Thorn-Clarke – The Barossa’s Quiet Achievers

on · Leave a Comment

 

The first time I heard of this winery was when it won some major award with its 2005 Shotfire Shiraz. That wine flew off retailers’ shelves in a matter of days, and I was too slow off the mark. My next encounter was with the 2008 Shotfire Quartage, a Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. It was a pretty plush wine, Bordeaux with a sunny Barossa smile.

The 2009 was just as seductive, and for some reason 1st Choice Liquor decided to run a special on the wine at $14. I only bought one case at that price, thinking the wine’s fruit was so plush that it wouldn’t keep for long. We drank the last bottle a few years later, and it was delicious. Ever since, the Quartage has been one of our favourite reds.

Mount Crawford vineyard, Eden Valley

More >>

What’s the Real Score?

on · Leave a Comment

Are you over the exaggerated ratings that help retailers sell wine? Do you want to know the real score, from the ugly truth about a gold-medal wine to the unsung gem at a bargain price? We’ve built a dedicated following of wine lovers who want straight talk, and our Best Buys Weekly mailer has become essential reading for them. This is what they say:

You tell it like it is, Kim. Honesty, there is no one else in Australia I really I trust … I’m so tired of all those the 90+ scores that are meaningless. Brett B.

Your wine site is my bible and I love it, and your mailer telling me the best places to get good wines saves me a heck of a lot of time. Merryn O.

I’ve built my cellar on your recommendations, Kim, and so far haven’t struck a bad bottle. Len T.

Best Buys Weekly is the only wine mailer I take notice of these days. Jeffrey D

I’m a wine novice but I can now take a bottle to dinner with serious wine friends, and raise compliments on my selections.  Safe to say you can a lot of the credit for that. Phil G.

Please remove me from your mailing list … my husband is a paid subscriber to your fantastic newsletter and forwards it to me every week  🙂 Lee G.

I was blown away by the quality available for this kind of money. Carl S.

Weekly updates. Huge devotion. Great result. A really useful consumer service. Warren M.

Keep up your no-nonsense, honest , reviews and comments ,they’re very much appreciated. John McL

Listen to Kim talking about exaggerated scores on Fran Kelly’s ABC RN Breakfast Show

More >>

WINERY IN FOCUS: Richard Hamilton / Leconfield

on · Leave a Comment

 

The oldest Wine Family in Australia


The Hamiltons have been making wine in South Australia for 180 years. The original Richard Hamilton is said to have planted the first vines down there just south of Adelaide. In the 1930s, Sydney Hamilton was the first Australian winemaker to realise that temperature controlled fermentation was the key to making fresh aromatic white table wine. His crowning achievement was Hamilton’s Ewell Moselle, which became a commercial success.

I remember Ray Kidd, the MD of Lindemans from the sixties to the eighties, telling me that Ben Ean Moselle’s biggest rival and market leader in the fifties and sixties was Hamilton’s Ewell Moselle. Our early white wines were on the sweet side, but built a bridge to the more serious wines that followed.

Hamilton’s Ewell Vineyards Pty Ltd was sold to Mildara in 1979, since that was the only way members of the now very large Hamilton clan could get their hands on their share of the money in the privately held firm.  A few years earlier (1972), fifth generation Richard Hamilton – a cosmetic surgeon by trade – had established  Richard Hamilton Wines at McLaren Vale at the age of 25, assisted by his father Burton and uncle Syd.

Sydney Hamilton retired not long after that but got bored and decided to buy a patch of terra rossa soil at Coonawarra in 1974 at the age of 76, and plant a vineyard from scratch. Apparently he had long had the ambition to make great cool climate Cabernets. I remember his wines from that era, which always had the comment on the back label that the grapes were handpicked by experienced women.

Sydney retired again in 1981 and sold Leconfield to his nephew Richard who eventually made it the centre of winemaking for the group under Paul Gordon. Paul had worked for Southcorp and made Rouge Homme wines for a decade until he joined Richard Hamilton in 2001.

