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The wines of Tim Adams, Clare Valley, Australia

Tasted at the London Wine Trade Fair, May 2000

A high quality range from Clare Valley vigneron Tim Adams, who was pouring the wines himself. Much of the attention inevitably focuses on the Aberfeldy, his premium Shiraz (and not on tasting), but this partially hides the fact that these are all excellent wines in their own right, and each represents pretty good value for money. He buys most of his grapes from a network of quality minded growers that he has established over the years.

1999 Riesling
Huge, powerful nose of lime fruits. Complex and intense, this wine is richly concentrated with an amazing array of citrus-like flavours. One of the most dramatic Aussie Rieslings I have tried. Very good + (Stocked by Tesco)

1998 Semillon
Rich, complex white: the lime fruit has combined well with the toasty oak to produce a firm, food-friendly wine. Quite classy. (Stocked by Tesco)

1998 Fergus
80% Grenache, with some Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz to add structure. There's plenty of cinnamon spice notes from the Grenache, together with raspberry fruit. It is quite light-textured on the palate, despite the full flavours. If you like Australian Grenache, this is an excellent example. Quite attractive. Very good.

1998 Cabernet Sauvignon
Deep purple/black colour. Lovely intense characters of herbs and cassis on the nose; rich, ripe and tannic on the palate. Delicious stuff. Very good/excellent.

1998 Shiraz
Another intense, purple/black wine. There is a distinct menthol character to the nose, with rich, ripe and spicy fruit on the palate. Really lovely stuff.

1998 Shiraz by Sorby
A 50/50 blend of fruit from the Barossa and Clare Valleys, this is a collaborative effort between Tim and his brother Simon. It is a deeply concentrated wine, with a strong menthol-like character, sweet herbal notes and firm tannins. The combination of ripe fruit and oak (18 months in French and American) give an impression of sweetness. It is a big-styled wine that needs time to come together. Impressive.