Location: McLaren Vale
James Halliday Rating: 4 ½ stars
Classic McLaren Winery sits amongst 150 acres on one of the most prestigious vineyards in McLaren Vale. Planted on gently undulating elevated hills, the winery commands spectacular views to the nearby township, hills and sea and so it is fitting that this magnificent site should be home to 'La Testa'.
Vigneron Tony De Lisio's adamant belief, that great wines start in the vineyard, led him to the next level, that of winemaker. The winery owned vineyards allow Tony complete control of the fruit, and together with selected parcels of grapes from growers that share Tony's belief the winery has a pool of over 1000 tonnes of fruit. 250 tonnes of the very best fruit were selected for processing in the 2001 vintage of Classic Mclaren Wines.
“Nature Provides the Diamond in the Rough,
But the Craftsman will Turn it into a Gem”
The region's reliable warm to hot summers and cooling maritime breezes extend maturation of the grapes to achieve maximum flavour and ripeness, which in turn allows for minimal intervention and the signature style of winemaking, that is 'La Testa'. During the renaissance period man's focus was on craftsmanship, beauty and art and so it was that a renaissance Sybil was chosen to grace the label and to symbolise what will always be hand crafted wines.
These powerful fruit driven wines are fermented then aged in French and American oak barriques where the wines harmonize and develope a seamless integration of fruit and oak tannins, making them a pleasure to drink now or, with patient cellaring, for many years to come. When you purchase a Classic McLaren wine you will experience a commitment to quality embraced by wine lovers all over the world. We have chosen this direction to follow and it remains our goal and our signature.
Reviews
1999 La Testa Blend
Robert Parker Jr. 90 Points"...One of the outstanding wines from Classic McLaren was the 1999 La Testa Blend, a typically Australian concoction of 52% Grenache, 41% Shiraz, and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon (70% of this was aged in French oak and the rest in American casks). The wine shows a dense purple color and a big, flamboyant, smoky, black currant, plum, and blackberry-scented nose with noticeable vanillin. Full-bodied, chewy, and full, a multi-layered texture, good spice, and an exceptional finish certainly made this the most impressive of the Classic McLaren offerings. Approximately 350 cases were produced." - Robert Parker
1997 La Testa Shiraz and 1998 La Testa Grenache
According to the importer, Dan "Makin' Bacon" Philips* owner/winemaker Tony De Lisio is one of his "greatest discoveries" and "an amazing winemaking talent." Based on these two wines, can there be any disagreement? The dark ruby-colored 1998 Grenache La Testa (150 cases from 5-60-year old vines that yielded an average of 1.5 tons of fruit per acre) exhibits a knock-out nose of sweet vanillin intermixed with jammy black raspberries and kirsch. Deep, pure, expansive, and fleshy, this is a hedonistic wine to drink over the next decade. Readers looking for a clone of the famed Clarendon Hills luxury cuvée of 100% Shiraz called Australia can find it in the 1997 Shiraz La Testa. This fabulous effort is one of the great wines from a vintage that has nowhere near the overall quality of 1996 or 1998. Nevertheless, this is a profound, prodigiously rich wine with a saturated black/purple color and knock-out aromas of burning charcoal fire, jammy blackberries, cassis, and melted asphalt. Extremely full-bodied, with a viscous texture and high alcohol, this enormously endowed wine will improve for 10-15 years, and last for three decades. An impressive new producer that will thrill wine enthusiasts!
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