Marty writes from Australia:
Here are some comments on the Barossa wineries we visited. Will do McLaren Vale and Yarra next time on the internet.
Shirley and I spent a delightful day in the Barossa on a personally guided tour which I would recommend highly.
We had two days of plus 40 temps in Adelaide before the visit to Barossa and McLaren Vale, plus 26 our two days in the vineyards.
In addition to the Bella’s Garden, Harry and Edwards Garden and Lily’s Garden, we also tried the Gnarly Dudes and the Sophies Garden. My tasting notes indicate very nice beside the Gnarly Dudes, “great” beside Bella’s Garden and Harry and Edwards Garden, and “greater” beside the Lilly’s Garden. The Sophies Garden was also outstanding, offering a minty taste that was unique to that vineyard. I believe that might come from the Eucalyptus trees growing nearby
Any one travelling to this winery should see their “bakehouse” which will accomodate 8 people for dinner/tasting, but features a glass floor with all the wine cellar underneath.
Then we travelled to Peter Lehmanns for lunch and a tasting. I was particularly taken, as always, with the Mentor, 8 Songs, Clancy’s and the always great Stonewell. I will be retasting the Lehmann reds while in Queensland, so will report in more detail then.
Suffice to say, I will try to buy some of these for the Aussie Club winecellar.
Our first trip after lunch was to the latest “Hot” winery in Australia, Torbreck. We purchased some of their outstanding “The Struie” from Devines for our cellar a few months ago. Cellar Door Manager Scott Trezise took us on a brief tour of the operation which is quite unique. They leave the vines in a bush style rather than pruning heavily. They focus their attention on growing great grapes to produce their array of outstanding wines.
Wines to look for are the Descendant, the Factor, the RunRig ($300. a bottle in Edmonton) The Struie which we have in our club cellar is 100% shiraz with grapes from both the Barossa and Eden Valleys.
We later made a short stop at Veritas vintners, where the only wine that grabbed us was a tawney port which they no longer produce.
We also made a brief stop at an interesting winery called Rusdan, which is trying to specialize in zinfandel. They may be entering the Canadian market later this year. Their Zin was top-notch and well worth the visit.
Will bring you up to date on our other visits in a few days
Marty Larson