New wine releases pay tribute to 165 years of history

Wine drinkers who enjoy high-quality wines that are still relatively affordable will be looking forward to Thursday, when Hardys release the latest vintage wines across their Icon range. 

The new releases comprise the Thomas Hardy Cabernet Sauvignon 2017, Eileen Hardy Chardonnay 2019 and Eileen Hardy Shiraz 2018.  

I taste tasted the new releases a couple of weeks ago while on Bruny Island via a Zoom tasting with new Hardys chief winemaker Nigel Sneyd. 

This range prolongs the legacy of industry pioneer Thomas Hardy - hailed as the father of the South Australian wine industry - who in 1853, against a backdrop of global uncertainty, launched his brand. 

Sneyd, a Master of Wine, says the latest Icon wines are blends of South Australia’s finest landscapes and represent the multi-regional blending approach to winemaking that Thomas Hardy first established last century. 

The release is timed so the wines can be enjoyed now, or confidently be cellared.

“As one of Australia’s oldest and most iconic wineries, Hardys is well known for consistently crafting wines of excellence and is committed to keeping Thomas Hardy’s pioneering spirit alive," says Sneyd.

"These are truly remarkable drops that embody the pinnacle of Australian winemaking." 

The Eileen Hardy Shiraz 2018 ($153.99) and Eileen Hardy Chardonnay 2019 ($117.99) will be available at Dan Murphy’s, Vintage Cellars and select independent retailers nationally and the Thomas Hardy Cabernet Sauvignon ($159.99) at Dan's and independent outlets. 

The reds are comfortable, thoroughly modern wines with less high acidity than some of their predecessors; the chardonnay a blend of Yarra Valley and Margaret River fruit that is full of malo richness, stone fruit and classy oak but less steely than previous incarnations featuring Tasmanian fruit. 

The shiraz is the star of the show for immediate vinous gratification  a single-vineyard wine using grapes from 70-year-old vines at Upper Tintara in McLaren Vale - just near the Hardys winery. This is simply delicious; velvety and plush with soft tannins and tremendous length. 

The cabernet is "the best the company can make", a blend of Coonawarra and Margaret River fruit hat is dense with firm tannins. It is a big, masculine wine with black fruits and tapenade notes that will rest happily in many cellars for a good while. 

Summing up: drink the shiraz now, the chardonnay over the next five years and the cabernet when everyone has forgotten who the Kardashians were. 

 

# Hardys wines are sold in over 130 countries. Hardys has received more than 9,000 Australian and international awards in its 165+ years and the brand is now owned by Accolade Wines.