AUSTRALIA: Going Organic in McLaren Vale

As one of Australia’s most famous wine regions, McLaren Vale was an exciting stop on our journey. It is one of the many wine regions that are within reach of the city Adelaide, in South Australia. Starting on the flatland by the sea and expanding into the rolling hills, its microclimate is distinct with a cool afternoon sea breeze and hot mid-day sun. I was also surprised to discover that some of the oldest geological sediments in Australia can be found beneath the soil. Jean and I already had a pretty good idea of which wineries we wanted to visit, and we had planned a big day out in the Vale!


My only regret is we forgot the camera that day! This is a great shot from google that gives you an idea of the vast landscape that surrounds the wine region.

 

First stop: Battle Of Bosworth

A medium sized organic winery with a name that will start a conversation at the dinner table. The cellar door was really cute and had an old farm house feel to it. When driving into the site you could see the history in the vineyard, the vines had a range of various trellising systems and some of the gnarly trunks were definitely showing there age! They offer a generous range of wines, mostly single vineyard. The ‘Scarce’ collection I found very interesting, as it showcases 4 bottles of Shiraz expressing terroir from various soil types. Certainly not a new idea, but it did offer curiosity to the palate. Surprisingly my favourite was the 2015 Chardonnay, a new release with youth on its side. It is nicely balanced and offers classic chardy characters of stone fruit and nuts. Very refreshing white for the McLaren!  

 

Second stop: Wirra Wirra

Ok, so this is a large scale commercial winery that recently had one of the blocks converted to organic and biodynamic under NASSA. Rich in history, walking into the cellar door felt like we were entering an old boring museum, and the wines have the same feel. The entry level whites tasted as if they had been watered down, and the reds had the classic over extracted characters you would expect from bad Australian wine. I was turned off by their new label ‘Amatar’ which showcases the newly certified Organic/BD wines as being focused on converting for love and not for marketing. To be honest I think it’s all a load of crap and they are jumping on the bandwagon. We didn’t buy any wines, but did pick up the lasted edition of Wine Dogs of Australia, which my beloved Louie Lowe is featured it!

Third stop: Gemtree Wines

A popular organic and Biodynamic winery in the McLearen Vale, Gemtree works closely with associations like Biodynamic Agriculture Australia to host field days and promote the growing interest in sustainable agriculture. This stop turned out to be the pleasant surprise of the day. Jean and I had their Shiraz before as the Gemtree entry label is available at the bottle shops around Australia, and it was ok. But the cellar door experience we had was amazing! We tried every wine available for tasting with comprehensive site descriptions and viticulture/vinification techniques. They only had one white to try, but a heap of reds. My favourite was the 2015 Cinnabar GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre), it was super elegant with an intense fruitiness, rounded by good use of frenchoak, with silky smooth tannins. You can tell that the husband/wife duo who run the show are really invested in the integrity of the Organic/Biodynamic certification and all the hard work that goes along with it.

Fourth Stop: Yangarra

Another Organic/Biodynamic winery in the McLaren Vale region, this cellar door claims to have a “French Feel”, which I think translates into an “expensive tasting experience”.  Being the only winery that charges to taste the wines, I was disappointed we could only try 4….but hey, we got to take 'home' the stemless Yangarra etched tasting glasses (remember we are currently living in our car so my excitement is obvious sarcasm)! This winery is owned by the American giant, Kendall-Jackson and you can tell they had a lot of money to invest in the state of the art winery and cellar door. It reminded Jean and I of ‘Our Mudgee’, because the vineyard hosted a large block of bush vine Grenache. Not to our surprise the 2013 Old Vine Grenache was also the stand out wine of the small bunch. It was soft yet powerful, fruity yet smokey, and had an everlasting finish. I think the complexity of the wine after each sip is what makes the memory stick.

Fifth stop: The Beach

Thanks again to my friend Georgie and her partner Lauren for hosting us while visiting the region! Georgie and I worked together during a vintage at Tawse Winery in Canada, and I was delighted we could catch up again. They have a wicked spot only 500m away from the beach, and a short drive to the McLaren Vale wine region. So for our last stop we enjoyed the famous Adelaide sunsets over the sea, grinning ear to ear with red wine stained teeth.

We remembered the camera for sunset!

 

Cheers Friends!