Somebody should have given me a prod to answer this one
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I hadn't checked in to this section for a while and I have answered Eric's question about visiting elsewhere. If anybody else needs any info about visiting or has any specific questions, hit me up and I'll tell you what I know.
dave berg wrote:I agree--Seppelt, Buller's, and Yalumba have never been a disappointment. Never seen the area you mention, so I'll have to watch for it. Years ago I had a Lustau Emilon(sp?) Moscatel that was just superb--and I've never seen it again.
Of the 3 that Dave have listed here only Buller is actually a Rutherglen based Winery. They have also been through some tough times, going into receivership, and emerging with new ownership and a much smaller portflio of wines. I'm not totally sure what we will see from them.
It isn't Seppelt any more, but rather Seppeltsfield. Seppelt is owned by Treasury and some time ago (about 10 years I am guessing) they sold off the Fortified arm of Seppelt and it was renamed Seppeltsfield (which is a town in the Barossa Valley). They don't have a presence in Rutherglen but they do use Rutherglen grapes for their muscat. Seppeltsfield also have some fairly extraordinary tawnies. In their storage caves they have an unbroken run of tawny stocks that date back to the 1870s I think. That's all in the Barossa.
Yalumba are similar, in that they are based in the Barossa Valley. They are a large family owned company and they have a few other brands under their portfolio, like RIngbolt from Western Australia and Pewsey Vale, known for their Rieslings from the Eden Valley in South Australia. I'm not sure where the Yalumba Fruit comes from, but again they have no real association with Rutherglen.
THe Rutherglen producers have a sort of a 4 step classification for their Muscat - Rutherglen, Classic, Grand and Rare. The average ages are pretty loose but I often buy 12 year old which fits into classic.
Rutherglen isn't a huge wine region and there aren't that many producers. Some of the newer ones either aren't interested in fortifieds or don't yet have the stock to make decent muscat yet. There are quite a few that have a lot of history though dating back to the mid to late 1800s.
Here are my go to Muscats....
Stanton and Killeen - Both their Classic Muscat and Topaque (aka Tokay) are great for the price. The rare muscats are great too.
Campbells - I often prefer the Topaque at the classic level. Their top Topaque (Isabella) and Muscat(Merchant Prince) are legendary
Morris- Great and usually well priced accross the range.
Pfieffer - Also great across the range. A couple of nice Sherry styles too.
I've never been that impressed with Chambers Rosewood but I've never had their Rare Muscat and Topaque either. Reputation wise that sits along with the top Campbells wines as the best of the style.
There are others, like All Saints/St Leonards, Anderson, Jones. Cofield. All are worthwhile too.
In a separate region called Glenrowan, that is maybe half an hour away from Rutherglen, there is Baileys. They have some fantastic Muscat as well with some older stocks. There are a few others that are scattered around the General area either in Glenrowan, the King Valley or Beechworth that will have a Muscat as part of their range but most are going to be not quite at that classic level in terms of quality although still tasty.
