Daily: 10am - 5pm buses strictly by appointment Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Anzac Day
REVIEW:
Dalwhinnie is located near the small village of Moonambel, 20kms north-west of Avoca and 200kms from Melbourne, a comfortable 2.5 hour drive. The Cellar Door welcomes visitors to taste while enjoying the spectacular views of Dalwhinnie and the Pyrenees. Wines by the glass and Cheese/Antipasto plates available everyday.
A 30-year retrospective of Dalwhinnie was held in October 2011 with all vintages tasted back to 1980. The booklet offered their own tasting notes with all wines giving a key of PB - past best, AB - at best, and MT - more time needed.
I must confess here to being the first to promote Dalwhinnie wines into the Sydney market through Hayes Fine Wines during the 1980s, seeing what I thought were wines of great promise ... wines of bold fruit and distinct character in a time when lean and green was the fashion. So how have they fared?
SHIRAZ
The eighties wines have now past their best although some still showed their character. The 1989 was the best which surprised as it was a lighter style. There could still be some drinking pleasure in good bottles of these vintages but best advice is to drink up.
The nineties immediately lifted the game despite a very disappointing oxidised 1990, perhaps a poor bottle. The 1992 showed stewed fruit and perhaps beginning to dry ou but still in its prime, while a red-fruited, chocolatey 1994 definitely earned its "at best" rating. 1996 again showed that the fruit can tend to the stewed but was in great condition despite rated PB. and despite the same PB (and stewed fruit) the 1998 was a sweet, structured wine shaded only by the rich but elegant 1999 - perhaps the wine of the entire shiraz bracket.
The noughties started with a very out of form, oxidized 2000, sauntered through a few mediocre vintages until the aromatic, sweet-fruited, concentrated but elegant 2004. A chocolatey, almost ready 2005 and the dark-fuited, concentrated 2006 both need further cellaring to be at their peak. Despite great reviews the 2007 was a bit disappointing, but the 2008 and 2009 are beautifully structured wines displaying the bitter cherry and black olive that seems a hallmark of this vineyard.
