Having flown into Adelaide and enjoyed lunch we decided we should do a couple of wineries after lunch and before our pre-dinner “nanna” naps. The first winery on our list was James Halliday 5 star winery Cradle of Hills, located at the southern end of McLaren Vale.
We were lucky it was open, as it’s normally by appointment only as it’s a small family operation run by Paul and Tracy Smith with Paul focusing on the wine making and Tracy making sure he gets good source material (grape) from the vineyard. They have 20 acres of which 16 acres is under vine with a focus on Shiraz.
It is a small operation run out of a single shed and Paul readily admits he has “shed envy” for a shed three times the size so he can ramp up the operation. It is a very hands on operation with basket pressing and hand plunging (see picture), a manually intensive process that gives the grape juice skin contact primarily to extract colour from the skins.
Although they have a decent Chardonnay from the Adelaide Hills and well structured Rose their primary focus is Shiraz and blends. Of the two Shiraz blends the Darkside with Mourvedre was the one I preferred, with the dark fruits of the Mourvedre playing off nicely against the tannin structure and overall producing a well structured wine.
The other wine worth a look is the Row 23 McLaren Vale Scarce Earth Shiraz which is a selection of the best parcels and as their premium wine which is very reasonably priced. The Scarce Earth program is an initiative of the by the McLaren Vale Grape Wine & Tourism Association to recognise regional single block Shiraz that showcases the diversity of the McLaren Vale region. Wines judged good enough to be included in the program is the sign of a very good wine.
Cradle of Hills doesn’t have a cellar door that is normally open to the public so head on over to their website for more information or give them a call: http://www.cradle-of-hills.com.au/
And in the meantime…enjoy some wine.