I think the Hunter is severely underrated..and when I say that, I'm referring to Australia. The rest of the world barely knows it exists...which is a shame because with the current trend for wine, Hunter Shiraz is actually more in that vein of what wine geeks are looking for. This isn't to say other regions don't make great wine..they do...It is just that Hunter Shiraz ticks all of the current wine geek boxes (not to mention good aged Semillon is impossible to find outside of Australia).
Capercaillie
I've wanted to come here for awhile..Overall very solid wines but to me they're mainly crowd pleasing wines...I tried a majority of their range but I'll just comment on the ones I think are worth making a statement about.
Capercaillie 2008 The Clan: A Bordeaux blend made from several different regions (I think the majority is from SA) although I'm not sure which regions those are. A solid performer, not quite the structure I'd want from a Bordeaux blend but I can see a lot of people enjoying this wine. A bit hot Alcohol wise (or maybe I'm mixing this up). 16% and showing every bit of it. But again, I think people, in general, will enjoy this..
Capercaillie 2008 Ceilidh Shiraz: This is also not Hunter fruit (since 2008 was a really bad year). I was told this was also 16% but it hides it much better than the Clan. It doesn't feel too heavy but still, it is very much a SA Shiraz...Clean..Lowish acid...This wine is also lowish tannin so it completes the fruit bomb description although it isn't too much of a fruit bomb. This is another crowd pleaser....but not what I'm looking for..not from the Hunter anyways...
Capercaillie 2007 Ghillie Shiraz. Only made in the best Hunter Years and only from Hunter fruit...This is their flagship wine. Very well made, good acidity, maybe a bit bigger alcohol wise than I want from a Hunter but seems like 2007 is typical of that. Getting a bit of the Hunter nose but not a lot...A little bit of leather, red fruit..dark fruits...It is oddly very clean tasting. My wife actually enjoyed this one quite a bit...it is definitely a wine most wine geeks would like. It is almost like they cleaned out most of what the Hunter is while still maintaining some of the Hunter. Maybe a good intro for non wine geeks to the Hunter? Could be...
Overall: Not currently what I'm looking for...but I can see this place been incredibly popular with a lot of people...especially on wine tours, etc. You can't really go wrong here as all of the wine was made very well and I'm very certain most non wine geeks would love the wine here....
http://www.capercailliewine.com.au/
McLeish Estate:
Another one I've wanted to go to for awhile...I've had their wine before...Their semillon has always been pretty solid...They had a lot of different things to taste and my wife really enjoyed herself here.
McLeish Estate 2011 Semillon: A pretty good young Semillon. Good Acid, not too much development yet (and there wouldn't be) but a very nice tasting young semillon. Lemon curd, a bit of grass...very clean tasting at this point...
McLeish Estate 2009 Semillon: Apparently this has been very highly regarded but to me it looks like it is dying. Some development as far as toast and honey goes...but where is the acid? It can't be gone in a few years...I've actually had older McLeish Semillons so I know this isn't right....It might've been fantastic before, but for anyone that has it, I'd drink up. There is no way this goes the long haul...it just does not have the right structure to age like a proper Hunter Semillon....
McLeish Estate 2007 Semillon: I've tried this before but trying it right after the 2009 confirmed exactly what I thought about the 2009. This is still a very good semillon...Great development with nutty toasty notes..a bit of honey, lemon and most importantly, it still has acidity.....My only issue is the price. It might be worth it but at $40, it is competing with Vat 1, Thomas and other very established Semillons....That said, it is an excellent wine.
McLeish Estate 2003 Semillon. This one is WEIRD. I don't want to call it bad because that isn't what strikes me at first. I wouldn't guess this is semillon. The wine isn't poorly made, it has some lemon and toast characters but there is some really odd flavor coming from this wine. The person working there told me there were brushfires that year and that smoke is coming out into the wine...Apparently this is a member favorite....The wine is not bad...I just have no way to assess this one it is too weird...
McLeish Estate 2010 Chardonnay. A good Chardonnay for non Chardonnay drinkers...not oaky at all...decent acidity and it actually comes across as a little bit sweet. My wife really likes this one. I think it is just ok.
McLeish Estate 2010 Reserve Chardonnay: This wine has a lot more structure to it than the first one. A good overall Chardonnay with a bit Peach, citrus fruit and a bit of cashew (which is coming across a lot of Hunter Chardonnay). Good overall wine.
McLeish Estate 2009 Shiraz. Nose tells you it is Hunter right away. Leather, a little pepper, some dirt, red fruit, a bit of crushed rock. Good Hunter acidity, smooth tannins...Really nice red fruit. A very well made Hunter. I'm not sure the structure for the long haul is there but so what? It is drinking great right now...Not so Hunterish that it'll scare away newcomers but it is definitely a Hunter Shiraz.. A really good buy here at $22.
Mcleish Estate 2008 Reserve Shiraz. This is made from fruit sourced from the McLaren Vale. The person working there seemed to really love this wine...It was a McLaren Vale Shiraz. I wouldn't call it made in the Hunter style...it was pretty good but not quite what I'm looking for at this point. To be honest, at the price point they want, there are some places in the McLaren Vale that I'd rather buy from directly. That isn't to say this wasn't a good wine..it was...Big fruit, lowish acid, low tannins...tasted good. McLaren Vale Shiraz..
