The Palate - Vintage 2011

Hi there,

No doubt our Australian subscribers are eagerly anticipating the longer-than-usual Easter break, which this year includes ANZAC Day. The majority of us get a five-day break from work, therefore plenty of time to celebrate with your favourite Hardys wines!

In this, our Vintage 2011 issue of The Palate, we update you with the latest on vintage, and show you how manly our winemakers have become during this busy period. We also highlight an excellent white wine producing region in South Australia’s South East, and Bill Hardy clues you in on why it’s not just busy in the cellar this time of year.

The Palate is always full of excellent offers, and this issue is no exception. We have great specials on our award-winning 2008 Eileen Hardy Chardonnay and our delicious 2010 Twice Lost Shiraz Cabernet Rosè. We also have 20 tickets to give away to Patricia Piccinini’s spectacular exhibition, Once upon a time, at the Art Gallery of South Australia.

And in our popular From the Kitchen section, we give you the perfect Good Friday dish, Spicy Fish Tacos. This dish matches perfectly with our Twice Lost Rosè.

We also want to take this opportunity to remind you that you have until June 30 to enter our amazing The Taste of Adventure competition, worth $35,000. Many of you have already visited the Hardys website and answered three questions about Nottage Hill to be in the running to take three of your friends on the best wine, food and adventure experience imaginable, travelling across South Australia's most famous regions for 12 action-packed days.

In the next issue of The Palate, we will be revealing part of the amazing itinerary the lucky winner of The Taste of Adventure competition will get to enjoy with their friends.

So now take some time out and kick back and enjoy your extended break, and from all of us here at Hardys, Happy Easter!

In this issue:

Wine Style
From the Winery
Hardys at Large
You said it!

And much more!

Manly winemakers ‘beard up’

It has been said that the male beard communicates an heroic image of the independent, sturdy, and resourceful pioneer, ready, willing and able to do manly things. Well, if that’s the case, check out our heroic, super manly winemakers Nick Bowen and Charlie Seppelt. These normally clean shaven lads have popped their razors away for vintage in an effort to somewhat resemble the great man himself, our founder, Thomas Hardy. After months of growth, their beards are looking rather, well, voluptuous!

Thinking of following in Nick and Charlie’s footsteps? You may want to visit the All About Beards website (www.beards.org), or if you’re a seasoned campaigner, why not enter the World Beard and Moustache Championships (www.worldbeardchampionships.com)? Just a thought from your favourite winemaking team!

