Winery tasting notes are often, sadly, more perfunctory than anything else. Scant on actual detail, high on marketing guff, with the excitement usually reserved for only the very finest wines.

Which is why, for these Flaxman wines, I am going to reproduce them in full. They read like a ‘best practise’ model for making cult wines or, at the least, porn for winemakers.
No marketing spiel here. None needed. The hand crafted, unwaveringly high quality wines reek of so much passion, that all that’s required is a glass to sell these wines. Another small winery leading the way in quality and value…

Flaxman Riesling 2008 (Eden Valley, SA)

An interesting Riesling that continued to show different elements of its personality as it opened up. On night one I actually picked this as a dud bottle – it was just that intense and tight.

Green colour and initially quite closed, showing lavender and citrus eventually opening up to a lemon, slate & citrus nose. The palate started off very tight and closed with butch acidity, but by the next day it had opened up to show delicate lemony fruit, slate & some unusual aniseed characters. The acidity is extremely prominent, pithy & lemony, with some phenolic grip thanks to the whole bunch ferment, making for a very, savoury, lemony palate.

Its a dry, delicate Riesling that will live for a very long time, with a palate that is quite a challenge to pin down, yet extremely high quality and undoubtedly drinkable. Good stuff. 17.5+

Would be a very interesting exercise to put this next to Mt Edelstone – certainly plenty of similarities….

Purple maroon colour. Big, slightly raisined, tight red fruit nose, with air opening up to show licorice & some coffee oak. Very tight, intense nose. The palate is layered & very impressive showing dark red, licoriced and slightly minty distinctly Eden Valley fruit with a brilliant depth to it. Grapey (which many reds that are unfined and unfiltered show) balanced, excellent. Real impact. Very impressive full bodied Shiraz built for the long haul. 18.7+

Flaxman Wines ‘Shhh’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 (Eden Valley, SA)

‘Fruit sourced from a vineyard between the Eden Valley township and Mount Adam. Matured in French oak for 24 months. Open top fermentation, pigeage, minimal pumping and extended time on lees. No filtering or fining. 60 dozen made $45.00’

Initially I much preferred the Shiraz, but this very linear Cabernet eventually won me over.

Deep maroon colour. Simmering dense fruit nose of blackberry juice, sitting like a sleeping giant. Minty dense & very ripe blackberry & boysenberry palate that is intense and largely hidden. Grapey again, this has a lingering red berry aftertaste. Stylish, classic South Australian Cabernet that needs years. 18.7++

Light yellow colour. Nutty, floral lemony nose that is quite fresh yet also with edge of peach juice that is the cordon cut fruit. Nutty, lemony & apricot palate with some lime cordial, very clean, light and grapey. Lovely fresh drink. 17.5