Tag Archives: Mattinson

Best Hunter Valley wineries to visit

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This is the first part of a four-part series on visiting the Hunter Valley.  The other three blog posts which will be introduced over the next month, include:

  • Places to stay in Hunter Valley
  • Places to eat in Hunter Valley
  • Hunter Valley events and activities

But visiting The Hunter Valley is first and foremost about wine, so we will start there.  With over 150 wineries in The Hunter Valley, there is bound to be some differences of opinion, so let me start off by saying that my recommendations do not mean I am recommending the very best wines in The Hunter Valley, even though that is a large component of my ratings.  I often get asked what are the best wineries to visit, often with the qualification of wanting to find a secret or lesser known one off the beaten path, and not just be directed to the ‘big boys.’  But it would be a discredit to some of the big boys to leave them off the list.  I am offering my opinions based on (1) wine quality, (2) landscape and ambiance, and (3) any other unique or interesting features to consider.

#1 overall winery in The Hunter Valley:  Tyrrell’s Wines

From my point of view, the clear winner as the best winery in The Hunter Valley is Tyrrell’s Wines.  They are located on Broke Road in Pokolbin.  This is the safest stop of any winery as they have the best wines from whites to reds and in every price range.  Everyone can find a wine here they enjoy.  The prices are very reasonable.  Tyrrell’s is also an Australian First Families of Wine and is one of the oldest multi-generational winemaking families in Australia.  They have beautiful views, are host to the annual Jazz in the Vines jazz day and concerts and provide interesting tours of the vineyards and winery.

Tyrrell’s is known for their iconic and numerously awarded Vat 1 Semillon and Vat 9 Shiraz among many great wines.  The 1999 Tyrrels’ Vat 1 is listed as one of the 1001 Wines You Must Taste Before You Die.  The 2005 Tyrrell’s Vat 1 received so many Gold medals they have to overlap them to fit them all on the bottle!  They also offer a very nice loyalty program.  If I do not know who the audience is who asking where to visit, I will state Tyrrell’s is a must stop.  Many of the very best Australian winemakers got their start at Tyrrell’s.

#2 overall winery in The Hunter Valley:  Meerea Park

Similar to Tyrrell’s, Meerea Park has excellent wines, both white and red in all price ranges.  The winemaker, Rhys Eather, is one of the annointed six Next Generation Winemakers in the Hunter Valley.  He makes truly outstanding wines.  Their top-end Alexander Munro series museum wines will last a quarter century or longer.  The biggest, best Shiraz I have ever had is the 1998 Meerea Park Alexander Munro and it is still tight at 15 years of age!  On the other end is their XYZ series of wines, which are outstanding wines and great value for the money.  Meerea Park just moved into the Tempus Two complex at the corner of MacDonalds and Broke Roads in Pokolbin.  They also are a small family-owned business with Rhys making the wine and Garth selling it.  I have learned a lot about wine just chatting with Garth who is open and friendly.

#3 overall winery in The Hunter Valley:  McWilliams Mount Pleasant

McWilliams Mount Pleasant is another winery with great selection of whites and reds in all price brackets.  They have excellent Semillons and Shiraz and a very nice Muscato from Evans & Tate.  They have magnificent facilities in terms of cellar door, tasting rooms, a nice restaurant, and also have some of the most beautiful vistas in The Hunter Valley.  McWilliams is often a starting point of breakfast followed by a mid- or late-morning tasting before heading off elsewhere.  If you are into the facilities and scenery, you would place McWilliams as #1 or #2 winery in your list of Hunter Valley wineries.  One of my very favorite wines is the 2007 Maurice O’Shea Shiraz which Campbell Mattinson awarded as the best Australian Shiraz for that year.  McWilliams is also in the elite Australian First Families of Wine group.

Best red winemaker in The Hunter Valley:  De Iuliis Wines

In my book, De Iuliis Wines under the ownership of Mike De Iuliis makes the best reds available.  De Iuliis, year-in, year-out makes some of the best Shiraz in The Hunter Valley.  He also now controls arguably the best Shiraz vineyard (Steven vineyard) in The Hunter Valley.  Michael is also one of the six Next Generation Winemakers in the Hunter Valley.  Visiting the cellar door at De Iuliis is a great experience.  The produce great white wines also, but I focus on buying my reds from DeIuliis.  They also have a nice restaurant and craft shop.  De Iuliis is located on Broke Road just down past Tyrrell’s.  The thing I love about De Iuliis is that you often find Michael behind the counter or just around the corner and their cellar door manager is among the most knowledgeable around.  You always get great service and tastings at De Iuliis.

