Mclaren Vale Part 1: Maxwell winery

One of the best things about living in Adelaide is the wine country. This weekend we went to McLaren Vale

and visited a couple of my favourite wineries. First stop, Maxwell Wines. 

In the flurry to taste as many varieties of wine possible, I failed to take many photos, but here are some of the bottles we picked up along the way:

Four Roads Old Vine Grenache, Ellen Street Shiraz, Spiced Mead and Honey Mead

In no way or form are we experts or professionals in wine tasting. We taste what we taste and are still learning! Lets talk about each of them in tasting order.

The Grenache has always been my favourite sort of grape - it's spicy, seems to have a lot of elements to its flavouring, but still remains a light wine. In the past, my experience with pure Grenache wines is that it can be too light and could use some Tempranillo or Shiraz grape to balance it out. However, this particular bottle had the spiciness I look for in Grenache and had the medium-to-full bodiness in which I prefer.

Even though the photo shows the Ellen Street Shriaz, that is not actually the bottle I intended to buy. I'm not even sure I even tried this one. What I did try was the Maxwell's Silver Hammer (named after The Beatles song). The Silver Hammer was as enjoyable as a shiraz could go for me (not a favourite grape) - maybe something I'd buy a friend or family member. What I did intend to purchase was the Lime Cave Cabernet Sauvignon. I could be drinking wine and read tasting notes all day but all I can say is that 'this one is just super juicy'.

Honestly, the stars of the show are really the meads. Besides the excellent customer service at Maxwell's Winery, this is why I would bring all my friends. The honey mead is sweet but light best served over ice on a hot day. It reminds me of honey, apples, and apricot and tastes like summer. The spice mead is best served warm. The Cinnamon and clove spices gives it a winter warmth and reminds me of Apple Pies and sitting by a fire. If  you're not a wine drinker, you will most definitely love the mead. 

Next stop, Alpha Box & Dice.

-C