Hamilton's 1998 'Marion Vineyard'
Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2020 7:18 pm
1998 Hamilton's 'Marion Vineyard' Grenache Shiraz, Adelaide (14%)
The Marion Vineyard is one of the most historic vineyards in South Australia, located right in the City of Adelaide, in the suburb of Marion. I believe the vineyard is still owned by the council and they lease the fruit. Back in 1998 the fruit was sold to Hamilton but I understand that this is no longer the case. When I was in the area back in 2001 I remembered driving along Marion Road and through the suburb. In the McLaren Vale I visited Hamilton's cellar door and tasted their 1998 Burton's Vinyard Grenache Shiraz and was mightily impressed. They had the Marion at cellar door but it wasn't on tasting. When I returned to Sydney I couldn't fine the Burtons Vineyard but I did find the Marion.
I served this at a dinner a couple of weeks ago. It was a lovely wine. I only gave it a quick decant before serving because it looked a little light through the bottle. It was quite feral and full of barnyard elements but this slowly disappeared and was replaced by a rather vibrant red-fruited nose. This was in a very nice place, complex, mature, garrigue-like, and long. Everyone at the table was sure that it was an old world wine. Weren't they surprised.
Cheers ....................... Mahmoud.
The Marion Vineyard is one of the most historic vineyards in South Australia, located right in the City of Adelaide, in the suburb of Marion. I believe the vineyard is still owned by the council and they lease the fruit. Back in 1998 the fruit was sold to Hamilton but I understand that this is no longer the case. When I was in the area back in 2001 I remembered driving along Marion Road and through the suburb. In the McLaren Vale I visited Hamilton's cellar door and tasted their 1998 Burton's Vinyard Grenache Shiraz and was mightily impressed. They had the Marion at cellar door but it wasn't on tasting. When I returned to Sydney I couldn't fine the Burtons Vineyard but I did find the Marion.
I served this at a dinner a couple of weeks ago. It was a lovely wine. I only gave it a quick decant before serving because it looked a little light through the bottle. It was quite feral and full of barnyard elements but this slowly disappeared and was replaced by a rather vibrant red-fruited nose. This was in a very nice place, complex, mature, garrigue-like, and long. Everyone at the table was sure that it was an old world wine. Weren't they surprised.
Cheers ....................... Mahmoud.