At the end of my work trip to Australia, I was in Adelaide for the Australian Institute of Physics’ national congress. I took advantage of the good weather one afternoon to head out to the Magill Hill Estate, a short bus ride from the centre of town, and the home of Penfolds. The original Grange cottage, after which their famous wine is named, is located off the lavendar-lined driveway and most of the site’s buildings date from the earliest days of the vineyard.
After the tour was a tasting of six wines including two rather special ones: Koonunga Hill Seventy Six and Autumn Riesling. They were both great, and are only available on the cellar door and in the on-site restaurant; I took advantage of a special offer and the favourable exchange rate to a buy a bottle of both. Getting them home was something to worry about later…
The Seventy Six is a shiraz cabernet and is designed as an homage to the original 1976 vintage, the first to take the Koonunga Hill name. It packs a punch at 14.5% and benefited from the warm 2006 summer. It was a deep and bright red in colour, very clear, and smelt fruity. There were berry and cherry flavours in the mouth, with light tannins and oak notes. I matched it with both roast beef and cheeses, and it went well with either and on its own.