A big rich, juicy Cabernet, minty, intense flavours, being part of the ‘five star red haul’ we stumbled across in mid-2024. Five stars being the winery rating of the wine writer James Halliday. Halliday published ‘Clare Valley-the history the vignerons and the wines’, in 1985. He devotes a section to Fareham Estate which was founded in 1966.
Of the many brands that Glug owns some are previous wine companies that ceased with Fareham Estate being an example. We use the original wine label design. The first wine we made was a Fareham Estate Riesling 2012 which was appropriate since quality Riesling has been associated with the Clare Valley since the 1970s. Cabernet also has a strong history and by the 1980s the Stanley Leasingham Cabernets were given as much praise as the best Barossa Valley Shiraz.
We can only wonder what happens as wine fashions swing back and forth. The bigger variable though is the disruption that comes from the destruction of large companies. The U.S. multi-national Heinz purchased Stanley, turned it into a mass brand, and then dumped the company and with this went the positive views consumers had of premium Stanley Leasingham reds. They never recovered and I believe also left a negative view of Clare wines which still exists. This fabulous Cabernet will help shift your views.
