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Wine Review: Poverty Hill of Eden Valley, Australia

It’s not every day that I would devote a post to just one wine, but this is no ordinary wine. A friend of mine, from South Australia had alerted me to this new winery, and lo and behold, I became the happy recipient of two bottles, one sublime 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, and no less spectacular bottle of Riesling, 2004.

The bottles arrived, all the way from South Australia, in a neat styrofoam molded box. I let them rest for a week before I dared to open the red first. I had bought a nice chunk of Idiazabal for the occasion (a smoky, rich cheese from the Basque country made with the milk of sheep, simply great with a full bodied red.) I carefully opened the bottle and poured a glass, and stood there, looking at the dazzling hues of red against a background of candlelight. I was surprised at the intensity of the bouquet, with blackcurrant overtones, some mint I thought, and dark cherry. Nicely textured body, loads of alcoholic legs, it didn’t take me long to realize I was in the company of a great, expressive wine. Strong finish, lingering after taste, I was in heaven. The wine and the cheese did not last long. I’m not sure of the cost of the wine but I would gladly pay the asking price, in fact I’m on a mission now to find a supplier in the UK.

The white got a special mention from my partner who happens to be German and a great connoisseur of Riesling. We both sipped it and thought it admirable. Here I have to confess that I rarely drink white wine, if at all. Champagne, sparkling Chardonnays and Pinot Noir, yes, and the odd Meursault or Montrachet, but apart from that I drink red. Having said that, even with my minimal understanding of white wines, I thought this Poverty Hill Riesling not poor at all. A grand wine it would be if cellared for another 8 to 10 years.

A pleasant surprise was seeing the name of my old friend, James Halliday, on the website blurb, declaring the Poverty Hill winery one of the top ten in Australia, no mean feat when you consider that there are over 3,000 wineries in the land of OZ!