THE CLARE VALLEY COMES TO CORK

AN EVENING IN THE CLARE VALLEY

The Clare Valley is a very small part of Australia: it takes just 25 minutes to drive from Clare in the north to Auburn in the south. But the valley, really an inter-weaving series of rolling hills and valleys from north to south, punches well above its size in terms of the quality of wine produced there, as we found out last evening at a very entertaining few hours in Blackrock Castle where our guide to the area was none other than Tim Adams.

Tim and his wife Pam set up there in 1987, starting with an input of just 10 tonnes, now up to a current crush of 850. Wine styles are traditional and Tim has strong opinions on wine-making. 

He puts the Clare Valley success – there are very few big producers here – down to the unique combination of the climate, the altitude, the soil (in part, rich in red iron oxide) and the weather where a cooling ocean breeze drifts in so regularly you can do without your watch and still know the time. The area is very strong in Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz and we had examples of all to taste.

And each and every bottle had a
Screw Cap closure. Tim and his neighbouring winemakers went for this method of closure in the late 1990s and are very happy with it. “But we are still learning...the process of evaluation is long term... could go on for 20 years”.

Tim Adams (left) and John McDonnell find out how the sun hits different facing slopes!

He insisted though that consistency is guaranteed. He had very little to say in favour of the synthetic cork, beyond indicating that it may be useful for wines that are intended for a very limited shelf life and he meant months.

The Rieslings were first up: Tim Adams 2008, O’Leary Walker 2008 and Mount Horrocks Watervale 2009. Tim was proud of this bunch: “All are long lasting, high calibre, award winners”. But his guests were overly impressed with the 2009 Knappstein (8% alc) Riesling. “Doesn't do it” was the verdict here.

The “white” that I really liked was the 2009 Tim Adams Pinot Gris which actually has a distinctive rose gold hue, a pinkish colouration which is a natural phenomenon of the grape and which is retained by Adams. It is a distinctive grey on the vine but, when squeezed, the juice runs pink.

Next up was the 2006 Knappstein Cabernet Merlot, our first red. Maybe it suffered a bit by being the first after the whites and didn't go down well. But Tim was firmly in favour saying it was a very fine example of the type but that it needed time, perhaps another five years.

Then came the Wakefield Clare Valley Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 and the difference here was that this was crafted to be enjoyed on release. And it is very enjoyable.

Finished off with a hat trick of Shiraz: Tim Adams (2007), Jim Barry Lodge Hill (2006) and the O’Leary Walker Clare reserve (2004). The O'Leary Walker at close to €80 a bottle didn't live up to that price or anywhere near it but I’d have been happy with any of the three, though I would have had a slight preference for the Adams effort.

Tim covered a lot of ground, everything from the sun starved south-facing valleys (different hemisphere) to the price of oak barrels, but had a few funny yarns as well. Prompted by John McDonnell, Wine Australia’s rep in Ireland, he told us how his fruit suppliers ended up being named on the back labels of his wine.

In the early days, not having enough grapes of his own, he went searching the valley to buy some from growers, as is common in Australia. At one house, he knocked politely and explained his business to the lady of the house. Here he got a great welcome from Claude and Dorothy, Claude getting out the bible as he declared that Tim had been sent by the Lord to buy his grapes. Tim thought he’d spread the word by putting the growers’ name on the bottle and the practice endures to this day.

Tim Adams Wines: http://www.timadamswines.com.au

Clare valley: http://www.wineaustralia.com/australia/Default.aspx?tabid=4483

John McDonnell, Manager, Wine Australia Ireland, john.mcdonnell@wineaustralia.com.

Blackrock Castle