	Vintage Update Vintage 2011 – what a challenge! It’s a far cry from the normal “Vintage of the century” one hears emanating from winemakers about this time of year. It most certainly has been one of hardest vintages I've experienced, but one thing I know is that these types of years will separate the good winemakers from the mediocre. Rain has been the main issue, along with the associated diseases that follow. Notwithstanding this, we are a company that has a large and diverse regional footprint, so let’s begin the vintage summary: Western Australia Warm, dry conditions (no rain) have produced a very good year with reds marginally ahead of whites at this stage. McLaren Vale Shiraz has held up really well and will make juicy blackcurrant styles; Cabernet Sauvignon is being picked as we speak and undoubtedly, I think, will be the star. Limestone Coast Still waiting for fruit to be picked. Yarra Valley Same as the Limestone Coast – still waiting for fruit to be picked. Tassie Fruit will start to come in shortly. All fruit, especially Pinot Noir, is looking very good. We are now in a spell of dry autumn weather, which will really help us develop the extra flavours and sugar levels we are looking for. Stay tuned … – Paul Lapsley, Hardys Chief Winemaker
	Wine Region Focus – Padthaway Padthaway was established as a viticultural region in 1963, with early pioneers having quite modest quality expectations. Since then the region has proved to be an excellent white wine producer and a good red wine area. Given the absence of any significant mountains, a maritime climate generally prevails. Padthaway is a picturesque township on the Limestone Coast where rows and rows of vineyards, interspersed with majestic gum trees, thread down either side of the Riddoch Highway. The main wine styles produced include Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. To read more about the Padthaway wine region, visit the apluswines website by clicking here
	Fresh, Juicy Rosè Rosè is invariably referred to as ‘summer in a bottle’ – a wonderful drink during summer and early autumn, a great picnic wine. Good rosè should possess vibrant, juicy red hues and lifted fruit full of interest. The palate should be a mirror image of the bouquet and bursting with fresh flavours and juicy acid. The 2010 Hardys Chronicles Twice Lost Shiraz Cabernet Rosè is an excellent example of this wine style, with Cabernet fruit adding complexity and Shiraz providing a soft textural backbone to the wine.
	Rosy Deals on Twice Lost Rosé 2010 Hardys Chronicles Shiraz Cabernet Rosé Purchase 6 bottles for just $80 Offer includes complimentary delivery to an Australian address To take advantage of this amazing offer, click here
	From the Kitchen This Good Friday, why not cook up some delicious Spicy Fish Tacos and enjoy them with our fantastic 2010 Twice Lost Shiraz Cabernet Rosé?! Spicy Fish Tacos Ingredients for 4 2 small tomatoes, finely diced 1 small avocado, finely diced ¼ cup finely chopped fresh coriander leaves 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp Mexican chilli powder 1 garlic clove, crushed 2½ tablespoons olive oil 12 (600g) redfish fillets (see note), halved 12 (135g packet) taco shells 1 red onion, cut into thin wedges One-third of a cup of light sour cream Method 1. Combine tomato, avocado, 2 tbsp coriander and half the lemon juice in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Cover. Set aside. 2. Combine chilli powder, garlic, 2 tbsp oil, remaining coriander and remaining lemon juice in a shallow ceramic dish. Add fish. Turn to coat. 3. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Warm taco shells according to packet directions. 4. Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a large fry pan over medium heat. Cook onion for 4 to 6 minutes or until softened. Remove to a bowl. Cover to keep warm. Cook fish, in batches, for 2 to 3 minutes each side, or until cooked through. Divide onion and fish between taco shells. Top with sour cream and tomato mixture. Serve. Notes Generally less expensive than other varieties, redfish is sold as skinless fillets. Look for light pink, unmarked, firm flesh. It has a delicate flavour and is great pan-fried, barbecued or braised. It’s commonly used in fish cakes (especially Thai) and fish balls. You need not remove the small, fine bones before cooking and eating. Recipe by Claire Brookman For other great recipes like this one, visit www.taste.com.au

The bell rang at Wirra Wirra winery, the vintage was blessed by McLaren Vale legend Tony Brooks, toasting us all with a glass of the current Bushing King wine (the 2008 Chapel Hill The Vicar Shiraz), and the cheers went up – Vintage 2011 was on!

We took our first parcel of white grapes in on March 8, a good month later than our first delivery of white fruit last year, but boy was it worth the wait! Clare Riesling certainly benefited from the rain we experienced in the spring months, and vine balance was impeccable. Tasting the juice at the press with our Group White Winemaker, Tom Newton, sent tingles down my spine. The natural acid present will carry these wines for many years, possibly decades, and balanced with intense lime and slatey citrus notes, 2011 will go down as possibly one of the greatest vintages for Clare Riesling.

McLaren Vale Shiraz is bubbling away in our open fermenters from Willunga, Upper Tintara, McLaren Flat and greater McLaren Vale areas. Again, this is exactly one month behind our first picked Shiraz last year, a direct result of the milder summer we experienced. Flavours are looking terrific, with classical McLaren Vale Shiraz descriptors of plum, dark chocolate, spice and fine tannins being seen during our daily ferment tastings.

Onto the most pressing issue this vintage: the weather. It certainly has played its ace card on us this vintage, but with some terrific viticultural work done by our team at McLaren Vale and our valued growers, the fruit we are seeing is a credit to their efforts!

