Does anyone else have an internal list of go-to wines for family events? The wines that both you and your parents will drink: reasonably well known, mid-range pricing, not pretentious or challenging but executed well and most importantly easily accessible.
The wines we were able to sample at the St. John’s Road and Vickery new release tasting are now firmly on that list.
Vickery is a winery that focuses solely on Riesling; fruit is sourced from single vineyards in both the Watervale region of Clare and the Eden valley located in the Barossa. The winemaker for the project is Phil Lehmann (from the well know family of vintners) under the tutorage of John Vickery (who has 60 years experience making Riesling from these regions). With that level of experience we were excited to see what the result was.
The Watervale Riesling had aromas of orange blossom, almond meal and lemon curd. It was perfectly balanced with light acidity and wonderful length and a slight mineral finish. The Eden Valley was completely different. The finish was more drawn out, the mineral character more pronounced and the palate was busting with lemon and lime.
Next up was the range from St. John’s Road. Phil Lehmann is once again head winemaker, utilising his innate knowledge of the Barossa Valley to produce clean, acidic Riesling, creamy Chardonnay and some seriously full-bodied reds.
Our pick out of the line up (and there were a lot to choose from) was the Motley Bunch Grenache, Shriaz and Mataro blend: We love Barossa Valley GSMs as these three varietals really flourish in the heat of the Barossa. The wine, which features a vintage picture of a very suave looking Peter Lehmann on the label, is ripe, fruit driven with a distinctively nutty aroma.
The location of this event was Leigh Street’s Casablabla, which provided a warm and cosy atmosphere perfectly suited to tasting some juicy Barossa reds. We were treated to fresh oysters (which went perfectly with the Vickery Rieslings), cheese plates, Middle Eastern inspired pastries and roasted duck burgers.
So next time you are looking at the wines at the local sip-and-save on route to a dinner party or family event give of the Vickery or St. John’s Road range a try. It is guaranteed to make your parents believe that you know something about wine.
