OCTOBER 2007

Tim Adams nets six in Taste Food & Wine 2008

In compiling Taste Food & Wine 2008, Matthew Jukes and Tyson Stelzer made their selection of the best 365 wines from Australia and New Zealand. Six of those selections were from the Tim Adams stable — 2006 Semillon, 2007 Pinot Gris, 2007 Riesling (not yet released), 2005 Shiraz, 2005 The Aberfeldy Shiraz and 2005 The Fergus.

Here are their comments on the individual wines:

Tim Adams Clare Valley Semillon 2006

Unoaked Semillon should be a doddle (although so many people muck it up). When you bring oak barrels into play there are all sorts of hidden traps, so you have to be ultra-confident and immensely talented not to cock it up. If you do, you’ll lose the character of the variety and waste the investment in the carpentry in one fatal move. Tim has been doing Semillon for decades and what is more remarkable is that he manages to keep it hovering around the $20 price point. While it ages extremely well, our preferred drinking window is sooner rather than later, when the freshly baked brioche notes and vanilla pod moments interact beautifully with the citrus missile that is Tim Adams Semillon.

Tim Adams Pinot Gris 2007

If Tim’s Riesling and Semillon are the older, wiser and more scheming sisters in the Adams family, Ms Gris is the slutty but thoroughly exciting little sister. Unbelievably elegant fruit gives her an air of charming innocence on the surface, but she is quick to parade her spice and warm, baked cake aromas at the slightest opportunity. Is she really a good girl, or is she hiding something? Open a bottle and you can decide. Be prepared for a shocking revelation…

Tim Adams Riesling 2007

If you are an unashamed fanatic of TAR (as we are), gear yourself up to be transported to the next level. It’s as if Tim’s taken a close look at this wine and then pulled it in and tightened it up with a sneer – and not a little pain involved. It should wear a little yellow diamond-shaped warning sign: “Stand clear. Work in progress until 2008.” This is one of the more backward Rieslings from Bonecrusher Adams, and this suggests that it is going to be a longer-term wine than his other recent releases. Be patient and let its fresh lemon and lime fruit and Chinese pear texture work its all-consuming magic.

Tim Adams Shiraz 2005

TA Shiraz is a refined, elegant wine despite its macho 14.5% alcohol. It just grows and grows in the glass, with brooding intensity that takes both time and air to unlock and unravel. There is soy spice and liquorice in this wine’s core and as soon as these elements identify themselves the rest of the brew is ready to drink! This takes about an hour in the decanter – you have been warned.

Tim Adams The Aberfeldy Clare Valley Shiraz 2005

This is a very, very pretty wine made from very old vines and already showing immense poise and power on the nose and palate. We know that it is a ten year proposition, but I for one (MSJ) will not be practising what I preach and will be tucking in early, say in four or five years, to capture the energy and perfumed, pure fruit in this sensational creation before it fades and mellows.

Tim Adams The Fergus Clare Valley 2005

Yeah, bring it on. Ferg is an old mate, but he seems to have been on the treadmill and perhaps had a bit of ‘work’ done, because he has never looked so handsome and swaggering. This is a very suave blend of Grenache, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which just glides across your palate with ease – something we bet you thought you’d never see from Bonecrusher Adams.