TAYLORS WINES, CLARE VALLEY SOUTH AUSTRALIA

If you're planning a visit to a wine area make sure you visit one of the big producers. They set a benchmark against which the smaller winemakers can be evaluated. Sometimes the big guys surprise you and often they disappoint. Which is why we had to visit Taylors and we are so glad we did. This family owned winery has achieved so much in 50 years and with what we tasted the future looks outstanding. 

Most wine drinkers would be familiar with their Estate Label featuring the sea horse logo. Sadly it's become a  label at the mercy of the volume retailers who manipulate the market with huge variations in price. Their Jaraman range is far more obscure but even that is currently on some retail shelves for 60% of their cellar door price. The vintages we tasted were outstanding.

Our Cellar Door visit highlight was tasting their two ranges that aren't on retail shelves: the TWP and Taylor Made Range. Contact the winery for these on 08 8849 1118 or email cdsales@taylorswines.com.au.

We tasted a lot of wines. Here are the ones that scored the 5/5 rating from us. It's a long list  with their cellar door prices. Be careful of the vintages, the ones listed are what we tasted. Insist on those.

ESTATE RANGE [$20]  lowest I've seen in the last 12 months is $11

2018 Sauvignon Blanc [Adelaide Hills] 

2018 Tempranillo

JARAMAN RANGE [$25 for chardonnay, $32 for reds] Currently $20 to $23 at Dan Murphy, but check the vintages.

2017 Chardonnay

2017 Pinot Noir [Yarra Valley]

2017 Shiraz 

2016 Cabernet Sauvignon [Coonawarra/Clare Valley]

TAYLORS WINEMAKER'S PROJECT

2017 Riesling $25

2015 Tasmania Pinot Noir $40

2017 Shiraz $25

2017 Cabernet Sauvignon $25

TAYLOR MADE [$25]

2016 Pinot Noir [Adelaide Hills]

2017 Malbec

2017 Shiraz

2017 BDX [Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Malbec/Cabernet Franc blend]

A CHARDY FOR THE TRUE BELIEVERS

 AC BYRNE 2018 CHARDONNAY


For a budget priced chardonnay this ticks all the boxes. The wood is there without dominating while the fruit is well rounded with an added dash of zing. The palate weight is satisfying and there's absolutely no doubt it's chardonnay. This deserves a try.

REGION: Margaret River, Western Australia
A/V: 13.2% 
PRICE: $8.99
FROM: Aldi, Australia
RATING: 4.5/5 from me 

PERFECTLY PALATE PLEASING

If you're a chardy drinker being swamped by the ocean of sauvignon blanc you'll love this at a mere $7. It has sensible wood to balance definite varietal fruit. It's not a world beater but it ticks all the boxes at this price

ONE ROAD 2018 CHARDONNAY
GRAPE VARIETIES: Chardonnay
REGION: A blend from two premium South Australian regions: Padthaway and Eden Valley


A/V: 13.5% 
PRICE: $6.99
FROM: Aldi, Australia
RATING: 4.5/5 from me 

AN INTRIGUING QUADRUPLE BLEND

This is another bargain from the recent Continente sale. 
Complex, surprisingly mellow and warmly inviting this is a masterful blend. I would have loved an opportunity to taste the components individually before the blend was put together

MULA VELHA 2016 PREMIUM WHITE
GRAPE VARIETIES: Fernao Pires, Arinto, Chardonnay and Verdelho
REGION: Lisboa, Portugal
A/V: 13% 
PRICE: 2.99 euro [marked down from 9.99]
FROM: Continente, Portugal
RATING: 5/5 from me 

DEFINITELY NOT WORTH 9.99 euro!

That's the original asking price Continente reckon before reducing it to 2.99. Even then there are so many better wines out there.
This is quite a hard, austere white without much enticing fruit. Some will like it but the markdown claim annoys me.

CALHANDRIZ 2016 PREMIUM WHITE 
GRAPE VARIETIES: Arinto and Chardonnay
REGION: Lisboa, Portugal
A/V: 13% 
PRICE: 2.99 euro [reduced from 9.99]
FROM: Continente, Portugal
RATING: 2/5 from me 

Vina Maipo 2016 Classic Series Chardonnay

A front label description of "A smooth wine with tropical fruit flavours" gives the game away here. There's not much acid so this is a soft, drink NOW proposition. All the way from Chile it's an easy drinking, style that will neither offend nor excite. At the price it's good value.
3.5/5 rating from me  
£5.00 from Sainsbury's

LIKE A BIT OF CHARDONNAY WITH YOUR WOOD?

On first tasting this is like being hit over the head with a lump of 4 by 2. And that's a shame because on Day 2 the wood had become so much less overt. Day 3 and we had a wine that even The Bride could enjoy.

So here we have a very cheap wine that I reckon has worthwhile cellaring potential. The fruit is spot on, there's plenty of crisp acidity and unfortunately planks of wood. It just needs time to integrate.

Jean Giner 2015 Pays D'oc Chardonnay 

 

2.99 Euro from Aldi. France

4/5 RATING FROM ME

Peos Estate 2013 Four Kings Chardonnay

This is one of the most exciting chardonnays we've ever offered.
Yes, it's a big call but then again we've tasted it and you haven't!

In the second half of 2014 I started  searching for a big, fat , buttery, wooded old fashioned chardonnay. And while I still haven't found it, this beauty turned up amongst all the samples we received.
Peos Estate [Manjimup WA] sent a sample of their 2011 and 2013 vintages under their Four Aces label. We road tested them over 4 days and while we would have happily settled for the superb 2011 the younger release just blew it away.
We sold the first pallet in a blink and had no hesitation ordering a second one.  Strangely the second pallet arrived labelled "Four Kings" and as far as we can tell it's pretty much the same apart from the spelling.

This wine is all about balance and complexity. There are so many layers of flavour that reveal themselves as you progress through the bottle and yet none of these elements clash with any other part of the wine. It really is quite extraordinary how it works.
There is just a mere scraping of butteriness amongst glorious fruit that's been achieved with just 12.5% a/v. Consequently there's plenty of acid that holds the promise of a fascinating and lengthy cellar life.
The Peos back label description is spot on apart from missing the point that this a truly outstanding wine:
"Lifted aromas of nectarine, waxy citrus leaf and subtle complex toasty notes. The palate is focused and weighty featuring stone fruits and delicate spicy, vanillin oak flavours. There are flinty, nutty undertones supported by firm, fresh acidity."

Our Price: $13 per bottle by the dozen

SOLD OUT

Dromana Estate 2004 Chardonnay

IS THIS THE BEST CHARDONNAY IN AUSTRALIA?
For me this was one of the stars of this years SIWC Top 100 exhibition. Although as a long term fan of this wine I must confess I approached it with considerable bias. If you'd like to have a look a the judges comments its always worth a read to see how their opinions vary.
http://www.top100wines.com/wines/showoneitem-new.asp?ItemID=2235&Year=2008&section=top100

Sadly there isn't nuch left.

RRP: $33
Our Price: $26 per bottle

SOLD OUT