Hi guys,
Got some of our UK friends coming out in a few weeks, and looking to head over to Orange over the Easter Weekend - definitely looking to do a bit of tasting while we're out there, but I'm not really familiar with any producers out that way.
Can anyone provide a few tips? I'll definitely be calling ahead to make sure they're open over the holiday weekend.
Asa
Orange Wine (Wine in Orange)
Re: Orange Wine (Wine in Orange)
Here are some past threads which offer tips for Orange:
http://forum.auswine.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12029
http://forum.auswine.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=15600
http://forum.auswine.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14530
http://forum.auswine.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12029
http://forum.auswine.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=15600
http://forum.auswine.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=14530
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Sam
Sam
Re: Orange Wine (Wine in Orange)
Cheers - knew this one would have been done before!
Re: Orange Wine (Wine in Orange)
A quick report - we visited the following:
Philip Shaw
The No. 8 Pinot was the highlight, and probably the best Pinot Noir we tasted on the whole trip. Quite 'old world' in style, with deeper savoury notes & more intensity on the palate than any others we tried. Also a big fan of both of their Chardonnays (The Architect & the No. 11) - all wines with a future ahead of them, and enticed me to sign up for their premium mailing list. The range was, overall, very strong - I also enjoyed the Edinburgh sparkling, though the Sav Blanc was a bit lacking in acidity (and maybe served a bit too warm?). A beautiful cellar door, anyway, and well worth the visit.
Brangayne
Our tasting host was the 18 year-old neice of the proprietor, and she did an excellent job - really knowledgeable. The wines were nice, but probably the most typically cool climate of the trip - their pinot was practically transluscent! The cellar door experience was, overall, less polished (no fancy-pants winery and tasting room), but that's no slight on the quality of the wines. The Sav Blanc was a big step up on the Philip Shaw, and the Cabernet & Shiraz were also both decent offerings - though my favourite was actually the late harvest Riesling.
Heiffer Station
The wines were probably my least favourite of the trip, but the food here was the best - a lovely cheese plate, olives, and dukkah. The whites were all solid (the sparkling in particular had some nice complexity), the Pinot quite a strong offering, but both the Cabernet & Shiraz were a bit of a let down. My wife loved the rose, which had a pleasant wild strawberry character.
Bloodwood
A really engaging tasting experience - Rhonda and Stephen both absolutely charming, and some excellent wines here too - the Chardonnay (both the regular with less oak, and the oaked Schubert) showed lovely balance, the rose reminded me very clearly of Fraises au Vin (my wife loved this!), and the premium reds (Maurice & straight Cabernet) were also excellent. Both suggest long cellaring potential, with impressive depth of flavour & structure.
Ross Hill
Probably the best overall vineyard of the trip, especially in the more full-bodied red range. The shiraz didn't come across as a cool climate wine (not a criticism!), the Cabernet had good structure, the Cab Franc had an interesting menthol note which I've tasted in their wines before, and the Griffin was a real knockout (debateable if I'd buy it again at $96, or even the members price of $76, but worth trying once). Not sure Orange is really capable of producing the 'icon' style wines they're trying to make here, but it was at least a damn good effort. Also worth joining the wine club.
Philip Shaw
The No. 8 Pinot was the highlight, and probably the best Pinot Noir we tasted on the whole trip. Quite 'old world' in style, with deeper savoury notes & more intensity on the palate than any others we tried. Also a big fan of both of their Chardonnays (The Architect & the No. 11) - all wines with a future ahead of them, and enticed me to sign up for their premium mailing list. The range was, overall, very strong - I also enjoyed the Edinburgh sparkling, though the Sav Blanc was a bit lacking in acidity (and maybe served a bit too warm?). A beautiful cellar door, anyway, and well worth the visit.
Brangayne
Our tasting host was the 18 year-old neice of the proprietor, and she did an excellent job - really knowledgeable. The wines were nice, but probably the most typically cool climate of the trip - their pinot was practically transluscent! The cellar door experience was, overall, less polished (no fancy-pants winery and tasting room), but that's no slight on the quality of the wines. The Sav Blanc was a big step up on the Philip Shaw, and the Cabernet & Shiraz were also both decent offerings - though my favourite was actually the late harvest Riesling.
Heiffer Station
The wines were probably my least favourite of the trip, but the food here was the best - a lovely cheese plate, olives, and dukkah. The whites were all solid (the sparkling in particular had some nice complexity), the Pinot quite a strong offering, but both the Cabernet & Shiraz were a bit of a let down. My wife loved the rose, which had a pleasant wild strawberry character.
Bloodwood
A really engaging tasting experience - Rhonda and Stephen both absolutely charming, and some excellent wines here too - the Chardonnay (both the regular with less oak, and the oaked Schubert) showed lovely balance, the rose reminded me very clearly of Fraises au Vin (my wife loved this!), and the premium reds (Maurice & straight Cabernet) were also excellent. Both suggest long cellaring potential, with impressive depth of flavour & structure.
Ross Hill
Probably the best overall vineyard of the trip, especially in the more full-bodied red range. The shiraz didn't come across as a cool climate wine (not a criticism!), the Cabernet had good structure, the Cab Franc had an interesting menthol note which I've tasted in their wines before, and the Griffin was a real knockout (debateable if I'd buy it again at $96, or even the members price of $76, but worth trying once). Not sure Orange is really capable of producing the 'icon' style wines they're trying to make here, but it was at least a damn good effort. Also worth joining the wine club.
Re: Orange Wine (Wine in Orange)
Thanks for the report... good to hear Philip Shaw is still going alright, one I tend to recommend but I haven't actually tried their wines for a few years.
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Sam
Sam