Tag: Barossa Valley

Visiting the Barossa Valley

The Barossa Valley is a fairly straightforward 70 minute drive from the city of Adelaide. Its close proximity makes a day trip possible if you are visiting the city but don’t have the time for an extended trip out to wine country. A number of small towns and villages make up the region of which Nuriootpa (many of the locals just refer to it as Nuri), Tanunda and Angaston make a reasonable base for tours around the many cellar doors. There are many accommodation options to suit all preferences and budgets but is is always best to book ahead as the area can get busy, especially at weekends and public holidays. We stayed at the Novotel Resort at Rowland Flat just a few kilometres from Tanunda. The same principle applies to cellar door visits, it is much quieter during the week than at weekends.

SOME BAROSSA VALLEY WINE FACTS

  • First vineyard plantings date back to 1843 making it one of the oldest wine regions in Australia. Much of the early planting was done by German settlers.
  • The Barossa is Phylloxera free which means that it has many old vines, some over one hundred years old.
  • There are around 13500 hectares of vines in the Barossa
  • 80% on all plantings are red wine varieties
  • 50% of all planting is Shiraz making it the dominant grape of the Barossa
  • There are around 150 wineries and 80+ cellar doors in the region.

With so many cellar doors to visit a plan is essential. There are several large, well known producers in the area; Wolf Blass, Penfolds, Yalumba, Peter Lehmann and Jacobs Creek for example. All are open to visitors for tasting and in some cases tours. A visit to the region however also affords the opportunity to try wines from growers with whom you may not be as familiar. Maps and lots of useful information are available here and here . Suggested routes are also available on Barossa Wine Trails

Getting around is obviously much easier if you have a car as some of the wineries such as Henschke and Thorn Clarke are a way out from the main towns but are well worth a visit. Driving of course means that someone has to be the designated driver. It is possible to join an organised tour and taxis are another possibility. Bike hire is available and we used Barossa Bike Hire in Nuriootpa for one day of our visit. This gives easy access to the 13Km cycle track from Nuriootpa to Angaston. From this you can head out to the cellar doors by means of the small roads that bisect the track at regular intervals

Exactly where to go will depend on your own preferences. Below is our itinerary for a two day visit to the area.

Day 1 

Thorn Clarke – Gawler Park Road. Visit their website here

Gibson Wines – 190 Willows Road, Light Pass. Nice ride on quiet roads to the winery. Visit their website here

Willows Estate – 310 Light Pass Road. Visit their website here

Day 2

Barossa Farmers Market – Angaston Road. Saturday only 7.30-11.30. Visit their website here for further details.

Henschke – 1428 Keyneton Road. A fair drive out of Angaston but well worth it. Visit their website here. You can read a post of our visit here

 

Artisans of Barossa – Cnr Magnolia and Light Pass. Six great, small production winemakers together under one roofVisit their website here. You can read a post of our visit here

Rockford Wines – 131 Krondorf Road. Visit their website here

 Charles Melton Wines – 194 Krondorf Road. Visit their website here. You can read a post of our visit here

 

Notes from 38000 feet.

Trying to occupy myself on the fourteen hour leg from Singapore back home I wrote a few short notes about our trip to Singapore, New Zealand and Australia. The list is below and I haven’t added anything since I got back so it really is a snapshot with little editing. If I were to compile it now it might be a little different but probably not much.  The list is in no particular order and lots of research went in to 1, 8 and 12.

