We started the day with a tasting at the hotel with Russell Bourne and the Battley Wines. I won’t say much about the wine except that Dan might have saved the best for last. If you can find any of these wines you need to buy them. These are small-production, high-quality wines from the Beechworth region which is about a four hour drive north of Melbourne. Beechworth is cool climate, high elevation and Battely produces the most Rhone-like wines in Australia.
We have the rest of the day free to roam around Melbourne with an optional lunch scheduled at one of Dan’s favorite Melbourne restaurants- Becco. Becco serves great bistro food and we dined banquet style again while the wine flowed. The food was some of the best on the trip. We shopped around the city for the remainder of the day until it was time for our final blow-out dinner. During the tour we collected wine donations from the producers for this last supper. We wound up with 7 cases of wine for the dinner. Needles to say we had plenty of everything and we got a little rowdy the restaurant Da Noi. Most of the group went out after dinner but I headed back to the hotel to try and pack. On the bus the next morning at 7 AM for the ride to the airport and the long flight home.
See ya latter Australia… I’ll be back soon.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Friday, August 25th- Wild Duck Creek, Whistling Eagle, Red Edge
We depart the hotel at 8 AM for a two hour drive to Heathcote for a couple visits, beginning with David “Duck” Anderson at Wild Duck Creek. Heathcote has a slightly cooler climate than Barossa or McLaren and is known for its red Cambrian volcanic soils.
At Wild Duck we tasted the following for breakfast…
2004 Wild Duck Creek Cabernet Reserve
2004 Wild Duck Creek Malbec (blending sample)
2004 Wild Duck Creek Shiraz-Malbec (formally known as Yellowhammer Hill)
2004 Wild Duck Creek Springflat Shiraz
2004 Wild Duck Creek Springflat Shiraz Reserve
2004 Wild Duck Creek Springflat Duck Muck Shiraz
2004 Wild Duck Creek Fortified Shiraz
We moved on down the road to Whistling Eagle to for a tasting, vineyard tour and a home-cooked lunch with Lynn and Ian Rathjen. Ian’s ancestors settled the Heathcote region in the late 1850’s. The Whistling Eagle vineyards are located on the side of Mt. Camel, an extinct volcano that make us part of Heathcote. The Whistling Eagle wines are powerful but very balanced- the cabernet was one of my favorites of the trip. Lunch was amazing and so was the view from the top of the hill.
Tasted were…
2005 Whistling Eagle Sangiovesse (barrel sample)
2005 Whistling Eagle Shiraz (barrel sample)
2005 Whistling Eagle Cabernet (barrel sample)
New Release and Back Vintages of the Shiraz
Back down the hill was rolled to the small vineyard owned by Peter Drudge of Red Edge. Peter makes shiraz and cabernet from his estate-grown fruit. The wines are classic Heathcote- powerful but with plenty of acid to create very balanced wines.
We tasted the following wines with Peter…
2005 Red Edge Shiraz Old Vines
2005 Red Edge Cabernet
2005 Red Edge Degree Shiraz
2001 Red Edge Cabernet
1997 Red Edge Shiraz Old Vines
We headed back to Melbourne to meet David Hickinbotham at the Telstra Dome to watch a professional fotty match between the St. Kilda Saints and the Western Bulldogs. We had a great time at the game and then walked to Melbourne’s Chinatown for a late night supper at the Shark Fin Inn. Plenty of BYOB wine was about as well a lazy-susan’s full of mud crab, peking duck, etc. to snack on.
At Wild Duck we tasted the following for breakfast…
2004 Wild Duck Creek Cabernet Reserve
2004 Wild Duck Creek Malbec (blending sample)
2004 Wild Duck Creek Shiraz-Malbec (formally known as Yellowhammer Hill)
2004 Wild Duck Creek Springflat Shiraz
2004 Wild Duck Creek Springflat Shiraz Reserve
2004 Wild Duck Creek Springflat Duck Muck Shiraz
2004 Wild Duck Creek Fortified Shiraz
We moved on down the road to Whistling Eagle to for a tasting, vineyard tour and a home-cooked lunch with Lynn and Ian Rathjen. Ian’s ancestors settled the Heathcote region in the late 1850’s. The Whistling Eagle vineyards are located on the side of Mt. Camel, an extinct volcano that make us part of Heathcote. The Whistling Eagle wines are powerful but very balanced- the cabernet was one of my favorites of the trip. Lunch was amazing and so was the view from the top of the hill.
