McLaren Vale Cellar Door Report

[Michael McNally]

Wednesday Afternoon
Easing of restrictions meant I was able to walk straight out of Adelaide airport, pick up my hire car and head south.

Samson Tall
Quiet with one other couple there when I arrived. Nice relaxed informative tasting. 6 good wines including a Grenache Blanc/Picpoul. Reasonably priced. Bought the 2020 Grenache to take away. Drank over the next two nights. Good gear and $30.

Lino Ramble
An eclectic range of alternative varietals. Really interesting and relaxed tasting in their small tasting room. Bought the 2021 ‘Peewee’ Nero D’Avola to bring home. Amazing 2021 Saperavi that was ready to drink now, but had all the hallmarks of the variety.

Samuel’s Gorge
Beautiful view. Wasn’t really impressed with the entry “Piñata” range. The 2019 Grenache and 2019 Shiraz were both very good and bought a bottle of the Shiraz to have with dinner.

Thursday
Had arranged a ‘back-of-the-ute” tasting with Rob Mack from Aphelion – one of the principle wineries I wanted to visit. The tasting is opposite to the start to the Onkaparinga Gorge ‘River Hike” so I headed over a couple of hours early and did the hike first. Beautiful – highly recommended, particularly for the birdlife.

Aphelion
One of the few wineries where I have remained in the wine club as like many it requires the purchase of 12 wines per year (and I like variety). Tasted through six wines at a leisurely pace talking about the soil, vineyards, winemaking and philosophy behind Rob’s wines. Definitely focused on texture and mouthfeel with restraint on fruit a feature of the wines. Complete wine geek heaven.
Highlights were the 2019 Affinity GMS, the 2020 Rapture (which is now a 100% Grenache wine) and a limited bottling 2020 Finite Shiraz. Picked up a couple of the Affinity, three of the Finite and a 2020 Confluence Grenache to road test the new vintage at home.

Kay Brothers
A break before my Yangarra appointment so did the Grenache tasting at Kay Brothers. Another beautiful cellar door. Lovely hospitality and also tried the Hillside and Block 6 Shiraz. The Hillside is pretty well priced. Impressed with both the Basket Pressed Grenache and the Griffon’s Key – bought a bottle of the latter to take home as the former is readily available up here. My notes for the Griffon’s key said “texture plus, really good”.

Yangarra Estate
Again a really personable tasting – though I think it is a function of the fact that there are so few visitors at the moment. I had booked the Single Block tasting, but we went through a few of the Estate range first. Really liked the complexity of the 2020 Estate Noir which has evolved from the GSM with the addition of a few more Rhone varietals. Beautiful colour, bright and interesting. The 2020 Old Vine Grenache was very good. I really liked the Roux Beaute Roussane and because they were out of the 2019 Ovitelli Grenache and had yet to release the 2020, they had the 2016 open – very grippy pure flavours. The High Sands was fabulous (but $200). I really liked the King’s Wood and Ironheart Shirazes. Finished with a 2007 VP. Ended up ordering a dozen of the Noir, OV Grenache, 2016 Ovitelli and VP.

DogRidge
On old school tasting space. Another warm welcome from Janet at the cellar door who was stoked because she had just had a big order come through. The vintages on offer suggest that they might have some problems shifting stock, but I have no idea why. All of the Grenache based wines I tried were high quality and reasonably priced. The extra bottle age just made the wines more attractive. All these factors contributed to my biggest purchase of the trip. I bought the 2017 ‘The Pup’ GSM, 2016 ‘All-Rounder’ Grenache, 2014 ‘Grand Old Brand New’ Cabernet Blend, 2015 ‘MVP’ Grenache, NV Fortified Viognier and they threw in 6 x 2019 Grenache Rosé.

Lunch – I was on a tight schedule so just stopped at the Home Grain Bakery at McLaren Flat after reccos from Yangarra and DogRidge. I had the best (and chunkiest) chunky beef pie I have ever had. Packed with massive chunks of beef in a beautiful gravy. Very highly recommended.

Three Dark Horses
Had made an appointment with Matt. Great personalised tasting in his wine shed. Another wine geek experience talking terroir and winemaking. The 2020 Chardonnay was powerful and good in a quirky way I couldn’t put my finger on so I bought a bottle to bring home to try. I also loved the 2020 Grenache so took a bottle of that. Limited range but quality and well priced.

Geddes Wines
Matt recommended I try Geddes Wine and rang ahead to see if Tim was at the cellar door. Another enigmatic tasting. Tim is a bit of a character and was happy to talk about how he got into the business and about the wines. Really liked and bought a bottle of the Grenache Mourvedre (with Shiraz and Cariñena). Also bought a bottle of the 2012 Grenache. Reasonably priced quality wines with character.

Wirra Wirra
Still had time to stop in at Wirra Wirra and did the Flagship Tasting of The Absconder, RSW, Angelus, Chook Block and Holy Thirst. Quality wines and reasonably priced, but not what I came to the Vale to try so I happily paid my $20 tasting fee and made my way home.

