RED FIVE STAR WINERY Winery Awarded 5 Red Stars by James Halliday Wine Companion Outstanding Winery Regularly Producing Wines Of Exemplary Quality And Typicity. Will Have At Least 2 Wines Rated At 95 Points Or Above, And Had A Five Star Rating For The Previous 2 Years. Wednesday, March 13, 2019
PREMIUM SERIES My Top 20 Producers Mathew Dukes Decanter Magazine April 2010 One Of The Best Of The Best & Best Wineries Of The Regions 2014 COLOUR = Pale salmon pink. BOUQUET = Vibrant aromas of strawberries, rose petals and lime zest. PALATE = Delicate berry fruits, mandarin, nicely textured with a touch of spice, crunchy acidity and a nice dry finish. GRAPE VARIETIES = 94% Grenache 6% Merlot. RECOMMENDED WITH = Serve chilled with lighter dishes. A perfect accompaniment to Asian inspired cuisines. 90 Points WBM Magazine Nov / Dec 2018 TYSON STELZER S COMMENTS = Savoury, textural, dry and pale are the themes of Kays Rose, in an understated and sophisticated style, more about mouthfeel and gentle structure than it is about subtle guava, pomegranate and watermelon character. It s a friendly style and eminently antipasto ready 2018 Grenache Rose 13.0% Alc
BASKET PRESSED SERIES My Top 20 Producers Mathew Dukes Decanter Magazine April 2010 One Of The Best Of The Best & Best Wineries Of The Regions 2014 COLOUR = Bright crimson. BOUQUET = Lifted pretty aromatic notes of rose petal and dark cherry. PALATE = Rich strawberry conserve and Morello cherry, soft gentle tannin and refreshing acidity. Bright, elegant and delicious. GRAPE VARIETY = 98% Grenache 2% Shiraz. RECOMMENDED WITH = Lighter dishes such as Tapas. 2017 Grenache 14.5% Alc
BASKET PRESSED SERIES My Top 20 Producers Mathew Dukes Decanter Magazine April 2010 One Of The Best Of The Best & Best Wineries Of The Regions 2014 COLOUR = Medium purple with violet hues. BOUQUET = This is a balanced medium bodied wine. A complex bouquet shows red berry fruits. PALATE = Cured meats and game followed by rhubarb, coffee bean and bitter chocolate on the palate. Sinewy, firm tannins and good natural acidity. GRAPE VARIETY = 100% Mataro. RECOMMENDED WITH = Well suited to full flavoured dishes especially flame grilled or smoked meats and vegetables. 2014 Mataro 14.5% Alc
BASKET PRESSED SERIES My Top 20 Producers Mathew Dukes Decanter Magazine April 2010 One Of The Best Of The Best & Best Wineries Of The Regions 2014 COLOUR = Deep ruby. BOUQUET = Lifted floral notes, musk, aniseed and dark fruits emerge initially. Supported by smoky cedar and an underlying earthiness. PALATE = Dense, rich fruit flavours of raspberry and boysenberry, followed by black olive, spice and finishing with soft, fine grained dark chocolate tannins. GRAPE VARIETY = 97% Shiraz 3% Mataro. RECOMMENDED WITH = Rich meat dishes or pasta dishes with rich meaty sauce. 2017 Shiraz 14.5% Alc
PREMIUM SERIES My Top 20 Producers Mathew Dukes Decanter Magazine April 2010 One Of The Best Of The Best & Best Wineries Of The Regions 2014 COLOUR = Bright crimson. BOUQUET = Vibrant aromas of rose petals, sage and dark cherries. PALATE = Lively flavours of strawberry compote, rhubarb and sour cherry. Supported by crunchy acidity and chalky textured tannins. A fresh, juicy and aromatic wine with delicate structure. GRAPE VARIETY = 100% Nero D Avola. PRODUCTION = Only 130 cartons. 93 Points WBM Magazine Nov / Dec 2018 MIKE BENNIE S COMMENTS = Kay Brothers rarely put a foot wrong. Indeed, their output from recent vintages has been stellar. This is a personality rich Nero d Avola, imbued with expected cherry and faint herbal characters but with a pucker of fine tannin and an appealing tightness in tow. A serious release. 90 Points Robert Parker The Wine Advocate COMMENTS = From young vines, planted in 2010, below Block 6, Nero D Avola is a medium bodied, plump wine with mouth watering red fruit, hints of cinnamon and cedar and a surprisingly long, silky finish. It should drink well for at least 3 4 years. Only 130 cartons produced. 2017 Nero D Avola 13.0% Alc
PREMIUM SERIES My Top 20 Producers Mathew Dukes Decanter Magazine April 2010 One Of The Best Of The Best & Best Wineries Of The Regions 2014 COLOUR = Deep ruby. BOUQUET = Lovely aromas of mint, blackberry, clove and cedar. PALATE = Rich and concentrated dark flavours of mulberry and dark currants. Supported by fine textured chalky tannins and supple minerality that linger on the finish. A beautifully composed and varietal expression of Cabernet Sauvignon. RECOMMENDED WITH = We highly recommend decanting prior to serving. This Cabernet works well with rich dishes such as lamb. 95 Points The Wine Front Garry Walsh GARRY S COMMENTS = Blackcurrant / Blackberry, liquorice, dark mint chocolate, pepper and bread dough. Medium to full bodied, deep fruit, grainy yet tight tannin, succulent and savoury, with a ferrous quality, dense and nutty, dried herb on a long and tannic finish. Serious wine of impact and quality. Drink till 2038 + 95 Points Robert Parker The Wine Advocate Reviewed By Joe Czerwinski JOE S COMMENTS = Prettier and more aromatic than the very good 2015, the 2016 Cuthbert Cabernet Sauvignon hints at violets and mint on the nose and adds hints of cherries to the cassis fruit. Medium to full bodied, its supple, almost silky on the palate, with a finish that s simultaneously mouth watering and firmly tannic. It should drink well for at least a decade. Drink to 2035. 