Tasted were…
2005 Whistling Eagle Sangiovesse (barrel sample)
2005 Whistling Eagle Shiraz (barrel sample)
2005 Whistling Eagle Cabernet (barrel sample)
New Release and Back Vintages of the Shiraz
Back down the hill was rolled to the small vineyard owned by Peter Drudge of Red Edge. Peter makes shiraz and cabernet from his estate-grown fruit. The wines are classic Heathcote- powerful but with plenty of acid to create very balanced wines.
We tasted the following wines with Peter…
2005 Red Edge Shiraz Old Vines
2005 Red Edge Cabernet
2005 Red Edge Degree Shiraz
2001 Red Edge Cabernet
1997 Red Edge Shiraz Old Vines
We headed back to Melbourne to meet David Hickinbotham at the Telstra Dome to watch a professional fotty match between the St. Kilda Saints and the Western Bulldogs. We had a great time at the game and then walked to Melbourne’s Chinatown for a late night supper at the Shark Fin Inn. Plenty of BYOB wine was about as well a lazy-susan’s full of mud crab, peking duck, etc. to snack on.
Thursday, August 24- Melbourne Wine Room, Buckshot, Lilly Pilly
We checked out of the Chardonnay Lodge in Coonawarra early, 6:30 AM, so we could have more time in our next stop- Melbourne. After a brief stop for breakfast pasties (meat pies- yummm) we arrive at the slick Como Hotel in Melbourne at 1:30 PM. The Como is a first class hotel where all of the beautiful people stay- it was a real treat to stay there. Melbourne is a very vibrant and beautiful city with an exceptional arts culture.
We could have spent the afternoon on our own or we could join Dan for wine, oysters and antipasti at the Melbourne Wine Room. Guess what I choose to do.
Dan treated us to multiple bottles of Raveneau Chabis, Zind Humbrecht Riesling & Pinot Gris and the odd bottle of red. A couple guys were even nice enough to spring for a bottle of 100pt. Parker Sine Quo Non Just For The Love Of It Syrah- thanks guys. We had a little more time to kill so what do we do? Order some cocktails. I had the best Pimm’s Cup and #4 I’ve ever had. Not a bad rainy afternoon in Melbourne.
We had dinner with Buckshot and Lilly Pilly at a waterfront restaurant called Sail’s. The Buckshot wines are from the up and coming wine region called Heathcote. Heathcote is located two hours north of Melbourne. We drank the following with dinner…
2003 Buckshot Heathcote Shiraz
2004 Buckshot Heathcote Shiraz
2005 Buckshot Heathcote Shiraz (barrel sample)
2002 Lilly Pilly Noble Blend
2005 Lilly Pilly Noble Blend
Back to the Como for a nightcap in the hotel bar.
We could have spent the afternoon on our own or we could join Dan for wine, oysters and antipasti at the Melbourne Wine Room. Guess what I choose to do.
Dan treated us to multiple bottles of Raveneau Chabis, Zind Humbrecht Riesling & Pinot Gris and the odd bottle of red. A couple guys were even nice enough to spring for a bottle of 100pt. Parker Sine Quo Non Just For The Love Of It Syrah- thanks guys. We had a little more time to kill so what do we do? Order some cocktails. I had the best Pimm’s Cup and #4 I’ve ever had. Not a bad rainy afternoon in Melbourne.
