Winetastic

I have fond memories of my first visit to Tamburlaine in the hunter valley. Organic wines, whites I actually liked and competitive prices to boot. Although the wines are still organic and good quality, the prices have unfortunately shot through the roof over the past couple of years.

Upon arrival, the cellar door was bustling with many visitors as well as a busload of obviously well lubricated tourists in the next room. There were plenty of attentive staff on hand however, and we were immediately handed some tasting glasses and a pushy sales pitch to join the Tamburlaine “wine club”. This was an off putting experience given that we were yet to actually taste any wine.

Tamburlaine produce wines from grapes grown both in the Hunter Valley, and their Orange Vineyard from central NSW. The Tamburlaine Hunter Verdelho 2004 ($22) is the best example of the variety I have tasted to date, presenting loads of tropical fruits with balancing acidity. Previously I had purchased several bottles of the 2003 vintage, however a jump in price of around $5 per bottle removed any notion of value for money.

Following the trend set by the Verdelho, the 2004 Hunter Syrah ($28) was a good example of the traditional red, however it struggled to hold its own against many other top producers we visited on this trip. The 2004 Orange Syrah ($28) was marginally better, presenting good cool climate Shiraz qualities of dark fruits and a little pepper. Both are well crafted wines, however they really should be priced below $20 to be competitive.

Overall the quality of the wines at Tamburlaine is good, however there are far better wines at lower prices available in the hunter valley, or any bottle shop for that matter. As a side note, their website is far from professional, is difficult to navigate and does not appear to have any useful information such as tasting notes or prices.

Website: http://www.tamburlaine.com.au