On the drive back to Aldinga Beach I stopped at Penny’s Hill to try their Grenache and ended up buying a bottle of ‘the Experiment’. The cellar door hand thought I was mad only trying one wine and then buying it, but I was buggered after a long day.

After a plunge in the (bloody cold) ocean, I caught up with a recently retired local winemaking legend for a couple of Pale Ales at the Victory. A great end to a fantastic day.

Friday
Bondar Wines
Started the day at one of the other key reasons for my visit – Bondar. I have been buying their Junto and Violet Hour for six or seven years now, and more recently the Rayner Vineyard Grenache. I was lucky to jag the lovely Selina at the cellar door and over the course of an hour she took me through the range and talked about the vineyard and winemaking. Great wines across the board from the Chardonnay, which Selina says basically makes itself due to the quality of the handpicked fruit from the Adelaide Hills, through to the flagship Rayner Vineyard Shiraz. These are serious and very high QPR wines. I bought some 2020 Chardonnay, got more 2020 Junto and Rayner Vineyard Grenache, and got a 2020 Monastrell to have a deeper look. I even broke my ‘no shiraz’ rule to get a bottle of the 2019 Rayner Vineyard Shiraz. Fantastic tasting.

Dodgy Bros
When I had made an appointment with Wes he had given me some recommendations for lunch. When I said I was focused on the wines and would probably just grab a pie he said to come at 12 and we could taste through the wines and he would cook some sausages on the barbie. Talked to Wes about his journey to the Vale from Canada via snowboarding, sommelier and wine chemistry. Tried the 2021 Juxtaposed Fiano and was again struck by the Semillon-like acid. Asked how they aged and Wes pulled a 2019 out of the fridge and cracked it despite my protests. Totally different beast and bought a bottle to take away. Loved the 2020 Juxtaposed Grenache and the Shiraz was very good. I was completely blown away by the two 2019 ‘Waits’ and ‘Sherry’ single vineyard Shirazes. Ended up buying 4 of the Grenache and 1 of each of the SVs. The snags were from the butcher and were fantastic though I stuck to the Bratwurst and Lamb & Fetta as I have a conscientious objection to a butter chicken sausage! Wonderful wine experience. Wes gave me the rest of the 2020 Grenache bottle to take with me, confirming his dude status.

I had 20 minutes to kill before my next booking so I stopped at the nearby Rayner Vineyard to check out the vines. Beautiful spot.

SC Pannell
Had really been looking forward to this, but was disappointed from the start (apart from the amazing roo that bounced away through the vines between the irrigation lines and the trellises without skipping a beat). Funky music pumping and the option of flights which essentially limited the choices available. The staff were pleasant enough, and when I asked to try the Old McDonald Grenache as well as the Koomilya ‘flight’ they were happy to oblige and even poured the Smart Grenache so I could try them side by side. I was impressed by the Grenache though thought they erred on the structured/grippy side at the expense of much fruit flavour. The 2018 Komilya Tempranillo Graciano Mataro was frankly bizarre, smelling like freshly butchered beef. The 2017 Koomilya Shiraz was indistinct and uninteresting. The 2015 Cab/Shiraz was certainly interesting and intense. The best wine was the 2018 Koomilya Cabernet/Touriga. Some classy Bordeaux stylings. Like Wirra Wirra, I was happy to pay my tasting fee and leave.

Bekkers
Lovely meeting and tasting Toby Bekkers’ wines. Beautiful little tasting room and we went through the wines. Loved the 2019 Grenache – delicate and intense at the same time. Deep intense red and black fruits with great mouthfeel. The 2019 Syrah/Grenache was also excellent, but not as floral and I felt the Grenache was lost in the Shiraz. I picked the 2018 Syrah as oxidised. Toby checked and agreed and opened a fresh bottle. I asked if he wanted to try the Dodgy Bros Grenache so I got that from the car. He opened a bottle of the 2016 Grenache to show me how they aged when I asked how the earlier vintages were travelling to get some guidance on opening the 2019. It was fuller than the 2019 with fantastic body and excellent length. We also tried Emmanuelle’s Grand Cru Chablis, which seemed excellent, but without any reference point I was not sure so baulked at $120. I bought a bottle of the 2016 and the 2019 Grenaches. Excellent tasting.

Varney Wines
Final stop on my way out of the Vale. I have bought their wines before and Kirsty welcomed me like an old friend. A really personlised tasting as we went through the wines. My picks were the 2018 GSM, 2020 Chardonnay, 2021 Grenache, and 2019 GSM (which isn’t released yet but Kirsty went down to the winery to get me one to try as it will be released soon). Spent a good hour there talking about the wines. Alan Varney came and joined us for a while and talked Grenache which made my day. Kirsty even poured me a cleansing ‘session ale’ which I wasn’t asked to pay for when I bought my wine at the end. An excellent finish to a wonderful trip.

Summary
There are some smaller producers doing excellent things with Grenache and other alternative varietals in McLaren Vale. If you get off the beaten track and make some appointments you can meet some excellent people who are passionate about their wines. If you can do it before the hordes from NSW and Victoria are released all the better for you and the wineries!