We had dinner with Buckshot and Lilly Pilly at a waterfront restaurant called Sail’s. The Buckshot wines are from the up and coming wine region called Heathcote. Heathcote is located two hours north of Melbourne. We drank the following with dinner…
2003 Buckshot Heathcote Shiraz
2004 Buckshot Heathcote Shiraz
2005 Buckshot Heathcote Shiraz (barrel sample)
2002 Lilly Pilly Noble Blend
2005 Lilly Pilly Noble Blend
Back to the Como for a nightcap in the hotel bar.
Wednesday, August 23- Henry's Drive, Majella
Checked out of the wine-soaked and stained room #7 and boarded the bus for the four hour ride to Padthaway- home of Henry’s Drive. Of course we stopped on the way for pasties and iced coffee. The Longbottom’s had recently finished construction of their new tasting room/office/cellar door and hosted us for a lunch and tasting. We dined on Australian Waygu beef and other delicious items while we drank the new releases.
2005 Pillar Box Red
2005 Pillar Box White
2004 Henry’s Drive Shiraz
2004 Henry’s Drive Shiraz Reserve
2004 Parson’s Flat Shiraz-Cabernet
2004 Dead Letter Office Shiraz (blend of 55% Padthaway and 45% McLaren Vale Shiraz- Kim Johnston is the winemaker for Henry’s Drive and Shirvington it that tells you anything about this wine)
We finished the lunch with an aged vertical of Henry’s Drive Cabernets from 1999 to 2004.
We then traveled a short hour to Coonawarra, the Cabernet capital of Australia, for a tasting, bbq and bush tour with the boys at Majella. We tasted through the whole lineup of Majella wines, including my favorite, the 2005 Musician Shiraz Cabernet. We capped off the night with plenty of Cooper’s and a bush tour. A Coonawarra bush tour consists of riding in the backs of utes (that’s a pickup truck to you a me), drinking beer and spotlighting kangaroo’s. It felt like back home in the Black Belt.
2005 Pillar Box Red
2005 Pillar Box White
2004 Henry’s Drive Shiraz
2004 Henry’s Drive Shiraz Reserve
2004 Parson’s Flat Shiraz-Cabernet
2004 Dead Letter Office Shiraz (blend of 55% Padthaway and 45% McLaren Vale Shiraz- Kim Johnston is the winemaker for Henry’s Drive and Shirvington it that tells you anything about this wine)
We finished the lunch with an aged vertical of Henry’s Drive Cabernets from 1999 to 2004.
We then traveled a short hour to Coonawarra, the Cabernet capital of Australia, for a tasting, bbq and bush tour with the boys at Majella. We tasted through the whole lineup of Majella wines, including my favorite, the 2005 Musician Shiraz Cabernet. We capped off the night with plenty of Cooper’s and a bush tour. A Coonawarra bush tour consists of riding in the backs of utes (that’s a pickup truck to you a me), drinking beer and spotlighting kangaroo’s. It felt like back home in the Black Belt.
Tusesday, August 22- Clarendon, Samuel's Gorge, Russell Jeavon's Pizza
We had a free morning to sleep in, eat breakfast and shop in downtown McLaren Vale. Several of us went to the Bloke Shop to purchase the requisite Rossi boots and by the time we knew it we were back on the bus and headed to Clarendon- the home of the ubiquitous Hickinbothams. We took at bus tour of the Hickinbotham vineyards and ended up at David’s father’s house overlooking the vineyards. I thought the Kay’s had the best view until we got to this place- wow. We had a tasting of their own Clarendon labeled wines followed by an immense array of foodstuffs for lunch. The generosity of the people we met can not be translated into words.
After lunch we drove down to the local fotty field for a friendly game of full contact footy (slang for Australian Rules Football- not rugby). After a few drills to get down the basics we picked teams and played a game. Our Paringa team was victorious but it took about an hour for the headache and burning lungs to go away. Luckily cold Cooper’s was not far away.
Do not pass Go and proceed directly to meet Justin McNamee at Samuel’s Gorge for a vineyard tour and tasting. We had a barrel tasting of many, many blending components for the Samuel’s Gorge Shiraz, Grenache and Tempranillo wines. We finished the tasting with the 2004 new releases of the same. This is a winery to watch.
