Todays tasting was the 2018 Angove “The Medhyk” Shiraz. On opening a subtle and subdued berry note on the nose. On first tasting, very fine silky tannins with a spicy undertone but mainly dominated by rich berries. It took another hour or so for the wine to open up suggesting it could be cellared for another 5 years at least. Once opened up, a beautiful elegant wine with vibrant berrie flavours and long lingering finish. Pairing it with a charcuturie board on a lazy Saturday afternoon seemed fitting and didn’t disappoint matching the flavours with the wine well. A Wellys Wine Score of 85 points a just result for the “The Medhyk” Shiraz from Angove in the McLaren Vale.
This weeks beauty from the Hunter Valley is from Gundog Estate and their 2018 Rare Game Shiraz. This elegant wine has grapes picked from vines older than 50 years, is barrelled in French oak and will reward cellaring up to 10 years. With low alcohol of 13%, balanced acidity and silky tannins this Shiraz will appeal to all with lovely dark fruit characteristics. Welly’s Wine Score is 82.
It’s been a while, but what a way to ease back into these reviews with the 2014 Wild Witch from Kellermeister. Almost floral scents on the nose with that subtle oak giving off hints of vanilla. On the palate, dark berries dominate, the subtle oak still present and a pepper hit to round out the full mouth feel of this delicious wine. It’s very well balanced and oh so juicy. It’s a full bodied wine and would go brilliantly with a steak, but to be honest its that good it’ll probably pair well with a packet of wizz fizz. A well deserved Welly’s Wine Score of 93 points.
With the hot summer weather behind us here in Australia, the opportunity to sit in the Autumn sun and enjoy a glass was too tempting. On offer was a Sevenhill 2013 Gewurztraminer, and what a beauty this eventuated to be. Serving slightly chilled, it exhibited fabulous floral aromas with a sweet, yet spicy finish. An easy one to judge with an 83/100 Wellys wine score.
Lazy Sunday arvo with a favourite. The 2018 Corrinas Cab/Shiraz. It’s the perfect blend of cab and Shiraz and you don’t have to pay Penfolds Bin 389 money. The nose is dominated by the Cabernet grape but the lingering finish of chocolate and spice certainly have the Shiraz grapes to thank. Going down a treat and gets an 81 on Wellys Wine Score.
The journey continued, I got to Queensland and realised I really needed to slow down and have a proper break and the gorgeous weather helped in that regard.
July 9, a day before the border to Queensland opened. Free camping just outside Moree.July 10. The oldest pub in Queenelsand. Nearly got bogged as it bucketed down with rain at 2am and turned everything into a mud pit.Lunch on the way! Beauty of a camper trailer with a slide out fridge. Great spot in Townsville. Castle Hill lookout overlooking Magnetic Island.Wallamans Falls. Highest in Australia apparently. This was a quick stop as I was on my way to Mission Beach for lunch.On my way back down the coast, the General Gordon Hotel offers a place to park and have awesome pub food.First time I took the Evo on the beach at Yeppoon.Rainbow Beach was spectacular, as was the view from the pub.Bundaberg Rum factory, due to Covid there were no tours but still got to look inside.Camping on a cattle station at Longreach. 35 degrees every day meant I certainly needed to keep my fluids up. Roma Gun Club. Just an over night stay on the way to the Gold Coast. Every Thursday members do clay shooting so if you pick the right time it would be quite an entertaining arvo.
With nearly 3000 videos and photos taken over the course of the holidays it was simply an amazing trip and one which I won’t get another chance till I retire. I managed to catchup with my relatives in Noosa who I haven’t seen in decades and made life long friends who have offered a place to stay whenever I visit, both in New South Wales and Queensland.
So what now? Well it’s back to work and after having my eyes well and truly opened, I’ve decided to mix both my wine passion with my new love for 4×4, so I’ll be starting up a 4×4 Build of the Ford Everest in the new year and taking it to various places for some terrific scenery and wine tasting experiences. Plus if can get it together you’ll be able to follow on YouTube as well.
Merry Christmas everyone and thanks for following my journey!
It took a little time getting sorted due to the China Virus, but with regional travel opening up from the eastern states of Australia, it was time to pack the Camper and finally escape the cold winter weather of Adelaide. Sunday the 14th of June I was off and the first overnight stop was just over 660km away in Hay, NSW. The Sandy Point Reserve is a great little free camping spot if you have the ability to go off grid.
