History of Wine behind the label Original authors David Moore and Philip Williamson have been involved with assessing high quality wine for over 20 years. Both have travelled widely and been exposed to hands-on winemaking from Bordeaux to Barossa. Dur- ing the past decade and a half they have contributed to a diverse range of wine information media. They were involved with the London based Vinopo- lis Wine Experience in its inception, ensuring its authenticity as a major Wine tourist attraction. In 2000-2001 they were the principal wine judges for Wine Today Europe for the New York Times. From 2001 the pair pooled their substantial wine tasting expertise to set about creating a wine guide of unprecedented depth and scope. The result, the critically acclaimed Wine behind the label (first edition 2003) covers all the world's top wine producers, and their wines, in a truly global context, in a way no other wine book has before. They both actively sought out new producers, travelling extensively to visit them at their wineries or meet them at the most important of the world's major wine fairs. This mini edition covers the South Australia section of the full guide. They gained wide recognition resulting in three major awards for Wine be- hind the label in 2006 and 2007, the Louis Roederer Wine Guide of the Year, Glenfiddich Drink Book of the Year and the André Simon Drink Book of the Year. Crucially, they have had no commercial links with wine producers in order to maintain their independent stance and unreserved critical analysis. Philip has now left and David has been joined by Neville Blech, already a long standing contributor, to jointly edit this 9th edition. The other contributor to South Australia is Sarah Ahmed. Wine behind the label The ultimate guide to the world’s leading wine producers and their wines 9th edition South Australia Edited by David Moore and Neville Blech ‘An incredibly in-depth and addictively readable survey of wines of quality from around the world with intelligent tasting notes and informative background to the producers, plus stockists and UK prices. For me, by far the best of the wine guides’ Steven Spurrier, Decanter Magazine ‘I’m a fan.’ Hugh Johnson ‘This is Robert Parker territory but succinct and cheaper’ Joanna Simon, Sunday Times ‘With its championing of authenticity of origin, gifted winemakers, smaller producers, organic and biodynamicwinemaking, as well as its wealth of detail, this could well become the annual guide by which all others are judged.’ Fine Wine Magazine ‘... a guide that’s immediately established itself as more or less indispensable.’ Peter McCombie MW, Restaurant Magazine I heartily recommend this book as a thorough independent overview of the world’s best wine estates’ Tom Cannavan, wine-pages.com ‘As essential to the sommelier as their corkscrew’ Paul Dwyer, BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio Scotland ‘If you are passionate about your wine and pay serious attention to sampling the world’s finest bottles then this book should be on your shelf... I would strongly recommend this excellent guide’ Dr Edward Fitzgerald, Oxford University Wine Society ‘...a tremendously useful and comprehensive reference work...(it) is bang up to date. Any wine nut will have a lot of fun with this book’ Jamie Goode, wineanorak.com Wine Behind The Label Ltd www.winebehindthelabel.org First published in 2003 This 9th edition South Australia published in 2014 Published by Wine Behind The Label Ltd 57 Pelham St, London SW7 2NJ Tel +44 (0)207 589 6722 E-mail: [email protected] Copyright © 2014 Wine Behind The Label Ltd Text copyright © 2014 PhilipWilliamson, David Moore & Neville Blech Contributors Sarah Ahmed All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission from the publisher. Designed by Davis Wadicci Whilst every care has been taken in the preparation of this guide, the publishers and authors cannot accept responsibility of any kind for consequences arising from reliance upon information contained in it. Contents Contents Introduction 5 Awards 7 How to use this guide 8 Australia 10 South Australia 11 South Australia’s regions 11 A to Z of producers by region listing 16 Vintages 18 Winery profiles A to B 19 Winery profiles C to F 27 Winery profiles E to J 32 Winery profiles K to L 41 Winery profiles M to O 49 Winery profiles P to S 56 Winery profiles T to Z 66 Other wines of note 76 Author’s choices 85 Grapes 88 Glossary 110 Appendix - Photo credits 124 4 Introduction Introduction Our concept Wine behind the label was first conceived as an ambitious attempt to produce an authoritative single volume guide to producers of quality wines from around the world. We believe we are succeeding in what we set out to achieve but will always view it as a work in progress, continuing to respond to an ever expanding quality spectrum as well as looking for better ways to present our findings. We remain committed to providing both depth and criticism about quality wines whatever their provenance and from as many quality wine producers as possible. It is a guide for enthusiasts or would-be enthusiasts, not for those who can’t detect any differences or don’t care to, yet it is a reference that is accessible to the novice and learned alike. The 9th edition sees a further significant expansion in our reach, uncovering many more producers and this mini edition is created like the other sections of the full guide in a new regional series here covering South Australia. As with the full guide, it is still far from exhaustive but hopefully there’s plenty to sustain your interest. For those new to Wine behind the label we have repeated below what you can expect to find as well as some of our thoughts about wine and winemaking. Behind the label The industrial mentality which has given us brilliant cars and computers doesn’t have a place in high quality wine (or food) production. An essential difference between a high production brand and one produced on a more human scale is the personal effort and commitment that the family or individuals who make it have put into it. We therefore highlight individuality and character over more boring standardized production. We also attempt to bring the producer a little closer to whoever is drinking their wine so that some inkling of their philosophy and effort might enrich the enjoyment the wine brings. We lend our support particularly to small producers and talented winemakers, and wherever we see honesty and integrity but every quality wine is considered on its merits. A small producer, no matter how earnest or sincere, will not make good wine if he or she doesn’t manage the vineyards well and employ sound winemaking practice. Equally, spending exorbitant sums on PR and marketing doesn’t always mean the wine in the bottle is poor – though it is likely given the money spent that it could be better value. Winemaking and a wine’s origins We’ve tried to provide information about where quality and character come from - the most relevant aspects of winemaking, viticulture and vineyard site that contribute to what’s in your glass. There is also information on the extent of a wine’s manipulation such as fining or filtration, and whether organic or biodynamic principles are employed. In the last decade we have witnessed the increasing acceptance of the importance of terroir in tandem with a continued trend to more vineyard specific wine production. Where great wine is a combination of several small parcels it is our hope that more producers will provide details of the individual plots that contribute to the wine’s character. In some cases, celebrated labels are now no longer based on the top vineyard sites that brought early acclaim. We are also keeping tabs on some of the most famous names where the pursuit of profit, lacklustre direction or a change of ownership may have compromised quality. On the other hand we point out where a new, often more highly-trained, generation has made a positive impact or where outside investment has resulted in a new lease of life. 5 Introduction Introduction Really useful stuff This regional guide does contain a lot of information about producers and their wines. In the full edition well over 3,000 producers are covered in depth. Furthermore over 18,000 wines are rated and price coded. The regional coverage here in South Australia is extensive. While some of the finest wines can be hard to get hold of in many instances there is a first point of contact that will sell direct by mail-order or over the Internet. In addtion there are a number of features that will help you find the information you want more quickly. The lists of producers by appellation or region (at the end of the section’s introduction) is an excellent way to find or familiarize yourself with producers from a favourite area. There are also single page map inserts covering both Australia and South Australia for quick reference to less well-known regions. For the many readers who only have time to dip in and out of the book we would encourage you to use the ‘Author’s Choice’ lists at the end of the mini guide. These contain at least one wine from most of a region’s best producers and make a useful alternative starting point to discovering new wines.