2004 Samuel's Gorge Shiraz
2004 Samuel's Gorge Grenache
2004 Samuel's Gorge Tempranillo
On to one of my most anticipated visits of the trip- Russell Jeavon’s Pizza. This now world famous wood-fired oven pizza place is normally open one night a week- Friday night- and reservations are hard to come by. Russell’s place is very rustic and everything is cooked in the wood-fired brick ovens- bread, pizzas and some amazing desserts. We had the whole place rented out for our group and we were accompanied by all of the McLaren Vale producers who all brought plenty of wine to drink. The pizzas lived up to their billing and we finished the night with plenty of Cooper’s and dancing to DJ Darky aka Frano Farroch.
After lunch we drove down to the local fotty field for a friendly game of full contact footy (slang for Australian Rules Football- not rugby). After a few drills to get down the basics we picked teams and played a game. Our Paringa team was victorious but it took about an hour for the headache and burning lungs to go away. Luckily cold Cooper’s was not far away.
Do not pass Go and proceed directly to meet Justin McNamee at Samuel’s Gorge for a vineyard tour and tasting. We had a barrel tasting of many, many blending components for the Samuel’s Gorge Shiraz, Grenache and Tempranillo wines. We finished the tasting with the 2004 new releases of the same. This is a winery to watch.
2004 Samuel's Gorge Shiraz
2004 Samuel's Gorge Grenache
2004 Samuel's Gorge Tempranillo
On to one of my most anticipated visits of the trip- Russell Jeavon’s Pizza. This now world famous wood-fired oven pizza place is normally open one night a week- Friday night- and reservations are hard to come by. Russell’s place is very rustic and everything is cooked in the wood-fired brick ovens- bread, pizzas and some amazing desserts. We had the whole place rented out for our group and we were accompanied by all of the McLaren Vale producers who all brought plenty of wine to drink. The pizzas lived up to their billing and we finished the night with plenty of Cooper’s and dancing to DJ Darky aka Frano Farroch.
Monday, August 21st- Noon, Kay Brother's, Shirvington
We’re checked in at McLaren’s On The Lake for a couple days in McLaren Vale. We start our morning with a tour, tasting and coffee at a little place called Noon. If you have never had a Noon wine before, if you beg me I might sell you a bottle.
Drew and Rae Noon source grapes from Langhorne Creek for their Reserve Shiraz and Reserve Cabernet and use estate-grown fruit for their Eclipse Grenache-based wine. We finished the visit with some hot coffee and some of Drew’s home-baked cookies.
We tasted the…
1998 Noon Reserve Cabernet
200? Noon Reserve Shiraz
2004 Noon Eclipse
We traveled down the road to Kay Brother's Amery Vineyards for a tour, tasting and lunch. The view of the valley from the winery is one of the most idyllic in wine country- the Hillside vineyard is actually on a hillside and the Block 6 compromises a few rows at the bottom of the hill. Chief winemaker Colin Kay led the tour though the grand, old winery and into the hall for lunch. The Kay’s have kept meticulous hand-written, daily records of the winery’s activity, weather, etc. since it’s inception in 1891.
Tasted were…
2003 Kay’s Amery Hillside Shiraz
2004 Kay’s Amery Hillside Shiraz
2004 Kay’s Amery Shiraz
2004 Kay’s Block 6 Shiraz
2004 Kay’s Amery Cabernet
2005 Kay’s Amery Hillside Shiraz (barrel sample)
2005 Kay’s Amery Shiraz (barrel sample)
2005 Kay’s Amery Block 6 Shiraz (barrel sample)
2005 Kay’s Amery Cabernet (barrel sample)
2005 Kay’s Amery Merlot (barrel sample)
2005 Kay’s Amery Cuthbert Reserve Cabernet (barrel sample)
1997 Kay’s Amery Hillside Shiraz
multiple Tawny's and Dessert wines
Off to Scarpantoni for a tasting and tour at their winery. Phil Scarpantoni and the gang make a wide array of wines that are very popular in Australia. The US only receives a couple of their wines. These wines deliver for the money.
