A Guide to Australia's McLaren Vale Wine Region: The Vineyards to Visit and Best Bottles to Try

I’ve long believed thatGrenachehas the potential to rise to the top of the worldwide oenological charts, if only more consumers had access to the best bottlings. Its greatness and potential ageability are display in top Châteauneuf-du-Pape and many Garnacha-heavy Spanish blends, but the Grenache and Grenache-based blends of McLaren Vale are every bit as successful.

Wine has been produced in this coastal region less than an hour’s drive from Adelaide since at least the mid-1800s, and the varied (and postcard-ready) topography means that in addition to Grenache and Shiraz, it’s a hotbed of grape varieties from around the world. Over the course of just few days there, I roamed from vineyard to vineyard and tasted wines that incorporated Tinta Mencia, Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Cinsault, Arneis, and many more.

然而，来自麦克拉伦谷的格良，是仍然困扰着我的东西。Chapel Hill从布什藤蔓上种植的葡萄生产的2016年，都是巧妙的水果和香料，而且High Sands Grenache 2014from Yangarra Estate showed the sleeker side of the variety, with lots of violets and mixed berries. Wirra Wirra, on the other hand, crafted a more perfumed and lifted Grenache with its 2016; the raspberry, red cherry, and goji berry were strikingly fresh and alive.

Sun-drenched and kissed by the weather of the nearby sea, tasting here is likely to be accompanied by fabulous fish and seafood—a good thing, since the whites and rosés form such an important part of the local wine culture. Of particular note was theMitolo Jester SangioveseRosé2017, with its seashell crispness and red berries. It would make a refreshing gulper right out of the ice bucket, and a more complex glassful with a bit less of a chill.

This spectrum of grape varieties and styles is perhaps most viscerally embodied by the wines produced by d’Arenberg: A multi-hour tasting there only scratched the surface of what they are doing: The2014年“有意识的生物圈”娇小的Sirah - Aglianico Blend, all savory and spicy with gobs of black licorice, is typical of their fascinating, gutsy, exciting wines. And the names of them are phenomenal; if any producer has come up with a better one for a wine thanD’Arenberg’s “The Cenosilicaphobic Cat，“混合Sagrantino和Cinsault命名为害怕空玻璃，然后我还没有看到它。超越葡萄酒本身，亚搏电竞d'arenberg多维数据集is a wine cellar experience that is complete unforgettable, with artsy and quirky décor and art throughout, which truly reflect the personality of chief winemaker, Chester Osborn.

See here for more on Australia's wine regions.