What a rig!Sandy Point Reserve is right on the river. Very pretty spot.
So the next day started early, back on the road towards West Wyalong. Luckily I was fresh as the first hour of driving was just endless nothing.
Nothing to see here, and rubbish roads!
I wasn’t going to push it today so a travelling distance of 440km didn’t feel like a stretch. The Day 2 stop was Peak Hill, NSW. But before that I made a quick detour to see the world famous ‘Dish’ telescope just outside Parkes, NSW. Unfortunately it was closed due to the virus situation but I got to see it from afar nonetheless.
Camped up at Peak HillThe only person in the pub
Day 3 and back on the road early. Cessnock the destination camped up in a friends backyard for a week. Arrived early enough to get all setup before the cold weather set in.
After a late start it was time to start my assault on the vineyards in the Hunter Valley, 1st stop Peterson’s wines. Lovely spot, good sparkling wines, good aged reds, good semillon. You would definitely like to be there in summer on a weekend with live music going, as it just feels like a relaxing, cruisy atmosphere.
It was a good start and I thought, well it certainly was an eye opener as to the amount of imported grapes from other regions. What I quickly found out was that the Hunter Valley really concentrate on Semillon, Chardonnay and Shiraz.
After I sat down that night and pondered on where I should be going to next, I forgot I packed a bottle of Langhorne creek Blanc de Blancs which went down a treat.
I got to do a little bit of sightseeing with driving around checking out the scenery. Even due to the weather and heavy rain, I managed to get to a nice lookout.
My Colonel Light impersonation
It was absolutely freezing overnight with 0 degrees and no wind. Which meant the next day was superb!
Next stop, Kelmans Wines. A fantastic little boutique vineyard in the heart of a housing estate of the same name. All the houses have vineyards around them and really does make for an outstanding view. First thing they asked in the tasting room, where are you from? Haha, here we go, the stigma has began. As soon as you mention your from SA, and particularly close to McLaren Vale the wine talk starts.
Nonetheless the wines, and particularly their Semillon was outstanding, the Reds are alot softer than what I’m used to but that is part of the appeal of Hunter Valley Shiraz. The alcohol content is slightly less at about 14% which is refreshing as big boozy wines are a dying breed thank goodness. Buy Tawny if you want something heavier.
Drayton’s family wines are known throughout the region as being one of the few vineyards with a reputation for they excellent fortifieds. With this in mind I knew the tasting session was going to be a long one, especially with a huge range of wines to choose from. Obviously this was a challenge so I mainly targeted the local stuff. The wine tasting experience was definitely a 10 here, great knowledge and good humour from the staff.
So after Drayton’s, the wonderful staff referred me onto Gundog Wines. Another boutique winery with a very cute cellar door.
I’m so happy to be sent here, their wines were brilliant! It took a little time to warm up but after an hour just chatting with the staff and winemaker, they even got the reserve out for tasting. Must be the red wine snobbery of South Australia talking haha. At the tasting, I also met a lovely couple from Port Maquarie who were just starting their caravan life which was awesome.
Did someone say “Sheen”, what a colour!
After a quick refuel for lunch it was back to the vineyards and Ivanhoe wines, the sign on entrance was they specialise in big, bold reds. You had me at hello! 😂
The best thing was they weren’t kidding, terrific tannin structure and spice with most of their reds.
After about 40 tastings for the day, stick a fork in me, I’m done!
Definitely needed a rest day after that but time to move on and I decided to get closer to the vineyards by checking into the local caravan park for a few more days. The sunsets were smashing as the sun went over the mountains.
Managed to squeeze in Ben Ean, Lindemans and the Chocolate factory the next day!
After another hectic day, met up again with the couple from Port Macquarie around a fire in the caravan park.
Another early start as alot of vineyards open at 10am.
Tulloch, Audrey Wilkinson and Pepper Tree wines were on the menu for the next day. Tulloch being first and it did not disappoint with consistency and quality throughout their range. Even managed to talk them into off the wine list tastings.