  1. New Zealanders make the best coffee.
  2. Singapore is an excellent stopover en route to New Zealand, there is so much to see and do.
  3. 23Kg is a more than generous luggage allowance and you don’t need to use it all and you have to lug it around with you.
  4. I thought I knew what rain was until I went to tropical Queensland.
  5. Botanic gardens don’t have to be dull and boring
  6. New Zealand is a wonderful country in which to drive a  car, the roads are so quiet.
  7. Koala Bears are bigger than I imagined and difficult to spot in the trees.
  8. Craft beer is a big thing in New Zealand and beers are very good.
  9. The breakfast on Singapore Airlines is excellent
  10. There is so much more to the Red Centre of Australia than Uluru.
  11. Spending part of the winter in the Southern Hemisphere is so much better than spending it in the cold and damp of the UK.
  12. Old vine Grenache from the Barossa Valley really is excellent
  13. There is hardly any litter in New Zealand.
  14. Almost everyone we met on our trip were positive, friendly and helpful
  15. There is so much still to see and do in Australia. We need to go back as soon as we can.

Henschke

The Henschke family have been making wine in Keyneton in the Eden Valley in South Australia for 150 years. Their wines include Hill of Grace and Mount Edelstone, two of the most sought after Australian Shiraz wines. In this post we concentrate on some of their other wines tasted at a recent visit.

The wines of Henschke are superb, reflecting the care and attention in both the vineyard and winery. They are well worth searching out.

You can view the Henschke website here

Julius Eden Valley Riesling 2017

Pale lime in appearance. Fresh and zingy with bags of lime citrus fruit and great minerality. A nice weight and a good finish. Excellent.

Eleanors Cottage Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon Adelaide Hills/Eden Valley 2015

Aromas of gooseberry, fresh grass/nettle and stone fruit. Palate is full and fresh. Nice weight, lovely balance. Delicious.

Louis Semillon Eden Valley 2015

Aromas of pear, apple and camembert. Palate has nice weight and balance with stone fruits and lime citrus on the finish.

Archers Vineyard Chardonnay Adelaide Hills 2016

Lemon citrus with a touch of vanilla and almond, crisp and fresh. Has spent 8 months in oak and no malolactic fermentation. Very nice, very drinkable

Giles Pinot Noir Adelaide Hills 2015

Very pale but bursting with aromas of cherry, strawberry and cranberry. Palate has these red fruits with lovely touch of spice and savoury flavours. Excellent.

Henry Seven Eden Valley/Barossa Valley 2015

65% Shiraz, 20% Grenache, 10% Mataro, 7% Viognier. Aromas of red berry fruits and cherry. A medium bodied wine with lovely peppery, spicy red fruit on the palate. Easy drinking king style. A good all rounder.

Johann’s Garden Barossa Valley 2015

70% Grenache, 25% Mataro, 5% Shiraz. Ruby red in colour. Medium bodied with red fruits and spice. A lovely finish of red fruit with white pepper.

Keyneton Euphonium Barossa Valley/Eden Valley 2013

45% Shiraz, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc. Red/garnet in appearance. Full bodied with ripe, plummy fruit. There is a savoury note and chocolate along with a touch of mint. A rich wine with tannins beginning to soften. This is excellent.

Marble Angel Barossa Valley 2012.

100% Cabernet Sauvignon and is the first vintage of this wine released on to the market. Still youthful in appearance. Nose is black fruits, green pepper and eucalyptus. Palate is full and rich with tannins that are beginning to integrate.

Cyril Hanschke Cabernet Sauvignon Eden Valley 2013

88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, 5% Merlot. Youthful with hints of maturity beginning to show. N one is black fruits, plum and vanilla. Palate has depth nd is complex with nice balance and weight. Finish is dry with blackcurrant and a hint of cooling mint. A long life ahead of it before peaking. Excellent.

Tappa Pass Shiraz Eden Valley/Barossa Valley 2015

Youthful appearance. Black fruits, farms and peppery. Palate is smooth with plummy black fruits and chocolate. Tannins still firm. A complex wine that delivers a big punch and has great balance. A very good shiraz that will benefit from cellaring.

Noble Rot Semillon Eden Valley 2015

157g/l residual sugar. Pale yellow gold in appearance. Aromas of apricot and peach with orange and caramel. Palate is rich with tropical pineapple and honey and great balance. Very nice.