Split personalities

I’ve followed Leconfield wines from the beginning, and often felt they’d grown too big under Paul Gordon’s direction. Don’t get me wrong, they were good wines but on the muscly side of the spectrum.

By contrast, the McLaren Vale reds were often lighter and more elegant, a reversal of what you’d expect. I also felt that the wines under the Richard Hamilton label weren’t as good as they should have been.

The exception has been the Leconfield McLaren Vale Shiraz, which began life years ago as a Coonawarra / McLaren Vale blend. Recent vintages of this wine have been outstanding.

Both Coonawarra and McLaren Vale make better reds than whites, so the winemaker s are sourcing white grapes from the Adelaide Hills and the Clare Valley. That makes a lot of sense. I haven’t seen the Leconfield winery, but the Richard Hamilton complex at McLaren Vale is an impressive place, right across the road from the Salopian Inn.


Let’s take a look at some of the current wines:

Richard Hamilton Watervale Riesling 2018 – $20 at the winery. A few samples didn’t reach me in time for this mailer, but a 2016 I opened a couple of weeks ago was a lovely elegant Riesling with years in front of it.

Richard Hamilton Adelaide Hills Pinot Gris 2018 – $20 at the winery. The same goes for this wine. These 2018s have just been released and aren’t in the shops yet.

2017 ‘The Hills’ Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc – $16 at Winedirect. There’s pretty good varietal definition here, with same cat’s wee and lantana notes spicing up the tropical fruits.

Richard Hamilton Almond Grove Chardonnay 2016 – $18 at the winery. This is a perfect drinking chardy with no rough edges. Again, not a lot of ego here but it’s modern, elegant chardy with classic nuances of stonefruit and cashews. 92 points.

Richard Hamilton Signature Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2015 – $25 at Winedirect. A slinky, delicate chardy that reminded me of fine bone china. The polish makes the wine easy to drink, the creamy texture makes you think, and the white peaches and almonds are subtle nuances. Newish French oak and malolactic fermentation have added class and a soft finish. 94 points.

Richard Hamilton Gida’s Rose 2017 – $15 at Winedirect. Gida was a grande dame of the Hamilton family, and this Rosé is said to reflect her sparkling persona. I really liked the 2016, which served up generous flavours of ripe cherries and berries, with a rich mid palate and a dry finish. I gave it 93 points for perfect pitch. I can’t imagine the 2017 being all that different, and the price is right.

Richard Hamilton Lot 148 Merlot 2016 – $21 at the winery. This Merlot slips down the hatch with great ease, because it’s silky soft and not too heavy on the plum compote. Nice restraint here, good length and medium weight. 91 points. Pretty good going but the Leconfield Merlot is a better wine (see below).

Richard Hamilton Little Road Shiraz 2017 – $21 at the winery. I asked the good people at the winery why they’re releasing 2017 reds already, and they tell me because some of the 2016s are all sold out. Nice to know, but this red took a couple of days to open up and show its vibrant nature, bright fruit, pepper and spice. Needs more time in a dark place. 92+ points.

Richard Hamilton Colton’s GSM 2016 – $16 at winedirect. This is a lighter GSM than you’d expect from McLaren Vale, but I don’t mind that. Plenty of bright fruit in a smooth wrapper; will improve for a few years. 90+ points.

Richard Hamilton Hut Block Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 – $16 at Kemenys, where you get a free bottle of Leconfield Cabernet 2016 if you order a dozen. This is the best Hut Block I’ve seen in years, in line with other SA reds from 2016. This vintage seems to have bestowed more finesse than usual on the reds, and good line and length. It’s a rich and ripe Cabernet with well-integrated oak. 92 points. Good value.

Leconfield Coonawarra Chardonnay 2017 – $20 at Winedirect. They team has made some good chardies from their Coonawarra fruit but this one didn’t grab me. Much like the Yalumba Eden Valley chardy, there’s just not enough to get your teeth into. It dances across the tongue and you think: what was that? You have another sip, but nothing more is revealed. Maybe 2017 wasn’t a great year for chardies in SA. 91 points.

