Sixty Second Swirl
The vineyard at Quarry Hill Wines is perched atop the terraced slope of a hill that bore the quarry rock for the construction of the Barton Highway. Perfectly situated for quality cool climate grape growing, Quarry Hill produces a range of wine styles that demonstrate a real sense of place and purpose.
A great example is the subject of this week’s “swirl” – the Quarry Hill ‘Lost Acre’ Tempranillo 2021.
This ‘Neo’ is deep garnet colour with flashes of plum purple. A swirl reveals aromas of black cherry, blueberry jam and mulberry with a crush of cool-climate white pepper and clove. There’s also a faint and beguiling hint of dried oregano. The palate is medium-bodied with red and dark cherry and mulberry and a lovely lift from well-integrated acid leading to a must-have-more finish.
I think this wine was designed with fun and food in mind and is an excellent food friendly drop. We enjoyed our bottle with slow-braised Asian style sticky pork ribs but would go well with any red meat or game fresh off the BBQ or a spicy chorizo sausage grilled and served with garlic aioli.
They don’t have a cellar door and I sourced my bottle from a bottle shop, but you can also buy it for $27 online.
by Brent Lello
Yass Valley Times Wine Columnist
Quarry Hill is a boutique, family-owned and run vineyard situated just outside Canberra and is part of the Canberra cool-climate district. The vineyard was established by Professor Deane Terrell after he completed his tenure as Vice-Chancellor of the ANU.
They unfortunately, don’t have a cellar door, however, they do hold occasional invitation-only events open exclusively to people on their mailing list, so it’s well worth signing up. Their wines are available from most bottle shops throughout the ACT.
For all enquiries, call Russell Kerrison on 0414 574 460 or email russell@quarryhill.com.au
