Eden Road (April 2014 Cellar Door Visit)
A relatively new winery in the Canberra region. A fantastically presented cellar door. As the new kid on the block these guys have a simply massive range of wines available for testing. They’re massive range must give them scope to play around and determine what works best from a wine making perspective. As a punter they have many of the same varieties that have been grown in different regions, giving an indication what some of the (relatively) local microclimates offer and bring to the table, some of the differences are far from subtle. Their wines are great, so check them out for that, but if nothing else, check them out as a way of seeing the differences in where the vine was grown causes differences in the wine in the bottle.
[ Key ]:
B = Purchased
S = Smelled
T = Tasted
W = Wishlist
Riesling (Canberra) 2013 [S]: Flowery; Scent indicates that the acid in this will be pretty good, chalky lemon notes too.
Riesling (Off Dry – Canberra) 2013 [S]: A wild ferment, More muted nose but similar to the dry, but would expect this to be more food friendly.
Pinot Gris 2013 [S]: Peary nose w/ a slight (clean) musky scent.
Chardonnay “The Long Road ” 2012 [S]: A phenolic nutty nose
Chardonnay (Tumbarumba) 2012 [S]: A more elegant version of the long road. I’d expect this to go for a while, a nutty finish, and hints of green honey dew melon.
Chardonnay “Courabyra” 2012 [S]:?(Slightly cooler?climate to Maragle) – Sharper
Chardonnay “Maragle” 2012 [S]: ?(Slightly warmer climate than Courabyra) – Bigger nose, peary, more interesting at this stage on the nose.
Pinot Noir “The Long Road” 2012 [S]: Different fragrances compared to most PN’s recently smelled. A slightly sweet nose.
Pinot Noir “Tumbarumba” 2011 [S]: Spicy, somewhat more austere than the long road.
Shiraz “The Long Road” 2012 [S]: Cool climate pepper, red fruit – smells juicy.
Shiraz “Hilltops” 2010 [S+B+T+W]: Pepper fading into dark red fruits, good acid.
Shiraz “Gundagai” 2011 [S+T]: Slightly lighter than the Hilltops in palate.
Shiraz “Canberra” 2011 [S+T]: White pepper, softer mouthfeel. Pepper finish.
Cabernet Sauvignon “Gundagai” 2012 [S]: Cooler Cab Sauv, slightly bitter tannins, Good nose with some hints approaching tar but not overt (tar + smoke).
Nebiolo “Gundagi” 2011 [S+T]: Lighter colour, clean finish, almost too clean, ends quickly.
Shiraz “Canberra” 2012 [S+T+W]: Would have been a buy buy buy if it were available for purchase (was not technically available for tasting on this day ;-)). Pepper and fruit come and play together nicely. Pepper finishes the deal, fruit dominates the mid palate. Awesome Wine!! (Available now at time of posting)
Riesling 2009 [S+T+W]: ?Slight kero nose. Fruit is still great, Lemon Pithy finish, nice mid palate. (Available now at time of posting).
Pinot Gris 2014 [S+W]: Tank sample (who’s a lucky taster then). Better than the ’13. More clean fruit which exposes some sweetness.