Leconfield Coonawarra Old Vines Riesling 2017 – $20 at Winedirect. Some of the wines under this label have been drier than the Simpson Desert and leaner than a weight watchers diet. The 2017 is a different kind of wine, almost as aromatic as the 2017s from the Clare, and choc-full of ripe limes and perfumed flowers. Great drinking already. 94 points.

Hidden Label Coonawarra Merlot 2015 – $14 at Kemenys. Huon Hooke describes this wine as one of the best Merlots in Australia, and I can only agree. It’s a steal at the regular $20+ price, but a gift at this price if you don’t mind the plain wrapper. 94 points.

Hidden Label Reserve Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 – $15 at Kemenys. Leconfield Cabernet at half price. These are serious reds, and among the better Cabernets to come out of Coonawarra. A bit more robust than I like them but at this price it’s another gift. 94++ points.

Leconfield Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 – $27 at Nicks, with original label. Check the reviews at the link.

Leconfield Coonawarra Cabernet Merlot 2016 – $22 at Winedirect. I haven’t seen this vintage yet, but earlier vintages have been pretty smooth going, the Merlot adding richness and softness.

Leconfield McLaren Vale Shiraz 2017 – $22 at Winedirect. Oh, so young! It’s less forbidding than I expected, so perhaps 2017 made softer reds than 2016. Still, it opened up a lot over a couple of days. The fruit is intense and seductive as usual, the French oak seamless, the tannins are ripe and fine-grained. It’ll be another good red given more time. 94++ points.

Leconfield Coonawarra Cabernet Franc 2017 – $29 at the winery. A remarkable wine. On the second open day it literally burst into bloom, showing flowery aromas and sweet fruit characters that reminded me of the fruity, elegant reds of Chinon and Bourgueil on the Loire (which are made from the same variety). Charming and pretty, not complex. 93 points. It’s worth trying a bottle if you’re curious, but it’s overpriced for what it is. They don’t make much of it.

More reading [and video watching] about the fascinating history of Richard Hamilton Wines
Wine Lines: How a family vineyard changed the course of Australian winemaking
http://hamiltonewell.com.au/pdfs/Final_Our_Heritage2.pdf
http://www.leconfieldwines.com/about-us/hamilton-history-gallery?category=124644
http://www.leconfieldwines.com/video-gallery

 

 

FORTIFIED WINES – Our Best-Kept Secrets

on · Leave a Comment

 

TREASURE ISLAND

Our wonderful dessert wines are unique in the world, yet almost unheard of overseas and pretty much unknown at home. That’s astonishing given that we’ve been making these extraordinary wines for over 160 years. The good news is that we can enjoy these rare treats at bargain prices.

Ned Kelly country makes most of our great fortified wines, with the Barossa lending a hand via the treasure trove that is Seppeltsfield. If you haven’t sat by a warm fireplace on a cold winter’s night with a glass of Tokay or Muscat and a bowl of nuts, dried fruits, dark chocolate or blue cheese, you haven’t lived. If you have and didn’t like the experience, you must’ve bought the wrong Tokay and some really old nuts.

More >>

Wynns Coonawarra – Short Story of a Long Shot

on · Leave a Comment

 

Terra Rossa

Like many great success stories, the Wynns Coonawarra story had humble beginnings. David Wynn bought the run-down winery and vineyards for £22,000 from Chateau Comaum in 1951, and his father Sam thought he’d paid far too much for it. The run-down winery had no electricity and no living quarters. The only township in the area was Penola, the place where Mary McKillop was later said to have performed miracles.

Coonawarra is a long way from Adelaide or Melbourne. The attraction of the far-flung vignoble is the terra rossa soil sitting on a limestone base, a classy combination that makes winemakers’ pulses beat faster. In 1950 only the Redmans were making wine here and selling it to Woodleys in Adelaide, who bottled the fine claret style reds for their discerning clients.

coonawarra, terra rossa soil profile

More >>

When are Free Range Eggs not Free Range?

on · Leave a Comment

 

When our government sells us out

The egg wars have been raging across this land for decades, like the 30-year war that devastated Europe in the middle ages. These last few years we had a voluntary standard, recommended by the CSIRO: a maximum of 1500 chooks per hectare. The big producers never conformed to this standard, and consumer organisations continued to pressure the government for new legislation.