Best white winemaker in The Hunter Valley:  Scarborough Wines

There is a lot of great Semillon and Chadonnay wine produced in the Hunter Valley and based on vintage, a number of wineries could qualify for this award.  But overall, year-in, year-out, one of the best tasting experiences of white wines comes at Scarborough.  They have two locations in the Hunter Valley and I still like the original location on Gillards Road as the best in terms of scenery and ambiance.   Their newer location is on Hermitage Road.  They make three quite different style Chardonnays and I personally like the White Label the best.  Their tastings are one of the best run I have been involved in and it is always a privilege to bring people to Scarborough for a tasting.

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View from Audrey Wilkinson winery

Best all-around visit, landscape and architecture:  Audrey Wilkinson

Audrey Wilkinson’s is perched up DeBeyers Road in Pokolbin.  It has beautiful vistas and the architecture and buildings are among the most beautiful of any winery in The Hunter Valley.  But they would not make the list unless they had great wines also.  They have some excellent whites and reds in all price ranges.  Their Wrattonbully Cabernet Sauvignon is among the best I have had.  This is a great place to visit, taste and take pictures.

Best new-found winery (by me anyway!):  McLeish Estates

I had heard of McLeish Estate for some time, but with so many other great Hunter Valley wineries I was already familiar with, I never made it by to try their wines.  But when I read that their 2007 Reserve Semillon took global honors, I knew I had to stop by and try them out.  And so glad that I did!  They have an excellent lineup of wines, with the Reserve Chardonnay and Semillon really being outstanding.  They also have an excellent Rose which got me drinking Rose again after 30 years and I am glad I did!

McLeish Estates is on the other  side of DeBeyers Road (from Audrey Wilkinson) and behind Lake Folly’s so you know they have some excellent parcels of land for growing grapes.  What I love about McLeish is that it is a true family run business.  If daughter Jessica is not behind the counter, then parents Bob and Maryanne are.  Bob tends the vines when not serving and Maryanne the accounts when not serving.  This is a great place to visit and show your visitors you know The Hunter Valley and all of its special spots!  And Andrew Thomas is the Chief winemaker, another one of the six Next Generation Hunter Valley Winemakers.

Other wineries of note and worth a visit

I have picked out 7 of the 150 or so wineries in The Hunter Valley and each deserves a visit.  The other great thing about these wineries is that they are within kilometers of each other and it is possible to do all 7 in one day or over a weekend.  But there are so many other good wineries to try including Lindemans, Brokenwood (both in the heart of Pokolbin), Margans (past Tyrrell’s and De Iuliis) for tasting and food, Two Rivers in the Upper Hunter Valley (about 75 minutes away), Waverley Estates for some of the best aged white wines you can find, De Bertoli for stickies, Tamburlaine for organic wines, Tintilla Estate for Sangiovese and Shiraz, and so on.

Another one I am going to try is 201 in Rothbury.  They make wines out of secondary grapes such as Durif, Chambourcin, and Barbera in addition to Semillon.  I have heard good things about this winery and it being another family-run labor of love.  I am going to check it out next time I am in The Hunter Valley.

These are the wineries I take my visitors to first and make for a great day or weekend out.  But, of course, one has to eat when drinking wine all day, so my next post on The Hunter Valley will focus on where to eat.  Until them happy drinking!

 

Steve Shipley, author Wine Sense, out early 2014. Published by InkIT Publishing
© 2013.  Steve Shipley
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Twitter:  Steve Shipley @shipleyaust;   InkIT Publishing @inkitpub

What authority do I have to write a wine blog? – Part 1

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With the Internet and social media, there now exists a global forum for distributing and sharing information.  Everyone can become a writer, a blogger, or an educator. Unfortunately, just providing the medium to communicate, does not make everyone a good communicator – in fact, far from it.  Too many people now can publish without the filter of an editor, a reviewer or a publisher.  While this has allowed for the success of a few great writers who would not have otherwise been found, it has mostly just added pages to the web of limited or no value.

