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]

WHEN YOU NEED A DRINKABLE BUDGET RED WINE IN GERMANY ....

Germany is awash with outstanding white wine at all price points. On the red side it produces some fine Pinot Noirs at understandable premiums. But supermarkets have to look overseas to stock their shelves with reds at more daily affordable prices.

This is a very well made red from Argentina's most popular variety. It's medium weight with a pleasant balance of flavour, acid and tannin. It's way too young and would benefit from a few more years in the bottle. So let it breathe. 

VILLA BONAGA 2017 MALBEC
GRAPE VARIETY: Malbec
REGION: Mendoza, Argentina
A/V: 13%  a/v
PRICE: 3.49 euro 
FROM: Lidl, Germany
RATING: 4.5/5 from me 

Turkish Delight

Over the years there's been an understandable lack of necessity to bring wine to our place. So many samples from suppliers, so many left overs from tastings. That's all changed in retirement so we thank Hilary and Glynn Genin for their regular contributions to our shared dining.
LIKYA 2011 Kalecik Karasi Malbec Dry Red Wine
This is a cracker they brought back from Turkey especially for us. It's a blend of a local variety with our old favourite malbec. It's definitive Mediterranean with a rich sun drenched intensity that with six years in the bottle was drinking at a superb peak. Yet another variety to add to my tasting list [over a 1000 to go] and a 5/5 rating from me for so many reasons.

DON'T MISS SAINSBURY'S 25% OFF WINE SALE

When I was retailing I never ever had a 25% off wine sale - my margins were much lower than that so I would have been losing money. A couple of my supermarket competitors in Australia regularly held 30% off sales. Their prices were so high to begin with they could afford to. To Sainsbury's credit they offer the 25% off their regular prices AS WELL AS their weekly specials.

We grabbed a few samples to test as well as stocking up on our old favourites like this

Sainsbury's Winemakers' Selection 2015 Malbec is just as impressive as their 2014 release. 

Spicy, savoury and beautifully balanced.
But there is a serious problem with this wine - it's so quaffable that the bottle will be knocked off before you get a chance to appreciate how outstanding it really is. Which is why I disagree with their back label recommendation to "consume this bottle within a year of purchase". Let it breathe for a few hours or drink it over three days [challenging, I know]
At £5 it's an outstanding bargain. With a further 25% off on a straight or mixed six you won't buy better at a mere £3.75
At this price an indisputable 5/5 rating from me