Montrose is one of the famous names from Mudgee, but the cellar door has been transferred to Craigmoor winery since the two came under the same ownership. Sadly the Montrose wines were not available for tasting, with visitors just being offered the Craigmoor Range and the less expensive Poets Corner wines. The cellar door operation is an impressive one, with a spacious tasting area and a rather dinky little wine museum. Overall the wines were good enough, without actually being exciting.

Craigmoor Semillon 1997 (A$14)
Bright herbaceous nose. Soft, attractive fruit and a touch of greenness. Richly flavoured and very different to the Hunter style. Good/very good

Poet's Corner White 1999 (A$9)
A blend of Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, this has a fresh techno nose and is a light, easy-going white. OK

PC Unwooded Chardonnay 1999 (A$9)
Fresh, light white with a touch of herbaceousness. Pleasant.

PC Chardonnay 1999 ($12)
Savoury, nutty nose with some barrel-ferment character. Lean and spicy on palate: a dry savoury style.

Craigmoor Chardonnay 1997 (A$14)
Frutier, richer and spicier. Soft, intense fruit on the palate, with a touch of smoke and some mature character from the bottle age. Very good.

Poet's Corner Red 1997 (A$9)
A blend of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Sweet, ripe nose with a caramel-like edge. Soft and fruity with red berry fruit. Good cheapie.

PC Merlot 1998
A brick edge to this wine. Herby character and some tannins on palate. Not distinctively Merlot. Good glugging red, but not that interesting.

Craigmoor Shiraz 1996
Spicy nose with a touch of caramel. This is a lighter-style Shiraz with some tannins; characterful but a little simple. OK

Craigmoor Cabernet Sauvignon 1996
Fruity blackcurrant nose. Soft, with some oak on palate. There's good fruit and plenty of new American oak in evidence. Good stuff.

Craigmoor Runway Port
Orange brown colour, this is a tawny style. Soft, rich and very sweet (too sweet for me).