There exists a lot of crap on the ‘net, some of the material incorrect or worse, misleading, and some of it vitriol and hurtful, if not downright shameful.  The Internet provides a public forum, and recreates a town hall setting where issues can be raised and debated.  I find this exciting and a leap forward – not backward – in communications and relationships.  Yet, too many people hide behind an avatar, or feel they can be disrespectful in addressing others 12,000 miles away without recourse.  This sometimes turns the public forum into the ‘pubic’ forum unfortunately.

I thought about writing a wine blog for almost a year before actually writing my first entry.  My bride who writes DAZ in the Kitchen asked if I would consider being a guest blogger as she did not have time that week (almost 18 months ago) to write her post.  With trepidation, I agreed and 30 minutes later had an article which at least would help my wife avoid the need to write something herself that week.  What was exciting was that two people commented positively on the entry and provided me encouragement that maybe I did have something of value to share.

Yet, through having done a lot of wine topical reading, it was clear that (1) I was not a professional writer as many are who make it their career, and (2) I am not as knowledgeable on wine topics as many others are that I admired such as Jancis Robinson, Campbell Mattinson, or James Halliday.  These individuals are great writers and experts in their field.  I read a brilliant article yesterday entitled “Halliday’s last O’Shea” by Mattinson in Voracious: The Best New Australian Food Writing edited by Paul McNally.  It was so powerful, I was shaking and delighted in every word Mattinson shared with us about the unique dinner and wine drinking experience that he, Halliday and others partook in.  (Halliday’s generosity also comes through on wanting to share such a great bottle with friends which in my opinion makes Halliday a wine enthusiast instead of a wine snob as judged in my article “Wine Snob versus Wine Enthusiast – which one are you?” even though in either case, Halliday must certainly be considered a wine expert!  Expertise has nothing to do with being a snob or enthusiast – attitude does!

But these individuals – Robinson, Mattinson and Halliday – have written multiple books, write about wine as a full-time profession and are absolute experts in their field.

So the question remains, “What gives me the authority to write a wine blog?”

First of all, I actually do not need authority.  I am not requesting anyone to buy anything, or to even take the time to read my posts.  That is clearly and entirely up to them.  And the number of posts and comments continues to grow, so I feel good that it appears to be of value to a community of like-minded readers out there.

I write because I enjoy writing and it helps me organize and challenge my thoughts and views with regard to wine.  I also provide a “common man’s voice” which strikes an accord with my audience (you don’t need to worry about me providing non-essential information to the 99.999% of us who will never, ever be able to try the ’27 LeTache!).  Therefore, there does seem to exist an audience who is interested and finds value with what I have to say, at least to the point of them investing several minutes to read what I write.

2009 Molines Chardonnay and SAZ in the Cellar messy desk

And I have some areas of expertise that even the experts mentioned above do not have that I can share.  I have a place in the Hunter Valley, and have made some great and intimate relationships there and have drank wines from the private cellars of the best Hunter Valley wineries and wine makers, and have learned much of the lore and unique aspects of the Hunter Valley and its characters.  The wine pictured above that I am drinking while I write this post is a 2009 Molines Chardonnay.  This wine is a beautiful medium bodied Chardonnay that is the product of Robert and Sally Molines (proprietors of one of the very few Hatted restaurants in rural Australia called Bistro Molines) chardonnay grapes from their property, crafted by wine make PJ Charteris who until recently was the chief wine maker at Brokenwood, and is annointed as one of the six famous “new generation Hunter Valley wine makers.”  (Chateris nows has his own winery in New Zealand which produces great Pinot Noirs which is also taking more of his time and is worth checking out.)

The only way to get any of this great Molines Chardonnay is to either buy it through the restaurant or become friends of Robert and Sally and get some directly from them.  Robinson, Mattinson nor Halliday will be able to describe this wonderful wine to you, explain where and how to get it, etc., but SAZ in the Cellar can!  Therefore, while certainly limited, I can educate others in a few areas that world renown experts cannot!

In part two of this post, I will be reviewing discussions I have had with Dr. Ian Harper who has published “Economics for Life” and Blake Stevens  who published just last week “Still Stupid at Sixty” on their assessment of the authority they have to write.  Both questioned if it existed, both questioned if they had a story worth telling and the ability to tell it, yet both have created riveting and useful books that are of great benefit to many others.  Their authority rings through loud and clear.

I am taking my authority from the growing number of page views and good comments, plus the fact that I do this as much for myself as I do for others, and from the wines I drink and the stories they tell me.

[Note:  There was an error when trying to link to Halliday’s Wine Companion, so once that is resolved, I will update this entry to provide that link.]