Out Of The Bottle

With David Ellis

Tim Adams Wines 2009 Clare Valley Semillon & Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz

Tim Adams Wines have released a ripper 2009 Semillon from their Clare Valley heartland, a wine that’s what Clare Semillon is all about.

Somewhat different to Semillons from such major growing areas as NSW’s Hunter Valley,  Clare Valley Semillon can be “more robust” – as is the case with this one – and often with more concentrated fruit flavours. This wine’s also got some nice notes to it from its oak maturation.

At $22 grab a bottle of this Tim Adams and put it on the table with your favourite pan-fried white-fleshed fish. You’ll find the intense tropical fruit flavours go wonderfully with your fish choice – or if you’re not into fish, enjoy it just as much with simple roast chicken and mashed potatoes infused with a handful of chopped parsley, or a baking pan of roast vegetables.

One For Lunch

Penfolds first started making their now-famous Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz a half-century ago, at the time with fruit exclusively from the Barossa Valley’s Kalimna Vineyard it had bought at war’s end in 1945.

Today Bin 28 is as popular as ever and a showcase of warm-climate Australian Shiraz, but is a multi-region, multi-vineyard blend embracing South Australia’s Langhorne Creek, Upper Adelaide, McLaren Vale, Limestone Coast – and with the Barossa still very much to the fore.

The latest release, the 2007, is the product of a difficult vintage with low winter temperatures followed by an unusually hot summer, but through which winemaker Peter Gago and his team maintained the label’s esteemed image.

This is a wine with generously concentrated red and black berry fruit flavours, some earthy notes, and aromas almost like uncorking a rich Christmas cake. At $33.99 it’s just the drop to enjoy with something out of the ordinary like a homemade boeuf en croute, or a nice piece of chargrilled rare rib-eye.

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