The Wine Blokes

Last night was another where a couple of friends turned up unexpected with a few bottles of wine to taste, along with some great bread and cheese. One of the wines they had was a label I had been wanting to try for a while. I ordered it the other night when out for dinner but they had sold out.

Blackford Stable is a new label released by the Cowper family who have a vineyard at Charelston in the Adelaide Hills. Originally from New Zealand, the Cowpers purchased land a little over 10 years ago, which was part of the orginal Blackford Estate.

I studied with Nicky Cowper at Adelaide University and have followed her progress in developing the fantastic vineyard with her family. Initially, grapes grown on the estate were sold to other wineries, but the vision was always to produce small quantities under the Blackford Stable label. It has to be one of the most immaculate vineyards in the Hills, a testament to Steve Cowpers attention to detail and excellence.

2005 Blackford Stable Merlot: I have to say this wine a little suprising when we first had a sniff. Winemaker Nicky Cowper describes it as a fruit bomb, and on first impressions it was.

It has some very nice plum and black olive aromas and quite ripe fruit. On the palate the wine is extremely rich but I did find the oak a little sappy. In my experience Merlot does tend to have a sappy oak character early on, and tends to become more integrated and balanced over time in the bottle. At this stage the tannin structure is also a little bit disjointed, but again over time this will develop. All in all we all agreed this is a nice wine, but maybe a bit early for its best drinking. Certainly it needs to be put in cellar for a few years. Merlot is so fickle and vineyard site is critical. However, the Merlot at Charleston shows some promise and as the vines become older it is one to keep an eye on.

Blackford Stable also produce Sauvignon Blanc, Sangiovese, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

You can read more or order the wines from the BlackFord Stable website: