Wine Producing Regions - Clare Valley

You can click the dots on the map or alternatively click the licks on the left to find out more information about that region of South Australia.

• Overview
• Adelaide Hills
• Adelaide Plains
• Barossa Valley
• Clare Valley
• Coonawarra
• Currency Creek
• Eden Valley
• Kangaroo Island
• Langhome Creek
• McLaren Vale
• Mount Benson
• Padthaway
• Riverland
• Southern Fleurieu
• Southern Flinders
• Wrattonbully

Clare Valley, South Australia

Mount Lofty Ranges Zone, South Australia

With a continuous history of winemaking dating back to 1852, the stone buildings and wineries of the Clare Valley add to the region's striking and varied beauty. It is a high quality producer of long-lived, intensely flavoured and strongly structured table wines, virtually all of which are made in limited quantities.

Although much has been written about the climate of this region, in many ways it is difficult to reconcile with its wine styles. Its weather data point to a far warmer climate than is the case; cool afternoon breezes are the key and play a major role in slowing down the ripening process. Furthermore, altitude and position within the Valley as well as aspect all lead to considerable variations in individual site climate. Overall, however, the climate is moderately continental, with cool to cold nights and warm to hot summer days; the rainfall is winter-spring dominant, making irrigation all but essential while relatively low humidity (and summer rainfall) means a low incidence of fungal disease.

Harvest commences in early March and finishes, typically, with Riesling coming in last in late April. With the exception of the open expanses of the Polish Hill River to the east, and Auburn to the south, the region is defined into a series of sub-valleys running in every direction, with numerous creeks or creek beds. The higher altitude or west-facing slopes often produce the best vineyard sites and this very beautiful region is no exception.

The soils vary but are, by and large, excellent; red to brown grey in colour, and with significant limestone sub-soil content, particularly in the more southerly subregions.

Wine Notes

Riesling

Much of Australia's finest Riesling is grown in the Clare Valley, and it is the most important wine for the region. Typically, it starts life in a fairly austere mode with faint aromas of passionfruit, a touch of lime, and a steely strength. Almost immediately a telltale touch of lightly browned toast starts to emerge, and as the wine ages and becomes more complex the intensity of that toasty character grows. These are long lived wines; only in the weakest years will they not benefit from five years in bottle with many of the better wines improving for up to 10 years.

Cabernet Sauvignon

This is the other great wine of the region. Here the character and the style are less homologous, in part reflecting the philosophy of the winemaker and in part the imperatives of the vineyard terroir. The wines are seldom less than full bodied and are at times as strikingly dense, rich and as concentrated as any wine to be found in Australia.

Shiraz

There are those who think that Clare Shiraz is every bit as good as Cabernet Sauvignon and, over the years, the two have frequently been blended, sometimes with the addition of a little Malbec. The wines are deep in colour and flavour, rounder and softer than the Cabernet Sauvignon but with similar strength and depth.

Other

Either singly or as blends, Chardonnay, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Grenache are the other main wines of the region. Chardonnay's failure to take hold is puzzling and a question without an answer unless it is loyalty to the Riesling traditions of the region. Nonetheless, the question provides a welcome point of difference from many of Australia's wine regions.