Mr. Bill Hardy was in town all of last week hosting lunches, dinners and tastings to promote what was formerly his family's wines, now part of the giant Constellation Group.
Probably the highlight event was a tasting of 3 vintages of the iconic Eileen Hardy Shiraz. I was lucky enough to be among the dozen or so individuals invited to this tasting.
Mr. Hardy introduced the wines and explained that the first vintage was made as the family's birthday gift to honor the family's matriarch, Eileen Hardy, on her 80th birthday in 1973. Although it is now a pure Shiraz, in the beginning, the only requirement was that the best red fruit from any of the company's vineyards would go into the wine. So it could be a multi-region blend and in some years Cabernet Sauvignon would be the grape of choice. Most years, though, it would be Shiraz from McLaren Vale that would predominate.
The wines were decanted for about an hour and were tasted from youngest to oldest.
Eileen Hardy Shiraz 2004 - 100% McLaren Vale from the Upper Tintara, Blewitt Springs, and McLaren Flat Vineyards. Mostly coffee with a little bit of prune initially. Sweet fruit with lots of concentration but it's balanced by the acidity. Dry finish and it's only here where the oak shows. After two hours, more complexity with chocolate, toffee and cigarette/tobacco showing. Very good.
Eileen Hardy Shiraz 1996 - Fruit sourced from McLaren Vale and Padthaway. Just a slight touch of oxidation. Sweet and very spicy. Firm tannins that mean it could possibly need a bit more age although it's drinking very well now. Probably approaching peak. A more elegant and restrained style. Very good.
Eileen Hardy Shiraz 1995 - Fruit sourced from McLaren Vale and Padthaway. Still quite dark. Despite decanting for nearly 2 hours, still shy on the nose. Rich, full, Rhonish dried herb character. Black berries. Strong tannins. This is still a bit tight. Could definitely use more bottle age. Maybe best to leave alone another 3 years or so. Dry finish with great length. This will be an outstanding wine when it matures.
Many thanks to the folks at Future Trade (Hardy's distributor in Manila) for inviting me to to the Thursday lunch and the Friday tasting!