A perfectly Sanguine Sunday

"Wine's not just a drink, it's an art form. Now where's my brush?"
David Anderson - Wild Duck Creek

The people in this photo are random victims of my kneejerk photography.

We visited Heathcote this weekend, mainly to take advantage of a rare opportunity to visit Wild Duck Creek's make-shift Cellar Door, open only a couple of times a year.

Now, with a little (read 'heaps of') help from Robert Parker Jr, the Wild Duck Creek wines, in particular Duck Muck, have gained a cult following in the USA. RP gave the '97 Duck Muck 99 points and from there the winery took on an ethereal life of its own.

Suffice to say we were expecting some pretty special stuff this rainy sunday, after a two hour drive from Melbourne. The winery was buzzing with excited visitors lining up to try the new releases and we joined the queue; sampling

Little White Duck Viognier
Alan's Cabernet
The Blend Cabernet Merlot
Yellow Hammer Hill Shiraz Malbec
Spring Flat Shiraz

The wines were big and juicy (and shiny for some reason, thanks Mark) but we found they were lacking in structure. Perhaps they need a little time, but they aren't exactly inexpensive so we weren't particularly tempted to find out.

There were barrels dotted around the winery displaying platters of bread and saucers of Olive Oil, hungry after our drive (and hungover from Saturday's Duck and Pinot dinner) we snacked away and really liked the oil. Turns out it is Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the winery itself. We bought 9 bottles between the 5 of us, along with some wines for gifts. Despite not loving the wines ourselves, the fact remains that the world at large DOES love them and who are we to pass judgement on THAT.

In the pouring rain we made our way back into the town of Heathcote to visit Heathcote Winery, a widely distributed and fairly reliable producer of such wines as Craven's Place and Mail Coach Shiraz.

The Cellar Door was busy, I suspect due to the overflow from WDC and once our host was available to serve us he was very attentive and professional, a man who knew his job and through him we discovered some wines with structure and very reasonable price tags, an enjoyable flight of very drinkable wines.

Upon enquiring what our next move should be, our host didn't hesitate in recommending we visit Sanguine Estate, which also only opens to visitors without appointment a couple of times a year. The lovely part about visiting wineries which don't have commercial cellar doors is that you often get to just hang out in the winery, and Sanguine was a GREAT example of this.

In contrast to the unassuming entry to Wild Duck, Sanguine has an undulating drive, flanked by grand trees and winding past dams and the Sanguine Vineyard itself. The winery building is as grandiose as the entree, through huge barn doors we're greeted by a huge and very modern looking winery, lined on one side by steel fermentation tanks and on the other by French Oak Barrels.
On the far side there is a bar set up and, from behind it a gentleman calls "G'day! Come in, don't be shy!"

We are invited by Winery founder Tony Hunter and the greeting, along with the atmosphere and as it turns out, the wine is warm and inviting.
Tony talks with authority, knowledge and passion about the wines which are grown just outside those grand walls and made made all around us, pushed by gravity, combining modern facilities with traditional methods.

We tasted

Sanguine 2009 Chardonnay
Sanguine 2008 Cabernet Blend
Sanguine 2008 Tempranillo
Sanguine 2009 Progeny Shiraz
Sanguine 2008 Estate Shiraz
Sanguine 2007 D'orsa Shiraz

And WOW.

These wines are brilliant. The Chardonnay is lean and mouth-wateringly moreish in a Chablisienne style, with an individual chracter seemingly exessive for its $19.95 price tag.

The Temp is also leaner than expected, medium bodied but ripe and generous in flavour, also an apparent bargain at $24.95

My favourite was the Estate Shiraz. A truly harmonious wine, balancing clear and distinct flavour with silky, broad palate and a soft, lingering finish. I can't wait to open mine with a good roast, casserole or ragout pasta.

So Sanguine Estate managed to evaporate any hint of disappointment we may have experienced in Heathcote and it was unanimous that Sanguine is now our favourite Heathcote destination.

Thanks Tony. We travelled home with a glass half full.


___________________________

Address:

ABN: 87 007 007 801
Postal Address:
PO Box 669
Heathcote VIC 3523

Vineyard and Winery address:
77 Shurans Lane
Heathcote Victoria 3523

Phone:

Vineyard Phone: + 61 3 54 33 3111

Email:

jodi@sanguinewines.com.au