Had a great day out in the (Adelaide) Hills, joining the Trailhoppers bus tour that takes you from the city centre and out to the beautiful town of Hahndorf providing a hop-on-hop-off service to certain wineries in the surrounding area. A great way to sample a few of the local vineyards whether you’re a group, a couple or, like me, just going for a solo excursion.
Our bus driver, Nathan, was a great host showing us the sights and making sure we made our tasting stops en route: pre-booking at all the wineries is required at the moment given Covid restrictions. They have 10 stops en route which you could max out with four tastings with one hour stops or more leisurely enjoy 2 or 3 staying for 2 hours at one to enjoy a lunch or, as I did, just have a potter around Hahndorf for my final stop.
The Adelaide Hills is one of 18 wine regions in South Australia and is the closest to the city centre, taking approx. 30 mins to get there. It really doesn’t take long at all before you’re in the beautiful countryside with rolling green hills of vines, apple orchards and I even spotted a llama farm. It is a cool climate region, being approx. 500-700m above sea level, so typically makes sparkling, white and lighter style red wines. There are 51 cellar doors available throughout the region (plenty to keep me busy!).
Shaw + Smith
My first stop on tour, along with everyone else on the bus, was Shaw + Smith. They were one of the first in the region to set up a proper tasting room at their cellar door and it was a pretty polished experience from start to finish with information on the table ready for me to browse, well versed staff and beautiful views out over the vineyards. I opted to do their single vineyard tasting which was a selection of three wines from their premium range. They were also good enough to give me a sample of their well-known M3 chardonnay to taste against their premium Lenswood Vineyard Chardonnay.
My tasting included:
- M3 Chardonnay: Shaw + Smith was established by Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith in 1989 and the ‘M’ is named after them. This had lovely classic stonefruit and citrus flavours with well integrated oak – it was refined and definitely a delicious cool climate chardonnay.
- The Lenswood Chardonnay took it up a notch, I liked their description ‘a fine boned Chardonnay’. This had more floral notes with peach, nectarine and even a flinty edge. The oak influence smelt more powerful on the nose but was so soft on palate.
- The Lenswood Pinot Noir…this was their 2019 vintage and they were open that it was a difficult one. It had a lovely nose – juicy cranberry and spice but on the palate there were the twiggy elements of Pinot Noir which I personally find a bit off-putting. I was assured it would age well, and perhaps with some more time these will mature.
- But the biggest surprise of the day for me was the 2018 Balhannah Vineyard Shiraz. Now I have to admit I have come to Australia with a few stereotypes in mind…and Shiraz that will blast my palate away with it’s power and alcohol levels is certainly one. But this was incredible and totally surprised me: it was so refined, it had all the hallmark flavours of Shiraz of dark fruit, pepper, spice with lifting floral but so unbelievably elegant. Cool climate Shiraz…made for my delicate palate!
Murdoch Hill
My next step was Murdoch Hill which was a completely different experience altogether. A small family owned and operated vineyard with a simple tasting room on the side of their winery. Their wine tasting included a seasonal flight ‘a journey through six wines that best express the season’ or essentially what they’ve got in stock! But for me it included a sauvignon blanc, riesling, rose, pinot noir, and two syrahs. This wine tasting experience was the definition of authentic – hosted by one of the winemakers (Rob), and as I was the only one there, I was allowed a sneak peak into the winery plus Rob even joined me for most of the tasting. It was great to experience tasting wine with the person who helped make it. Murdoch Hill produce a house range under the Murdoch Hill name which are of varying styles made from regional blends. Plus they have a range of individually named wines, from better parts of the region that are named after styles of horse drawn carriages! Their Rocket Chardonnay is a best seller and they were sadly sold out on my visit but the 2021 vintage is now available to order pre-release. They also make an incredible The Surrey Pinot Meunièr which I was able to have a sneaky taste of…they had been bottling that morning!
Petaluma
Next was a visit to Petaluma which has a deep history in the Adelaide Hills. Originally owned by Brian Croser – a legend in the Australian wine industry, and who now owns Tapanappa also in the Adelaide Hills – Petaluma was taken over in 2001 by Lion Nathan (now Accolade Wines). I was intrigued to try such a well-known brand in the region but sadly I was disappointed by the experience at the cellar door. While it was an impressive building with beautiful views over the hills the service was dreadful. I chose their Yellow Label wine tasting which is their top tier, made exclusively from grapes grown on vineyards they directly control. My five wines were presented altogether on a brief tasting sheet and after a short intro the one person manning the cellar door disappeared into the back barely to be seen again! I quietly worked my way through the tastings: their Clare Valley Riesling, the famous Tiers Chardonnay (which was pretty delish), B&V Vineyard Mt Barker Shiraz, Evans Vineyard Coonawarra Merlot and finally the 2015 Evans Vineyard Coonawarra cab/ merlot blend (really enjoyed this as a personal preference – lovely bramble and darks fruits of plum and blackcurrant, soft tannins). I’ve read since visiting that there are rumours the Adelaide Hills site is up for sale which may explain the lack of enthusiasm at the cellar door. Think I should stick with the original…Tapanappa here I come!
My final stop before heading back to town was a chance to potter around the pretty village of Hahndorf – founded in 1839 it’s Australia’s oldest surviving German settlement. Today it is full of artisan shops, cafes, pubs and even a couple more cellar doors. After my afternoon of wine tasting the local cheese shop, to sample their highly recommended double cream Brie, was my first stop. Before wandering along the little high street poking my head into some of the local shops. I only had about 45 minutes here but I will definitely be back!