Cradle Of Hills Wild
Child Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2014
$25; 12.5% alcohol;
screw cap; 93++ points
While the line between the Adelaide Hills and the eastern
ridges of McLaren Vale makes little crisp logical sense the further east one
goes, this fruit's from Hahndorf, which is quite obviously in the Adelaide
sector. Dangle your nose into this glass, however, and you'd think you're in
the French bit, which is quite a bit further off. The wine has that comforting
grilled cashew, prosciutto and canteloupe bouquet that you'll find in many
junior whites from the Côtes of Burgundy. It's a lovely smell, and one which I
have never seen in such extent in any Chardonnay from the Vales proper. It's
simply not cool enough there. But this is cool in many ways: its wild yeast and
lees stirring has rendered a texture slender yet creamy; the finish has little
phenolic tannin; the wine has a lovely sensual demeanour and weight. It's not a
big Chardonnay, but an elegant, cheeky, lightly-oaked lovely made with a deal
more sensitivity to the purpose than is shown in too many posh, presumptuous,
and/or overpriced Hills models. Or Burgundies, for that matter. If Burgundy
stretches your credulity, let's just say that this seems more like the
Chardonnay from the eastern or western shores of Port Phillip Bay; maybe the
slopes of Mt Macedon, but it's even cheaper than most of those. Have it with
flathead pan-grilled in butter with a sprig of fennel and spread on a
lightly-toasted slice of sourdough with a squirt of lemon and a good sprinkle
of salt and pepper. Happy days!
Cradle of Hills Gi
Gi McLaren Vale Grenache Rosé 2014
$20; 13.5% alcohol;
screw cap; 93 points
You won't find Grenache like this in Burgundy, the
Adelaide Hills, or anywhere near Port Phillip Bay: this is the best of McLaren
Vale, which increasingly looks like it's capable of making the best Grenache in
the world. While this variety can make the simplest sweet bubblegum pinks if
cropped too high and made too dumb, this Gi Gi's nothing like those, either. It
has the slightest reek of raspberry fruit gels or jujubes, and some crunchy
maraschino cocktail cherries, but that teasing naughtiness slides in below the
acrid reek of summer dust at the top end, and at the other end, the basement, the
creamy complexity of a languid ferment in appropriate French oak with some lees
and a dab of that comforting yet elegant texture the Chardonnay shows. It's more a white wine than a red one. It has
a delightfully sensual creaminess, very little tannin, and a firm but
unobtrusive acid spine. This is the best rosé I've seen from the Vales in
years, and one of the better Grenache wines of any type. Which makes that price
look very small indeed. Use the rest of that sourdough, but smothered in smoked
salmon with capers and a light horseradish cream; the lemon sliced, not
squeezed. Stunning.
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