Cheers

Michael

[phillisc]

Lovely report Michael. Have just ordered the three Bondar Shirazes. Must get to Bekkers and Geddes one day.
Glad you enjoyed Varley, had a good lunch there a while ago.
Cheers Craig

[Chuck]

Thanks for the TNs. Great to see MV getting a reputation for Grenache. The region has suffered in the shadow of Barossa Valley for too long. It's shiraz are also first class and MV cabs and blends are amongst my favourites. They get just that extra bit of sunshine and heat that allows the cab to ripen fully.

[Mahmoud Ali]

Thanks for the nice report on your McLaren Vale visit.

Friday
Bondar Wines
Started the day at one of the other key reasons for my visit – Bondar. I have been buying their Junto and Violet Hour for six or seven years now, and more recently the Rayner Vineyard Grenache. I was lucky to jag the lovely Selina at the cellar door and over the course of an hour she took me through the range and talked about the vineyard and winemaking. Great wines across the board from the Chardonnay, which Selina says basically makes itself due to the quality of the handpicked fruit from the Adelaide Hills, through to the flagship Rayner Vineyard Shiraz. These are serious and very high QPR wines. I bought some 2020 Chardonnay, got more 2020 Junto and Rayner Vineyard Grenache, and got a 2020 Monastrell to have a deeper look. I even broke my ‘no shiraz’ rule to get a bottle of the 2019 Rayner Vineyard Shiraz. Fantastic tasting.

We discussed the Rayner Vineyard before, the fact that Brokenwood used to use fruit from the vineyard before Bondar bought it. Apparently Brokenwood planted a vineyard adjacent to the Rayner (or something like that) and now release their own Raynar Vineyard wine. I did not know there was Grenache in the Rayner Vineyard.

Cheers ...................... Mahmoud.

[Scotty vino]

Appreciate your write up Michael. Nice work mate.
I headed down yesterday with my partner and zero plan and headed to Alpha Box and Dice.
Did a $10 tasting of six wines. fiano, riesling, nebbiolo, dolcetto, aglianico and shiraz.
Grabbed some of the Riesling and Nebb.
Great arvo for it. It's nice to have cellar doors so quiet at the moment. Appreciating it while it lasts. I'm sure when borders reopen for good it's going to ramp up somewhat. A great thing I suppose but it's nice floating around in the eye of the tornado.

[ticklenow1]

Good to see you on the Grenache train....

Oh and great write up. Don't know how you taste so many wines a day.

Cheers
Ian

[kenzo]

Very surprised about the Koomilya - was about to go deep on those as the "new Wendouree" of the McLaren?

[Michael McNally]

Lovely report Michael. Have just ordered the three Bondar Shirazes. Must get to Bekkers and Geddes one day.
Glad you enjoyed Varley, had a good lunch there a while ago.
Cheers Craig

Thanks Craig. Hope you like them!

Cheers

Michael

[JDSJDS]

Many thanks for your notes, it was great to read about the wineries that were off the beaten path!

[Michael McNally]

Thanks for the TNs. Great to see MV getting a reputation for Grenache. The region has suffered in the shadow of Barossa Valley for too long. It's shiraz are also first class and MV cabs and blends are amongst my favourites. They get just that extra bit of sunshine and heat that allows the cab to ripen fully.

I prefer the lighter more aromatic (less boiled fruitcake) styles of Grenache that McLaren does so well, particularly the higher and sandier patches. I agree that MV Shiraz and Cab can be great, and the Shiraz I did try was excellent, but my focus was pretty much to try as much Grenache as possible.

Cheers

Michael

[Michael McNally]

Very surprised about the Koomilya - was about to go deep on those as the "new Wendouree" of the McLaren?

Might just not be my cup of tea either Kenzo, and I'm no expert either.

Cheers

Michael

[Michael McNally]

Good to see you on the Grenache train....

Oh and great write up. Don't know how you taste so many wines a day.

Cheers
Ian

I must admit to palate fatigue in the afternoon on the Thursday. Spitting helps, but only so much. By Wirra Wirra I stopped making notes and just thought about the overall impression of the wines.

On the Grenache train, it's probably about time we re-did the 2014 Aphelions..... I have one set left (Rob said he wasn't sure if he even had a full set any more!).

Cheers

Michael

[Michael McNally]

Appreciate your write up Michael. Nice work mate.
I headed down yesterday with my partner and zero plan and headed to Alpha Box and Dice.
Did a $10 tasting of six wines. fiano, riesling, nebbiolo, dolcetto, aglianico and shiraz.
Grabbed some of the Riesling and Nebb.
Great arvo for it. It's nice to have cellar doors so quiet at the moment. Appreciating it while it lasts. I'm sure when borders reopen for good it's going to ramp up somewhat. A great thing I suppose but it's nice floating around in the eye of the tornado.

Alpha Box and Dice were on my list but didn't get there. Yes, quiet cellar doors is a blessing (but not for the wineries!).

Cheers

Michael

[Brucer]

Great notes. I too, loved the 2019 Dodgy Juxtaposed shiraz wines, and bought up big. Amazing low price for the quality.
I am a Koomilya shiraz fan, and have been really happy with everyone I have drunk, 13,14,15,17 and 18 JC.