Uncorked: Wine reviews by the award winning Gill Gordon-Smith

Wine reviews by Gill Gordon-Smith IWE

With so many wineries and cellar doors right in our own backyard and our travel wings somewhat clipped, we headed off to explore some of the newer cellar doors and wineries of the Fleurieu. Make a date, set the GPS and head off on a vinous adventure – you’ll love what you find.

Perfumed, textural, bright, dangerously drinkable The newest cellar door on McMurtrie Road is home to Sherrah Wines. It’s an intimate, welcoming, calm and bright space that reflects the unique take on the Vale that winemaker Alex Sherrah brings with his range of fresh, delicious and very drinkable wines. The cellar door is very much a hands-on, family affair with partners Liz and Alex behind the tasting bench most weekends. With a wealth of experience from the Clare Valley to Coriole, Alex’s focus is firmly on showcasing the best expression of the fruit and provenance. This pure, dry and aromatic rosé is crafted from sixty-year-old grenache vines grown on sand in Blewitt Springs. Handpicked and fermented at cool temperatures to maintain freshness, it’s light on its feet, a delightful wave of red fruits, summer berries, crunchy red delicious with a twirl of spice to finish. Ice it down and watch the bottle disappear. If you want to make sure you get a spot, bookings for seated tastings are available through the website.

Fresh-faced, mouth-filling, chalky, satisfying Who or what is Berg Herring? Head to the gorgeous historic church at Sellicks Beach and chat to owners Sam Dunlevy and Chloe Fitzgerald on Saturdays and Sundays to find out and explore their new cellar door. I suspect there’s a very dry sense of humour as well as a lot of style and skill at play here. That’s exactly what we did on a glorious weekend adventure on the Fleurieu. Beautifully shabby chic with plenty of room to picnic, relax on the lawns and enjoy the serenity along with some seriously good value wines and interesting varieties to explore. Fiano is turning out to be such a solid white for the region and this is a stellar example of easy but intriguing drinking with citrus, hazelnut and tropical fruits balanced by pithy texture and a beautiful line of tangy acidity. Salty squid, fish straight from the gulf and chips are the perfect foil for this wine and the rolling lawn the perfect location to watch the sun go down on a lazy Sunday.

Juicy, bright, fleshy, flirtatious Ian Adams is passionately in love with grenache. He grows it, makes it and drinks it. The vineyard is run on sustainable principles and the wines made with minimal intervention. He’s also a great cook and keen foodie. The Sellicks Hill property is home to gorgeous partner Libby, an international event manager and two well-loved Schnauzers on security detail. With the changes over the last few years they have now opened the vineyard for personal, long table events that are really worth booking in for. You’ll be guaranteed a warm and authentic experience full of great wines, delicious food and accompanied by lots of laughter. Just like a glorious bear hug from Ian himself, this is a joyful and bright expression of one of the Fleurieu’s shining varieties. Unoaked and juicy, mouthfuls of red berries, cherries, squashed mulberries, fleshy texture and a long spiced finish. Open by appointment only.

Elegant, mouth-filling, exhilarating, pure pleasure Duane Coates is a passionate thinker and winemaker with a focused and balanced approach to creating exceptional wines. He’s also one of a small number of people worldwide to have passed the rigorous Master of Wine exams. Rebecca Stubbs is a curious and extremely talented chef. Together they have quietly built one of the most wonderful cellar door experiences around. Their long lunches are legendary, taking inspiration from the cuisines of the world while using the best local and foraged produce matched with Coates and benchmark international wines. This traditional method chardonnay-based sparkling is an exceptional wine of purity, precision and balance. It totally over delivers and is incredible value. An energetic and electric line of acidity with crisp lemon, grapefruit, apple and stone fruit along with buttered toasted brioche, a creamy mouthfeel with foaming, lacy bubbles and a longlasting finish. The cellar door is open Sundays 11-4pm and by appointment. The world class lunches will start again at the end of May and you’ll need to book ahead as seats are limited.