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June 2009 Cellar Wine Club Selection
To all of us a half a world away from the Australian continent, this country often seems like a "big production" place, where rivers of critter wines must flow for miles on end. Walking past the case-stacks of our big name Aussie brands, we often forget that Australia has its little guys too. And these little guys are making some truly unique, hand-selected and hand-crafted wines. In McLaren Vale, there is a stretch of dirt along Seaview Road along which some of the best fruit on the continent is grown. This fruit makes it inot the likes of Penfolds Grange and Rosemount's Balmoral, amaong others, and right smack in the middle of all of this is a tiny winery called Oliverhill. Here the grapes are cropped back to only two tons per acre before they're harvested, fermented, and aged in 20% new oak for 16 months. The resulting wine strikes a balance between smoky, earthy flavors and black and blue berry fruits with a nice structure that should allow it to age well for at least five or six years to come Reviews Jay Miller Wine Advocate 90+ Points
The first Shiraz is the 2006 Shiraz "Clarendon". It was sourced from a vineyard cropped to 2 tons per acre and was aged for 16 months in 20% new French oak. Purple in color, it offers a complex array of scorched earth, smoke, game, pepper, tar, blackberry, and blueberry. On the palate the wine is a bit compact albeit with ample flavor and decent balance. The finish is also slightly attenuated. There is enough structure for 6-8 years of further evolution but whether it will ever become totally harmonious is questionable. |
