By Franz Scheurer
The
old adage ‘you get what you pay for’ might be true most of the times and I
suppose the exceptions confirm the rule. Here are some terrific wines that most
definitely ‘over deliver’ way above their price point.
Made
by Steve Clarkson with grapes from Eden Valley and Barossa, delivering a clean
and crisp style, pale yellow with hints of green, an aroma of orange blossoms
and floral notes and lots of lovely citrus lingering on the palate. Bottled
under Stelvin this is a great wine to drink now or to cellar for five to eight
years. Available from most bottle shops. Recommended retail: $13 a bottle.
Richmond
Grove Wines
Para
Road, Tanunda, SA 5352
Tel.:
08 8563 7300
Since
its release in 1976 Jacob’s Creek has become Australia’s most popular wine and
last year achieved annual domestic sales of more than one million cases for the
first time. Using fruit from Barossa (Shiraz – 55%) and Coonawarra (Cabernet
Sauvignon – 45%) this minimally stabilised, unfiltered wine displays rich
colour with chocolate and spicy flavours, layered with blackcurrant and violets
and a long, soft finish. If cellared correctly this wine will continue to
improve for neigh on twenty years. Available from most good bottle shops.
Recommend retail: $59.95 a bottle.
The
Orlando-Wyndham Group
08
8208 2446
Located
at Coghill’s Creek in the Ballarat Highlands the vineyard was established in
1983, the first plantings being Pinot Noir, followed by Chardonnay. The clay
loam basalt overlying a subsoil of clay and fine iron-stone, combined with a
cool climate, provide ideal conditions for producing high quality Pinot Noir. The grapes (MV6 and Moorillon clones) are
open fermented, some parcels cold macerated, then basket pressed into French
Oak, matured for 12 months then bottled with minimal filtration. The wine is
fruit driven with lots of cherry and plum flavours, mouth-filling texture and
fine tannins. Sold at cellar door for $25 a bottle.
Eastern
Peake Vineyard
RMB
876 Clunes Road
Coghill’s
Creek, Ballarat, VIC 3364
Tel.:
03 5343 4245
Saignée
is the French term for drawing-off free run juice from red grapes after limited
skin contact. The juice is then cold-fermented to produce a lighter style pink
wine. Fairview Wines’ Saignée, made from their own Shiraz grapes, is
refreshing, fruit-driven with hints of strawberry, fresh berries and white
chocolate, finishing surprisingly dry. Drink now or over the next twelve
months. This is terrific value at $16 a bottle, (less 10% per case) available
at cellar door.
Fairview
Wines
Greg
and Elaine Searles
422
Elderslie Road
Branxton
NSW 2335
Tel.:
02 4938 116
This
incredibly dense and luscious sparkling red is made from grapes of dry grown, low
yielding vines averaging 70 years of age with nearly half planted in 1893.
Following ageing in old oak for five years, the base wine is re-fermented in
the bottle. On disgorging, a liqueur of vintage Shiraz ports from 1976 and 1981
is added to balance the wine’s considerable tannin. This tannin makes the wine
particularly good with food. Drink now or cellar for further complexity. Made
by Ashton Hills’ wine maker Stephen George this is one of the best sparkling
reds I have tasted regardless of price.
Available
from cellar door / mail order at $35 a bottle. (Less 10% per case)
Galah
Wine
Tregarthen
Road, Ashton SA 5137
Tel.:
08 8390 1243