Late in 2016, the federal government acted at last. What did Minister for Consumer Affairs Michael McCormack do? He didn’t introduce a new standard that defined what constitutes ‘free range’; instead he introduced a ‘National Information Standard.’ What wonderful weasel words. Yes, but are they free range weasels or caged weasels?

The new ‘standard’ increased the upper limit to 10,000 birds per hectare. Hard to believe, I know. Harder to believe is that there’s no mandate in the standard for hens to actually spend time outdoors. It merely recommends that ‘hens have meaningful and regular access to an outdoor range.’ More weasel words. The result? Mass producers are free to stick the free range label on eggs laid by hens squashed into those massive cages, just as they did before.

Egg on their Faces
More >>

Young & Rashleigh Tasting February 2018

on · Leave a Comment

 

This NSW distributor holds a trade tasting twice a year, and they’re always worth attending. They hire a room at the Oaks Hotel in Neutral Bay, and run a second day in town at the Arthouse Hotel.

This time I focused on some of the labels I haven’t checked for a while. Printhie is one of these. The next generation has taken over, the vines are twenty years old, so there’s a new wind blowing on Mount Canobolas.

More >>

Mistakes I’ve Made

on · Leave a Comment

 

I pride myself on getting it right, so I review fewer wines but give them more time – several days usually. I don’t always get it right, of course, no wine reviewer does. There are the vagaries of bottle variation, and how the wine showed on the day as Peter Bourne said to me once when I queried how the Grosset Rieslings didn’t make the 90 point cut in a GTW tasting.

So it goes. A subscriber complained that the 1960 Taltarni Old Vine Block 27 Pyrenees Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 I raved about and gave 96 points to was oxidised / cooked and showed dried porty / stewed aromas. He bought a 6-pack on my recommendation, and is thinking of returning the remaining bottles.

In my defence I said it was a more traditional style, with a stronger tannin grip than usual, and said I thought I mentioned that in my review. It looks like I didn’t. Mea culpa. I should’ve said: you must’ve got a bad bottle and left it at that. The bottle I had was terrific. I’d welcome more feedback.

Kemenys Hidden Label Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc 2017. I can’t find it now but I think I listed this as a great buy in a recent BBW. Then I got a sample and gave it a bad review (84). I’ve been highly critical of wine show judging, and I should stop paying any attention to trophies and other bling. Mea culpa. Still, it’s hard to ignore a list like this:  

  • Trophy, Best Value White, Sydney Royal Wine Show 2017
  • Trophy, Best Sauvignon Blanc, Sydney Royal Wine Show 2017
  • Trophy, Best Sauvignon Blanc, Royal Hobart Wine Show 2017
  • Top Gold, Royal Perth Wine Show 2017
  • Gold, Sydney Royal Wine Show 2017
  • Gold, Cowra Wine Show 2017
  • Gold, Royal Hobart Wine Show 2017

The wine won trophies and golds in 4 different shows across the country, not one or two. That kind of consistency is rare; in addition I know the maker – Miles from Nowhere – so I took a punt at that ridiculous price. Then I checked a sample over the usual 2-3 days, and soon found the wine falling apart. Therefore my bad score.

The same subscriber said my score for the Dan M’s Langhorne Creek Cabernet  Shiraz cleanskin had come down several points. What happened here is that another subscriber had written in and said my score was too generous, so I bought another bottle at Dan M’s, agreed with him and marked the wine down.

Many of you have written and said that my calls are almost always right, and I think that’s as good as it can get in this business. I do get it wrong sometimes, and other times it’s simply a matter of different tastes. That’s why I make no bones about my lack of enthusiasm for blockbuster reds, skinny chardies and tropical savvies.

Keep the brickbats coming now, you hear?

Kim