some other single vineyard shirazs that have escaped my memory, some museum release Semillon and some of their Heathcote wines. Was far more impressed with the quality of the wine and the atmosphere of the tasting at these two places than I was at the Small Winemakers centre.

Thommo wrote:Last time I was at Tyrrell's (2010 I think), Bruce was pouring very generous half glasses of 1998 HVD and 2000? Vat 1, along with a list of their mid-tier wines as long as your arm. Same deal at Brokenwood, although we showed up there late in the day, and the guy serving wanted to open a few nice bottles so that he had decent knock off drinks, so there we had Mistress Block and some other single vineyard shirazs that have escaped my memory, some museum release Semillon and some of their Heathcote wines. Was far more impressed with the quality of the wine and the atmosphere of the tasting at these two places than I was at the Small Winemakers centre.

Yeah..I'm thoroughly unimpressed by the Small Winemakers Centre..

On the plus side, they have a lot of different makers there..

On the downside - They charge more than retail (How you charge more than retail I have no idea) and they know almost nothing about the wines they're serving....


OP: Sounds like you had a fun time. MP Hell Hole Shiraz is always really good..as is the Terracotta Semillon....

i haven't tried the 'Alexander Munro' Shiraz 2010 yet but the 07 and 09 was very impressive , cellar door price are usually higher but quite a few of them do order discount if u get more than 6 bottles.

The Hunter Valley Cellar Door at the Hunter Resort is much better than the Small Winemakers Centre for mine.

Both unfortunately charge for tastings, however I have never actually been charged at HVCD. Both of the guys there are great blokes, very knowledgable, and prepared to have a chat to everyone, not just the wine nuts. Earlier in April we went close to closing time, and they had a bottle of Polin & Polin Limb of Addy shiraz open that had been open 2 days. it was poured for me (and the pourer) who was worried it would be oxidised. He looked smelled (as did I) and it seemed fine. I detected a small portiness, and so dod he, and he immediately took my glass and opened a new bottle (the old bottle was only half empty). He poured himself some again, and we (my wife as well) all had decent pours and a good chat. A group of 2 guys walked in from the Bluetounge Brewery with beers in their hands and said "Hey, we don't know much about wine, but we want to try some shiraz" He did his best to help them, but they were being fairly rude and obnoxious, taking the piss out of tasting techniques etc. They tried to pour for themselves, and the guy had to stop them. When they asked if they could taste what we had, he poured them from the old bottle, and winked at us. Funny guy, and one of te better experiences I've had at a cellar door. They have most of the wines you'll find at Small Winemakers, some other's too, and all very good.

Tyrrell's, you have to let them know you know about wine. Otherwise you will be tasting old winery and lost block all day, and they do talk down to you a bit. This I suppose is natural for a bigger cellar door, given the busloads of newbies that would roll through. Once you do, the expert oiurer in the room (and there is always one) serves you almost exclusively, takes the 'under-the-counter' list out and talks you through everything and gives you a great experience. Vat 8 and Vat 9 are two of the best reds out of the Hunter year after year, and they are generous with them if you are spending some time there.