A few pics from my visit to McWilliams' Hanwood winery. I've been drinking their wines for years and was excited to visit the cellar where they store their aged semillon and shiraz, Elizabeth and Phillip.
They are one of a few wineries to offer wines that have been matured. Apparently 98% of wine bought is drunk within 24 hours, so McWilliams are offering a service in making cellared wines available. It takes time otherwise to get to experience the difference.
Winemaker Russell Cody shared his passion and skills, answering my questions and offering guidance in the wine-blending workshop. I'd been to one at Toorak Winery last year and, once again, concluded that maybe I should've stuck with shiraz rather than blending it with cabernet.
The shirazes showed an interesting variety: a big Barossa fruity explosion, a Heathcote with a metallic sparkle, then the pleasant Riverina I noted as 'prune' as well as an oaked version. In combination they kinda played out in that order on your tongue. The cabernet was from Coonawarra and was rich as expected, so I wanted that in the mix but in hindsight I should've pocketed it as it was good on it's own.
McWilliams' class was fun but seemed to skimp on materials. The refreshments particularly though I think they should've handed out palate wheels too. It was great to look around their facility, which can hold up to 50 million litres of wine. We also had a glass of their 13-year old port.