93 Points WBM Magazine 2018 TYSON STELZER S COMMENTS = This is a powerfully structured vintage for Kays, uniting the strength of Cabernet tannins with the drying effect of 20 months in French oak barriques. The result upholds the subtle fragrance of the variety, translated into a savoury context of capsicum, dried herbs and cedar. Fine, commanding tannins beg for time. 2016 Cuthbert Cabernet Sauvignon 13.5% Alc
PREMIUM SERIES My Top 20 Producers Mathew Dukes Decanter Magazine April 2010 One Of The Best Of The Best & Best Wineries Of The Regions 2014 COLOUR = Deep garnet. NOSE = Perfumed aromas of musk, blackberry and dried herbs followed by a hint of cedar. PALATE = The palate is dense and concentrated. Lashings of rich berry fruits, some spice then balanced by fine dark chocolatey tannins on the finish. A full flavoured wine with plenty of class. CELLARING = This wine leaves no doubt of its McLaren Vale heritage and will only benefit from quality time in the cellar. WINEMAKERS NOTES = The blend of these two vineyards balances each other extremely well. The 2015 vintage growing season began with an extremely dry and warm spring. Flowering conditions were excellent therefore optimising fruit set. Mild but dry conditions continued in early summer until mid-january, when we received 33 mm of much welcome rain. The rain freshened canopies and kick started veraison. The final ripening period was warm but with cool nights and no extended heat waves, full flavour ripeness and nice natural acidity levels were preserved. Harvested on the 17th of February, traditionally processed with open fermentation and basket pressing in our 1928 press. The wine then matured for 21 months in American and French oak. The block 11 component was fermented and matured in a large French oak foudre (holding 5400L). Bottling took place in February 2017. 95 Points The Wine Front Garry Walsh 2017 GARRY S COMMENTS = Tasted this at the winery back in April, and here it is again. Good things come to those who wait, sometimes twice. Double happiness. What I wrote back then, I've copied in, and elaborated on. Asian spices, black fruits, vanilla, dark chocolate and liquorice. Full bodied, depp and savoury, an explosion of dark chocolate, black olive and soy, toasty oak in support, dense ferrous tannin, running to toothsome 85% dark chocolate on a very long finish. Big. Balnaced. Beautiful. Id roll down this Hillside any day. Drink from 208 to 2035. 95 Points James Halliday Wine Companion JAMES COMMENTS = Boysenberry dipping in dark chocolate, plus a side of black plums, licorice and spicy clove/cedar (21 months in American & French oak, 26% new). Full bodied and densely layered, yet there is a vivacity, too, thanks to its refreshing acidity and oh so supple, spongy tannins. 2015 Hillside Shiraz 14.5% Alc
PREMIUM SERIES My Top 20 Producers Mathew Dukes Decanter Magazine April 2010 One Of The Best Of The Best & Best Wineries Of The Regions 2014 GRAPE VARIETY = 97% Grenache 2% Shiraz 1% Mataro. COLOUR = Deep crimson with a violet hue. NOSE = Alluring aromas of rose petal, dark cherries and a hint of spice. PALATE = Rich and concentrated fruit flavours of strawberry, raspberry and dark cherries. Nice supple acidity and fine silky tannins combine to provide an elegant finish. A very seductive Grenache. CELLARING = This wine can be enjoyed now or cellared for up to 6 8 years. 96 Points WBM Magazine 2018 TYSON STELZER S COMMENTS = One of Australia's most sophisticated Grenaches achieves a seamlessly even accord between exacting varietal definition, gorgeous fragrance, alluring fruit integrity and, most of all, a powder fine, mineral tannin structure of the highest order. It coasts very long, undeterred in line and length. 95 Points The Wine Front Garry Walsh COMMENTS = It s the top end Grenache from a producer better known for their Shiraz. As a wine critic, I shouldn t say that I have a fondness for Kay s, so ill say it as a wine enthusiast instead. Dries roses, ripe raspberry, something like black jelly beans, some sweet spices. Medium to full bodied, plush and mouth filling, but gentle too, with insistent silky tannin nudging it along, soft acidity, a savoury cast to a long finish with a cushion of royal purple velour tannin easing it out. Delightful. Texture is a highlight here. Drink till 2028. 93 95 Points Robert Parker The Wine Advocate Reviewed By Joe Czerwinski JOE S COMMENTS = The full bodied 2017 Griffon s Key Grenache boasts knockout aromatics of roses and black cherries. Sweetly ripe fruit, silky tannins and a long, zesty finish suggest this will be great shortly after release, yet have the potential of aging for up to a decade. Drink to 2030. 2017 Griffon s Key Grenache 14.5% Alc
