Setting the scene

McLaren Vale is one of South Australia's most beautiful wine regions, just 45 minutes drive from the city of Adelaide, on the Fleurieu Peninsula. Vines cover the valley floor from the foot of the Adelaide Hills to the rugged cliffs and beaches. The region enjoys an almost Mediterranean climate, and though vines are now the major crop by far, olives and almonds grow wild throughout the region and fishermen land squid from nearby piers. McLaren Vale has become almost synonymous with Shiraz, most often expressed here in richly fruity wines with cherry, plum and spice aromas. But many other red wine grapes flourish, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Grenache and Mourvèdre, and smaller amounts of many others, of which Tempranillo, Petit Verdot, and Sangiovese are probably most prevalent.

Liquid gold

The winemaking scene

Historically, most farms in McLaren Vale grew grapes, but didn't make wine. They sold their fruit to wineries locally, and across South Australia. Many of these farms have turned partially, or even entirely, to making 'estate wine' from their fruit. As yet there are relatively few wineries that are fully equipped to carry out every process from crushing to bottling, so a number of contract winemaking operations around the Fleurieu Peninsula provide service to smaller producers, and a couple of large bottling companies carry out the vast majority of bottlings.

Techno vs. classical

Sweet spotting

four estates

Rosemount

I met up with Andrew Locke, winemaker for Rosemount here in their large operation on the McLaren Flat. Though Rosemount's roots are in the Hunter Valley, the company grew, became multi-regional, and eventually became part of Fosters, the world's biggest wine group. This is now a seriously large facility, crushing 22,000 tonnes of grapes annually, which equates to around one fifth of the entire crush for McLaren Vale. As well as producing such well-known McLaren Vale names as Rosemount Show Reserve Shiraz, GSM and their top Shiraz, The Balmoral, other wines made here will go into South Australian-labelled blends like Rosemount Diamond Label.

I spoke to Andrew about my perception of the Rosemount Diamond Label brand, which was once king of the BOGOFs and deep discounts, and which really discredited the brand in my eyes. "It was a crazy period," he says with a sigh, "and eventually the only time we ever sold any wine was through BOGOFs. People just waited for offers, and never bought wine in between. We don't play that game anymore." The Diamond label wines, in distinctive new packaging with funky diamond-shaped bottles, have recently been relaunched in the UK. The old Diamond Label brand had become very poor wines in my opinion. I found the new wines to be more moderately oaked, and less sweet than before, though still too sweet for my own palate. Whether Fosters can resist playing the BOGOF game again with this wine remains to be seen.

Battle of Bosworth

Jock Bosworth and his partner Louise Helmsey-Smith entertained me for a full day at their beautiful old 1850's farmstead home, surround by their extensive vineyards, part of which are farmed organically. They have also been reintroducing native vegetation in gullies and dried-up creeks around the farm, creating an idyllic little patch of McLaren Vale. Jock is a fairly serious grape grower and supplier to many wineries, but a percentage of his production goes into his own Battle of Bosworth label, that has been "Wine of the Week" on wine-pages recently. This is an intriguing range, including an Amarone-style wine called White Boar, made by cutting the cordons on Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, then leaving the bunches to dry on the vine in the heat and breeze of McLaren Vale, before fermenting into a 16% alcohol blockbuster.

Geoff Merrill

On of the great names of Australian winemaking, Geoff Merrill invited me to his picture postcard winery, where the rolling vines, rose garden and duck pond have been all but surrounded by city suburbs. Merrill produces five ranges of wine, starting with the Geoff Merrill brand that sells for around $15 AUS, and moving up through single varietals and reserve wines to the pinnacle of the portfolio, the superb Henley Shiraz, which is one of Australia's most expensive wines at $150 per bottle. All red wines start off being treated equally: they are vinified and spend one year in American oak barrels. At this point, a barrel tasting determines which wines are good enough for the reserve ranges. These are filled into 2nd use French oak (previously used for Reserve Chardonnay) and just eight barrels selected for The Henley Shiraz.

The Henley is a truly world class wine, that I served blind in a tasting seminar I presented to 60 winemakers as part of this trip. The Merrill logo represents a set of scales, which Geoff hopes sums up the Henley and indeed all of his wines: 'Perfectly balanced'. See current stockists of Geoff Merrill wines on wine-searcher Geoff Merrill Sauvignon Blanc 2006 Very pale colour, but lovely zippy, bright Sauvignon nose with tropical fruit and plenty of vibrant gooseberry and a hint currant leafy quality. Fine palate, with plenty of power and zip, perhaps a little too alcoholic for me, but real zest and bite in one of the better McLaren Vale Sauvignons.

Serafino and Shingleback

Serafino is an impressive wine making facility, built as part of a complex of restaurant, conference facilities and more on Kangarilla Road called 'McLarens on the Lake'. The ebullient Steve Maglieri owns Serafino, and winemaking is under the control of Chief Winemaker, Scott Rawlinson, pictured right. Fruit for Serafino's own wines is sourced from the 300-acre family vineyard, comprising Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Chardonnay and Sangiovese amongst others.

Scott has a large, very well equipped cellar at his disposal, and can dabble in small lots that he makes for clients, as well as very carefully made wines for Serafino. Also making thier wines in this facility is Shingleback, one of the hottest properties in South Australia. Shingleback won the Jimmy Watson Trophy in 2006 for their Shiraz, and their wines have picked up scores in the mid-90s from Robert Parker. Shingleback is owned by Winemaker/Viticulturist John Davey, whose 320-acre estate vineyard is on land purchased by the family in 1959. I met with Shingleback's English-born Winemaker Dan Hills, a modest and endlessly patient character, with whom I shared a beer or two on my first night in the Vale, and who was also Chairman of the McLaren Vale Show.