Canberra 13.5% Screwcap $18 Source: Sample
In 2008, Alex McKay of Collector Wines took over the wine making duties at Quarry Hill. I believe that’s something of a coup, and this wine seriously over-delivers at 18 bucks. It improved on day two and it should cellar well over the medium term if not longer. Having said that, I was pretty taken with it on day one.
Cedar, blackberry and mulberry with nuances of snapped twig and sap. Char and chocolate are there on the periphery. Quite creamy in the mouth, with a distinct savoury edge to the fruit profile. Still, there’s tart acidity around which the flavours are built. Soft, smudgy tannins mark the finish. Some spice but not a spice-fest by any means. Earthen notes and plummy characters, but not in a Barossan sense. These are fresher and more linear, as befits a medium bodied wine.
Funnily enough, I’m looking at the description on the back label now and it’s not far off how I experienced the wine. What it doesn’t tell you, perhaps out of a sense of modesty, is that this Shiraz announces Quarry Hill as another of a growing band of Australian wineries who could entirely change the vinous landscape in this country. I’m talking The Story Wines, Hoddles Creek, Blue Poles etc. That’s esteemed company and I suspect a bright future for the label. Over-priced, household names should be a little worried. If the consumer becomes aware of these sort of wines, their days may be numbered.
Winery Website- http://quarryhill.com.au/