Another great tasting experience was to be had at Audrey Wilkinson and quite possibly the best view from the cellar door to all the surrounding hills and vineyards. Beautiful place and lovely wines to boot however the top end of the range was very expensive.
Audrey Wilkinson The Lake $120 vs Penfolds St Henri $110, Hmmmm Penfolds every day of the week
A quick trip back for lunch again, then onto Pepper Tree. I don’t think there is a better more manicured garden at any other vineyard. The old charm of barn buildings and wooden floorboards really set this place apart from alot of other vineyards. Their wine, too sweet for my tastebuds but the Chardonnay was bang on target.
With the last day in the Hunter Valley, I got a couple more vineyards in before the pack up starts. Tempus Two is well known and I made it known I wanted to try local stuff again which the staff were happy to accommodate. Even cracking out the reserve wines at $150 a bottle.
The Reserves were nice, but no way would you fork out that much money when knowingly there are much better selections out there and better quality for a lot less. Just my opinion so don’t shoot the messenger.
Onto Beckers and this was the surprise of the whole stay. Some varieties never heard of, some wines which were soft, some wines with decent tannin and some wines which blow your mind. Consistent? No, but great fun and the winemaker definitely makes wine to drink and enjoy.
A beaut sunset to finish off my stay!
Next stop is Harringtons Beach, north of Newcastle in NSW. Time to relax, do some washing, wait for the Queensland border open announcement and chill out for 4 days.
Had to stop into the Irish pub, schnitty was good! And even hiked up Ellenborough falls which was a nice 5 hour round trip.
One day went for a drive south through the great lakes, 7 mile beach, the split town of Tuncurry/Forster. Very tropical rainforest like scenery and fantastic beaches.
And of course it was traditional to have a glass of vino on the last night before I head off again to Port Maquarie! I had the perfect wine ready.
Hopefully you haven’t nodded off reading this post and stayed tuned for more adventures next month. Till then, it’s midday somewhere in the world! Enjoy 🍷
Hey all, I hope everyone is staying safe at the moment. One thing we all miss is that sneaky trip to a cellar door which is hopefully only just around the corner.
The 2014 Matilda Plains Cabernet Shiraz from Bremerton is a blend with quite a shiny looking appearance and has rich, vibrant colours. It’s tasting good right now, has a great depth of berry flavour and as with most Langhorne Creek wines, especially Bremerton, has a lingering spicy finish. I feel this wine has got a lot longer left in it if you wanted to rest it down in the cellar for a decade. The 2014 Bremerton Matilda Plains ended with a Wellys Wine Score of 78/100.
So it’s all happening! Who knew that after a few months since i decided to take a trip the world would be in turmoil. I’ve been quietly preparing in the backround for a 6 month adventure to the north east of Australia with the intention to camp all the way along the coast from Cairns to Sydney.
Needless to say plans are changing daily in terms of locations to stay but what i do know is that the adventure will happen and it all starts soon.
I’ve got the vehicle and camper trailer ready to go after a few test runs. I’m prepared as well as i can be but who knows what can happen.
With all this time off after so long without extended leave from work, it will no doubt be an interesting time ahead. But don’t worry as this leaves alot of time to try new wines in new locations and to meet new people. Cheers to you all and stay safe in these uncertain times. I will update my progress as I go and if you see me on my travels, please don’t hesitate to drop by and say hello.👍
With the warmer season upon us in Australia, the focus moves away from the heavy big bodied Reds towards the more easily palatable Whites. The Broker Chardonnay from Forest Hill Vineyards is one such example. Produced in possibly the coolest climate of all Western Australia, the Great Southern Region, Forest Hill was established in 1964 with the original plantings of Cabernet and Riesling grapes. Additional vineyards were added in the 70s and 80s which included the Chardonnay grape. With over 50 years in the region they certainly have enough runs on the board and know how into cool climate winemaking.
The 2017 Chardonnay certainly ticked the boxes in terms of classic look and smell. It was a pale gold and exhibited great smelling fruit characteristics with enough oak to say, yep, I’m light but serious! On the palate it was heavy on the peach/melon and had a quite nice, slightly nutty flavour thrown in. I’d pair it with Chicken dishes and even KFC if you want change from $30 including the bottle. With a Welly’s Wine Score of 77/100, you won’t be disappointed in this lovely well rounded wine.
