Sevenhill plays to its strengths

THERE are many words to describe Clare Valley’s Sevenhill Cellars: iconic, historic, traditional, distinctive and even spiritual, thanks to its Jesuit ownership.

For more than 150 years the wines have been highly traditional, with a distinctive regional DNA within their generous and sometimes formidable frames.

There have been more recent plantings, but it is their heritage vines that really give the place its stamp of individuality.

The heritage shiraz vines were planted in 1860, grenache in 1920 and 1966, and cabernet in 1975.

However, a recent tasting pointed to a shift.

Sure, there is still much of the regional character of the Clare Valley, but the current batch of wines I saw were slightly lighter–and that’s a relative thing, I know–and presented in a slightly more contemporary style.

Winery general manager Jonathan O’Neill agreed there had been an effort to stylistically change a few things with the next step in the program to work on building more finesse.

“I still think we can go to another level in the next five years and would probably like to build more complexity into some of our wines,” he said.

Part of that has been in toning down the use of oak and refining the picking regime to achieve wines of less alcohol, which is very much in the modern idiom.

Much of this goes down to the contribution of winemaker Will Shields, who was appointed to the role in 2019.

Mr Shields has been in the industry for more than 25 years, including a lengthy stint in Margaret River where he was a winemaker at Vasse Felix and Clairault.

He also spent four years in New Zealand before initially joining Kirrihill and then Sevenhill.

He said allowing the fruit to express itself using a soft hand to achieve balanced, elegant wines was at the heart of his approach at Sevenhill.

Sevenhill has one of the most colourful histories of any Australian winery, with its distinctive stone winery and cellar door together with the old St Aloysius Church and college a memorable experience for visitors; and visiting Clare is not complete without a visit to this last remaining Jesuit-owned winery in Australia.

It was established in 1851 by the Jesuits to plant vines, initially to produce sacramental wine.

Since then, the winery has gone well beyond its sacramental offering and now produces an extensive portfolio.

Its most famous winemaker was the charming Brother John May, who held the position from 1972 until 2003.

He died in August last year aged 92.

Brother John led the expansion of the Sevenhill vineyards, building on the best clones of varieties suited to the Clare Valley.

These wines are in good supply around Perth.

Sevenhill Inigo shiraz 2020 ($28)

Needless to say, shiraz has been a strong suit at this old Clare Valley winery, and this one from what turned out to be a pretty good vintage in the region provides proof positive.

Sumptuous and almost syrupy with wonderful palate texture and weight. Lots of dark plummy fruit with a little clove and spice.

The oak is well managed and the tannins fine and slightly ferrous.

Excellent wine.

Score: 93/100 Cellar: Nine years

Sevenhill Inigo cabernet sauvignon 2019 ($28)

Cabernet is another variety that does well in Clare.

This is a slightly juicy and certainly fruit-driven cabernet with a stack of blackcurrant showing through on the nose and tannins.

The palate has an ever-so[1]slight assertiveness with a little dark chocolate and mint evident.

It’s smooth with a slightly firm finish, but hey, that’s often cabernet, and you want it to make a statement.

Score: 93/100 Cellar: 12 years

Sevenhill St Ignatius 2019 ($50)

A wine that is a tribute to the Jesuit order, which founded this historic winery and vineyard back in 1851.

It’s a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, malbec, and cabernet franc.

Bright red fruits on the nose with a little spice and floral fragrances.

The palate is supported with grainy tannins and ample oak.

The fruit though overrides.

It is a wine with the power and structure to handle extended cellaring.

Score: 95/100 Cellar: 18 years

• Ray Jordan is one of Australia’s most experienced and respected wine journalists, contributing to newspapers and magazines over more than 40 years. In 2017 he co-authored The Way it Was: The History of the early years of the Margaret River Wine Region.