Out Of The Bottle

With David Ellis

Kym's Got Travelling All Bottled Up

When Kym Tolley left Penfolds after 17 years to start his own winery in Coonawarra, he admits to something of a rude surprise.

”I thought it would be great to have my own winery,” he says. “But no one told me that after making the stuff, I had to actually get out there and sell it – and I ended up travelling the world doing just that. It was an amazing learning curve that actually became part of the inspiration for my wine.”

So much so in fact that he’s called his latest Penley Estate Special Select Shiraz ‘The Traveller,’ in deference to this aspect of his life.

Created from fruit from a small low-yielding, water-shy block whose vines produce small berries of extraordinarily concentrated flavours, this 2005 Shiraz is beautifully rich, full-bodied and elegant with concentrated cassis flavours.

Its certainly one of the best Special Select Shiraz to come out of Penley Estate where Kym fills the role of owner and Chief Winemaker and works on his wines in conjunction with winemaker Greg Foster.

A nice accompaniment to spicy, rich-meat winter casseroles, kangaroo fillets or roast duck; recommended retail price is $50.50.

One For Lunch

You would think that a wine that beat contenders from around the world to take gold at the prestigious Chardonnay Du Monde competition in France would have a price tag to match.

But McWilliam’s 2007 Hanwood Estate Chardonnay that took out this accolade sells for just $12.99. Named after the company’s property in the hot NSW Riverina, part of the fruit for the 2007 was sourced from cooler climates that Wine Production Director, Jim Brayne says give it its elegance, refinement and balance: toss it down chilled with prawns and salad.

Need a drink? We're archived on vintnews.com

 More Food & Wine Reviews