The
wines of Chapel Hill
McLaren Vale, Australia
One
of the stars of the McLaren Vale region, Chapel Hill first made its
name under the ownership of the Sellick and Gerrard families in the
1980s and 1990s, with winemaker Pam Dunsford at the helm. It was
sold in 2000 to the Schmidheiny family, who also own Cuvaison in the
Napa Valley. Rachel Steer, viticulturalist, has been working
sustainably and uses biodynamic principles in order to reduce
chemical input in the vineyards. Winemaker Michael Fragos joined in
2004 and has been credited with a clear improvement in the already
good wines. Top of the tree are the Vicar, a powerful, dense, spicy
Shiraz, and the Cabernet Sauvignon, demonstrating just how good
McLaren Vale Cabernet can be. All the wines here are good, though.
Chapel
Hill Unoaked Chardonnay 2007
Fresh, bright and fruity, this has plenty of flavour, and it’s
really attractive. 87/100
Chapel
Hill Verdelho 2007
Very crisp and focused with lovely fruitiness. Fresh, vibrant
and lovely. 88/100
Chapel
Hill Chardonnay 2007
Nutty, toasty, rich and intense with nice vivid fruit. Very rich
but still balanced. 90/100
Chapel
Hill Bush Vine Grenache 2006
Sweet, bold, soft and spicy with nice fruit. It manages to be
rich and expressive at the same time. 90/100
Chapel
Hill Shiraz/Grenache 2006
Sweet and juicy, with vivid berry and blackcurrant fruit. A very
expressive, open style. 88/100
Chapel
Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
Lovely blackcurrant nose with a nice gravelly edge. The palate
is dense, structured and pure with lovely freshness. 93/100
Chapel
Hill Shiraz 2006
Inky dark, this is vivid and intense with nice spiciness. A very
attractive rich but balanced wine. 90/100
Chapel
Hill The Vicar Shiraz 2006
An inky, intense wine with dense, spicy, bold dark fruits on the
nose. The palate is powerful with dense blackberry and blackcurrant
fruit as well as spicy oak. A bold, focused style that is pretty
full-on but still has lots of appeal. 92/100
See
also:
Landmark
Australia Tutorial
Tasting
notes on Australian wines
Wines
tasted 01/09
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