By David Ellis from vintnews.
When you have a vineyard that sits directly over Coonawarra’s famed Terra Rossa strip, right where the soil is at its most-shallow above a ridge of marvellous limestone, and you enjoy a fantastic growing season to boot, it’s a pretty safe bet you’re going to create wines to have tongues wagging.
And that’s exactly what Lindeman’s got a couple of years’ back, and from which they’ve now-released their 2013 Limestone Ridge Vineyard Shiraz Cabernet, a premium drop that’s worth every cent of the $60 asking price.
Winemaker Brett Sharpe sums up 2013 simply as “excellent” in Coonawarra, with a warm, dry summer followed by a cool autumn. “We had great fruit set, undertook targeted fruit thinning, and cooler ripening conditions followed by a late ‘Indian Summer,’ which resulted in reds that ripened slowly and fully and provided us with excellent fruit concentration and ripe tannin structure,” Brett says.
With a lovely spiciness to it, oodles of red and black juicy fruit flavours, subtle floral notes and toasty oak, this 2013 Limestone Ridge Shiraz Cabernet is a great drop for special-event dining, and a perfect match with roast beef or lamb dishes.
One to note: The Clare Valley’s Tim Adams took a big punt when he planted his first Pinot Gris after enjoying an Alsace Pinot Gris with an old mate, and afterwards thinking the variety might do well on a couple of sites he had in mind in Clare.
And that punt certainly more than paid off, for today Tim Adams’ is among the top-sellers of premium Australian Pinot Gris, Tim making his from fruit off his own and select other Clare Valley vineyards.
This 2015 is all about mouth-filling flavours of pear, leatherwood honey and peach, off-set with a subtle citrus zest, fruity sweetness on the middle palate, and cleansing acidity. Nicely priced at $22 for a wine of this quality, it’s a natural to enjoy with Asian cuisine, seafood and salads.