We left Scarpantoni and drove down to Maslin Beach for a walk on the sand. Maslin Beach was Australia’s first official nude beach so of course we had to take pictures of the sign (Unclad Bathing Foreshore Reserve Area- South of This Point Only).
Back into the town of Wilunga for a cleansing ale at the pub before joining the Shirvington’s and winekaer Kim Johnston for dinner at Fino. The Shirvington wines were, well, Shirvington wines. They also happened to be from the 2005 vintage (the best since 1998). I'll leave the rest for your imagination. The Italian banquet style (aka family style) food kept coming and the corks kept popping. Everyone had too much fun that night- this event was definately one of the highlights of the trip. Thank God we had the whole restaurant to ourselves.
Swilled were…
2005 Shirvington Shiraz
2005 Shirvington Cabernet Sauvignon
(pictured- the Florida boys with winemaker Kim Johnston)
Back to the hotel for a party in room #7, again.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Sunday, August 20th- R Winery, Rudderless
The next morning we check out of the Grand and treck for four hours to Mannum, a river town on the Murray River the is a popular vacation and boating spot in South Australia. We spent the whole day on a very large houseboat for a tasting of the new wines from R Winery. R Winery is owned by Dan Philips and Chris Ringland and is now the home of Marquis-Philips and many other up and coming labels. We had plenty of great food, wine and sunshine to re-energize us mid-trip.
Tasted on the boat were…
2005 Marquis Philips Shiraz
2005 Marquis Philips Cabernet
2005 Marquis Philips Merlot
2005 Marquis Philips Sarah’s Blend
2005 Marquis Philips Holly’s Blend
2005 Marquis Philips Lisa’s Blend (yet to be released Shiraz blend by new MP winemaker Lisa Whetherell)
2005 Marquis Philips Shiraz S9
2005 Marquis Philips Cabernet S2
2004 Bitch Grenache
2006 Bon Bon Rose
2005 R Ose
2005 Evil
2005 Pure Evil
2005 r Cabernet
2005 R Cabernet
2003 J.P. Belle Terroir
And probably some other that I don’t remember.
Off the boat and “on the bus” for a one hour plus drive to McLaren Vale and the Victory Hotel (http://www.victoryhotel.com.au/) on Sellicks Beach . Amazing view of the sea and one of the best sunsets ever witnessed. We were at the Victory for dinner with the owner Doug Govan and his new wine label called Rudderless. Doug planted wines around his pub and now has a wine made by his friend Justin McNamee of Samuel’s Gorge fame. The Cooper’s beer battered King George Whitting were outstanding and the wines were some of my favorite of the trip.
Tasted on the boat were…
2005 Marquis Philips Shiraz
2005 Marquis Philips Cabernet
2005 Marquis Philips Merlot
2005 Marquis Philips Sarah’s Blend
2005 Marquis Philips Holly’s Blend
2005 Marquis Philips Lisa’s Blend (yet to be released Shiraz blend by new MP winemaker Lisa Whetherell)
2005 Marquis Philips Shiraz S9
2005 Marquis Philips Cabernet S2
2004 Bitch Grenache
2006 Bon Bon Rose
2005 R Ose
2005 Evil
2005 Pure Evil
2005 r Cabernet
2005 R Cabernet
2003 J.P. Belle Terroir
And probably some other that I don’t remember.
Off the boat and “on the bus” for a one hour plus drive to McLaren Vale and the Victory Hotel (http://www.victoryhotel.com.au/) on Sellicks Beach . Amazing view of the sea and one of the best sunsets ever witnessed. We were at the Victory for dinner with the owner Doug Govan and his new wine label called Rudderless. Doug planted wines around his pub and now has a wine made by his friend Justin McNamee of Samuel’s Gorge fame. The Cooper’s beer battered King George Whitting were outstanding and the wines were some of my favorite of the trip.