– Charlie Seppelt, Hardys Tintara Winemaker

	From the Tasting Bench The weekend of Saturday April 9 and Sunday April 10 welcomed the sixth annual McLaren Vale Vintage & Classic concourse. Hardys Tintara Cellar Door was proud to be a part of this great event. It was recently voted the Community Event of the Year 2011. The McLaren Vale Vintage & Classic is a great family day that celebrates vintage and classic motoring. It offers visitors exquisite tastes of the McLaren Vale region’s world-class wines, tantalising gourmet food and classic motor vehicles of a by-gone era. Set in the relaxed atmosphere of McLaren Vale’s wineries and cellar doors, there is a parade down the Main Road of McLaren Vale, featuring all the cars in the event. This year at Hardys Tintara we showcased about 30 classic cars on our picturesque grounds. The majority were Monaros, which all looked spectacular. The event generated a lot of interest, with 200-plus people coming to have a look on Sunday alone. We also featured our Eileen Hardy wine range, which includes the Shiraz, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, giving everyone the opportunity to taste these exceptional wines. This proved very popular, with about 150 people tasting the wines. Of particular interest was our 2008 Eileen Hardy Chardonnay, which is currently on special to subscribers of The Palate (see our Cellar Door Offer below). This wine has nuances of sweet lemon and touches of grapefruit bitterness that are balanced by a creamy cashew, vanillin malt complexity. An exceptional structure is aided by crisp mineral acidity with a fine, long and persistent finish. The quality of this wine is highlighted when considering it has been awarded four capital city wine show trophies and five gold medals, including gold at the 2010 Decanter World Wine Awards.
	Cellar Door Offer 2008 Eileen Hardy Chardonnay Just $55.25 per bottle! Offer includes complimentary delivery to an Australian address To take advantage of this great offer, click here
	Win FREE TIX to Once upon a time Want to see Patricia Piccinini’s spectacular exhibition, Once upon a time, at the Art Gallery of South Australia? Simply be one of the first 20 people to email us at theteam@hardys.com.au with the subject title ‘Tix to Once upon a time’ and we’ll send you out a ticket, worth up to $15. Once upon a time is a spectacular exhibition that will transport you to a land not so far, far away. Drawn primarily from private collections, and including an exciting new work, the exhibition will provide a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in a group of cautionary tales that span the artist’s 15-year oeuvre to date. Through the realism of photography, moving image, sculpture, drawing and installation, Piccinini will transport you to strange locations that are eerily familiar. Confronted by her seemingly grotesque hybrid beings and anthropomorphic machines, she will challenge you to find beauty in a world that can never be perfect. The exhibition runs until June 26. Be quick to secure your free tix!

Out and about with Bill Hardy

Whenever I meet trade contacts overseas who fall under the spell of Australia through our wines, they almost always ask, “When is the best time to visit your wonderful country?” As a wine man – not necessarily a wise man – I always reply “Vintage time – March/April/May”. It’s when we have the best weather, vintage is in full swing, and there’s also plenty of festival fun.

They must listen, because we’ve had a flood of overseas visitors at Hardys during the past few weeks. Every Tuesday for three consecutive weeks I’ve helped host groups from the New Zealand Pak n Save and New World supermarket chains, including, sadly, a group from the South Island on the day of the Christchurch earthquake.

We’ve also hosted a delightful group of three ‘demoiselles’ from our agent Vincor, in Quebec, who were making their first trip to Australia to explore our wine country. Then, as promised, the American Consul General in Australia, Michael Thurston, followed in the footsteps of the American Ambassador and toured McLaren Vale before lunching with us in the superb cellar at Doug Govan’s Victory Hotel.

Well-known Melbourne wine scribe Jeremy Oliver also spent the day with us recently, tasting through the Hardys wine range for The Australian Wine Annual publication. He looked a happy man when he left!

I also took a small group of UK and Irish trade visitors, identified by Wine Australia as ‘movers and shakers’, on a heritage tour to Nottage Hill and the original Hardys Tintara winery, before leading them through an eclectic tasting of our wines designed to highlight both our blending skills and our unrivalled regional resources.

It’s not just busy in the cellar this time of year!

Have your Say

Here at Hardys we like to find out what you think and what is important to you – it helps keep us on our toes and inspires us!

Each month we'll ask you to vote on a particular topic and we will post the results the following month.

Last month we asked you which South Australian wine region you last visited. 40% of you told us that McLaren Vale, home of Hardys Tintara, was the last region you went to, while 30% visited the Adelaide Hills, 20% the Barossa Valley and 10% the Riverland.

This month we'd love to know what you're doing this Easter break. Click here to cast your vote.