Wine has history ! Great wine, like great art, has a story to tell. When tasting the very best wines you can get a sense of the place, the wines and the people. Jamie Pettigrew, a dedicated wine collector, has done a wonderful job of capturing the sense of one of Australia's iconic wineries, Wendouree in the Clare Valley of South Australia, in a few photos and even fewer words.

I travel a bit so I have really come to enjoy experiencing a sense of place when drinking wines. After many years of buying ( black crayon initial ) and drinking Wendouree it was wonderful to visit the old cellars last week. The place was exactly as I'd imagined. Pioneering South Australia amongst the gum trees and sunburnt Clare hills. You pick up in the Wendouree wines so many of senses and sights you see about the winery- towering eucalyptus trees, wild flowers, wild lavender, rustic old buildings and wares, and the chocolate brown soils that contrast with the sunburnt surrounds.

It was a bit of a Wendouree week before the visit and I wanted to see how the 98's were traveling.. and they're still a long way off!

1998 Wendouree Shiraz Malbec
Decanted and consumed over 3 days. Starts out with wild flowers and lavender amongst some hard edged dark fruits. Medium bodied the fruit is initially tough going and extracted giving iodine/sea weed like flavors. Tannins settle by day three and the wine smooths out. This will be best when there is a dip toward the tertiary spectrum in 10+
90pts +

1991 Wendouree Shiraz
At the 20 year mark here we finally are. What a beautiful and individual wine. Monumental. Consumed over two days and it barely changed. Fresh and pure. Stunning! This is what I love about the shiraz; the purity, focus and minimalist approach which captures the old vineyard blocks perfectly.
95pts
 

We drove by the cellar and picked up a trio of 99's to try.

All these consumed over 2 to 3 days. Brutally decanted. Back in the bottle and popped in the fridge overnight and left to stand and come up to room temperature next day.

1999 Wendouree Shiraz Mataro
Lovely earthy notes then some spicy, minty extracted black fruits. Rusty iron palate, lavender infused dark fruits with shades of violets, good persistence and lingering cool mint flavours. Not far off a good spot.
92pts

1999 Wendouree Shiraz Malbec
Old fashioned iron like and rusty. Extracted dark fruits and menthol lifts some soft French Oak notes. Similar on the palate. Perhaps a little tough going but a nice wine all the same.
90pts


1999 Wendouree Shiraz
Very focused. Concentrated fruit; very linear. Long, long wine. Still a pup with earth and black fruit and Chinese tea flavours. Shuts down on day 2. Needs 5 years.
93pts