Saturday, August 19th- Teusner, Paringa
It could be Wednesday for all we know. We check out of the Barossa Novotel Resort and stop at the former location of one of Australia’s best restaurants, Barr-Vinum. Barr-Vinum is co-owned by Bob McLean and Chris Ringland and was lead in the kitchen by Sandor Palmai, one of Australia’s most brilliant chefs. Located in the tiny town of Angaston in the Barossa, it appears the restaurant was too big for the town. It is closed until further notice.
We met Kym Teusner of Teusner Wines in the restaurant for a tasting. The Teusner wines are some of my personal favorites.
We tasted through the new releases of…
2005 Joshua (65% Grenache, 25% Mataro and 10% Shiraz, no oak treatment)
2004 Avatar (60% Grenache, 30% Mataro, 10% Shiraz aged in seasoned oak for over 16 months)
2004 The Riebke (Shiraz from the northern Barossa sub region of Ebenezer)
2003 Albert (100% shiraz cuvee from vines between 45 and 90 years old)
Barrel sample of a 2005 vintage shiraz that will be a super-premium single vineyard release.
Before we started on our 2 hour drive to Paringa, was stopped by the Barossa Farmer’s Market for a look. At Dan’s suggestion most of us stood in line for the best bacon, egg and cheese sandwich we have ever eaten. I washed mine down with some farm-fresh milk (clotted lumps and all) before hitting the bus.
We arrived at David Higginbotham’s Paringa vineyard for a light lunch and a vineyard tour. The vineyard is 5 square MILES of neatly trellised vines and red dirt on the banks of the Murray River. After the bus tour of the vineyard, no walking here, we headed to Mildura for dinner with David at his favorite restaurant, Stefano’s, at the Mildura Grand Hotel. We also spent the night at the Grand where every room was unique. We started the evening with a reception in the garden where we quaffed 2005 Paringa White and 2004 Paringa Sparkling Shiraz. When it was time for dinner was ascended into the hotel’s old wine cellar (must have been 2,500 sq. ft.) for supper.
With our Italian styled banquet dinner we drank…
2006 Bon Bon Rose
2000, 2002, 2005 Paringa Merlot
2000, 2002, 2005 Paringa Cabernet Sauvignon
1999, 2002, 2005 Paringa Shiraz
We met Kym Teusner of Teusner Wines in the restaurant for a tasting. The Teusner wines are some of my personal favorites.
We tasted through the new releases of…
2005 Joshua (65% Grenache, 25% Mataro and 10% Shiraz, no oak treatment)
2004 Avatar (60% Grenache, 30% Mataro, 10% Shiraz aged in seasoned oak for over 16 months)
2004 The Riebke (Shiraz from the northern Barossa sub region of Ebenezer)
2003 Albert (100% shiraz cuvee from vines between 45 and 90 years old)
Barrel sample of a 2005 vintage shiraz that will be a super-premium single vineyard release.
Before we started on our 2 hour drive to Paringa, was stopped by the Barossa Farmer’s Market for a look. At Dan’s suggestion most of us stood in line for the best bacon, egg and cheese sandwich we have ever eaten. I washed mine down with some farm-fresh milk (clotted lumps and all) before hitting the bus.
We arrived at David Higginbotham’s Paringa vineyard for a light lunch and a vineyard tour. The vineyard is 5 square MILES of neatly trellised vines and red dirt on the banks of the Murray River. After the bus tour of the vineyard, no walking here, we headed to Mildura for dinner with David at his favorite restaurant, Stefano’s, at the Mildura Grand Hotel. We also spent the night at the Grand where every room was unique. We started the evening with a reception in the garden where we quaffed 2005 Paringa White and 2004 Paringa Sparkling Shiraz. When it was time for dinner was ascended into the hotel’s old wine cellar (must have been 2,500 sq. ft.) for supper.
With our Italian styled banquet dinner we drank…
2006 Bon Bon Rose
2000, 2002, 2005 Paringa Merlot
2000, 2002, 2005 Paringa Cabernet Sauvignon
1999, 2002, 2005 Paringa Shiraz
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