Langton's Classification BLOCK 6-OUTSTANDING The Outstanding category comprises the essence of the Australian ultra-fine wine scene. These classic wines represent the pinnacle of genre or evoke an enduring standard; wines that demonstrate individual winemaking philosophy, singe-vineyard expression, old-vine heritage, regional classicism and house style. This is a rich, full bodied style with generous, ripe fruits, fine chocolatey tannins and balanced new oak. Top Vintages: 2015 2014 2013 2012 2010 2008 2005 2004 2002 2001 1998 1996 1995 1992 1990 1985. Langton s Classification of Australian Wine V11 Wednesday, March 13, 2019
PREMIUM SERIES My Top 20 Producers Mathew Dukes Decanter Magazine April 2010 One Of The Best Of The Best & Best Wineries Of The Regions 2014 GRAPE VARIETY = 100% Shiraz. COLOUR = Deep Ruby. NOSE = Intense aromas of violets, fennel, sage, boysenberry, marzipan, cigar box and a hint of cedar. PALATE = Layers of concentrated cherries and dark chocolate. Followed by slowly building fine grained graphite like tannins of immense length. Rich and concentrated with power and finesse. CELLARING = Decant now or cellar till 2040. 96 Points Tyson Stelzer TYSON S COMMENTS = The front label boldly declares Handpicked from 124 year old vines a teaser to the seamless complexity and effortless confidence of this lauded label. 2016 goes down among my favourites yet, for its calm juxtaposition of reverberating depth of satsuma plum and black cherry fruits and exotic spice and its finely poised structure of firm, finely textured tannins and gliding persistence. 96 Points Robert Parker The Wine Advocate Reviewed By Joe Czerwinski JOE S COMMENTS = Bay leaf, violets and peppery spice mark the nose of the 2016 Block 6 Shiraz, produced from vines planted in 1892. Its full bodied, creamy and supple, then it turns rich and velvety on the long finish. The texture this year really sets it apart, while the flavours of boysenberry and blackberry are wonderfully accented by hints of cracked pepper. Drink till 2035. 96 Points The Wine Front Garry Walsh COMMENTS = Liquorice and blackness, could somebody please turn the lights back on? Full bodied, dense and massed with silty smooth tannins, black olives rolled in dried herb, iron, some vanilla oak prettiness, bright boysenberry acidity pushes it along, and then a long savoury earthen finish. Brooding and magnificent. It s a top shelf Block 6. Drink to 2038. 2016 Block 6 Shiraz 14.0% Alc
FORTIFIED SERIES My Top 20 Producers Mathew Dukes Decanter Magazine April 2010 One Of The Best Of The Best & Best Wineries Of The Regions 2014 COLOUR = Deep amber brown with a slight green hue. BOUQUET = Honey. Orange peel, hazelnut and fruitcake. PALATE = Rich and luscious mouth feel, raisins, dried fruit underscored by toffee and caramel which is supported by warm spirit extending its length. GRAPE VARIETIES = 100% Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains DESCRIPTION = The Kay family has been synonymous with the McLaren Vale region for over 125 years. White Frontignac grapes have been grown successfully ever since. The base of this Grand Liquer Muscat started 2 decades ago and has matured a minimum of 10 years in small and large oak barrels. The packaging has been upgraded to 500ml in October 2016 and Herbert Kay s hand writing features on the front and back label which has been taken out of the old diaries from 1892. N/V Grand Muscat 18.0% Alc
FORTIFIED SERIES My Top 20 Producers Mathew Dukes Decanter Magazine April 2010 One Of The Best Of The Best & Best Wineries Of The Regions 2014 COLOUR = Deep tawny brown with orange hues. BOUQUET = Prunes, nutty, vanilla and rancio characters. PALATE = Aged rancio characters, a Spanish term that describes the peak of refinement in aromas and flavours derived by the ageing process. Rich, concentrated dried fruit, marmalade underscored by caramel and chocolate. The bight acidity is providing a fresh clean finish. GRAPE VARIETIES = Grenache Shiraz Mataro. DESCRIPTION = First released to celebrate the centenary of the Kay Family s arrival at Amery on February 2 nd 1891. Aged in small and large oak barrels for more than a decade to gain rich intensity. It s a labour of love and the angels enjoy their share. N/V Old Tawny 19.5% Alc