It is No Sin to Visit the Chapel Hill Wine

Australians have a history of liking alcohol too much and records from 1861 show that there was one pub for every 39 people, which tells you that they know something about alcohol and it is not only do they serve cheap plonk in the water holes, they happen to make good wine down under too.

Chapel Hill wine is located in the northern end of McLaren Vale with an elevated view of the Gulf of St Vincent and the Onkaparinga Gorge in Adelaide, Australia.

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History of Chapel Hill Wine

The name derives from a historical iron stone chapel that was built in 1865 that served as a church and then a parish school, but was closed in 1965, leaving it to be in disarray until the renovations that occurred by Professor Tom Nelson in the 1970’s.

Tom established a winery and built the Chapel Hill brand by 1973.

He sold it 6 years later to the Sellick and Gerard families who enjoyed the wine making business, but Gerard bought out Sellick and a new winery was constructed in 1994 and the Gerard family sold to the Schmidheiny family who were based in Switzerland and also own wineries in California, Switzerland and Argentina.

Wines from Chapel Hill

View all wines from Chapel Hill or all our Wine Reviews for Chapel Hill

The vineyards and grapes

Chapel Hill consists of 44 hectares of vineyards and they also purchase fruits from selected grape growers in the region.

They have made numerous changes to the vineyards, the wines and the packaging along with, adding on a retreat so that visitors can enjoy the wines and relax with the view of the beautiful terrain.

They use sustainable farming methods and the soils in the vineyards consist of ancient rock formations along with the help of the elevated site.

The grape varietals planted in the vineyards consist of Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Mourvedre.

Because of the winery’s amazing vineyards Chapel Hill decided to make a range of single block wines from this terrain which include;  Road Block Shiraz, House Block Shiraz, Gorge Block Cabernet Sauvignon and Gorge Block Chardonnay.

They also have the 27 hectare Kangarilla Vineyards, located at the foothills of the Mt Lofty ranges which were first planted in 1995 and consists of Chardonnay, Shiraz, Sangiovese and Verdelho grape varietals.

Due to the cool breezes in the gully, this vineyard is an excellent one for producing European grape varietals as well as the white grape varietals with its slow ripening conditions.

With a blessing of the Mediterranean climate influencing the soils of lime, sand, clay and loam this winery has been able to produce internationally acclaimed wines with a variety that appeals to most taste buds.

The wines of Chapel Hill are made with modern techniques, using traditional influences creating balance and purity.

Chapel Hill Mclaren Vale Wines

Bush Vine Grenache has spicy undertones and perfumed flavours and is fermented separately in open fermenters to gain a slow extraction.  It is basket pressed, racked and then aged in 1 to 5 year old French oak hogsheads and is then bottled unfiltered.

Chapel Hill Reserve consists of 70% Shiraz and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon that is known today as “The Vicar” and it is a full bodied red wine that has had a long time to age.  It was first made to commemorate the buildings 150 years.

2013 Icon Selection consists of a single bottle of each of the Chapel reds. The Vicar Shiraz is formerly known as Chapel Hill Reserve, Gorge Block Cabernet Sauvignon, House Block Shiraz and Road Block Shiraz.

2013 Chapel Hill McLaren Vale Shiraz is a deep red wine with aromas of dark berries and vanilla oak ending on a spicy note

Grenache Shiraz Mourvedre consists of 60% Grenache, 30% Shiraz and 10% Mourvedre varietals and is a medium bodied red wine

Chapel Hill the Parsons Nose Shiraz has aromas of blueberries and spices with aniseed and Satsuma plum flavours

Gorge Block Chardonnay 2009 has citrus and fig flavours with aromas of spicy and toasted oak.  This wine is barrel fermented with a blend of 1, 2 and 3 year old tight grain French oak barrels enhancing the natural Chardonnay fruit characters.

Chapel Hill Wineries have over 40 bottles of wine to choose from and they are distributed internationally, but to try and name them all would be a task far better served in a taste test as it would be a sin not to.

Visit Chapel Hill – McLaren Vale

Choosing to visit this winery is a treat with so much to do, as you are able to stay in one of the 10 bedrooms whilst enjoying a cooking class, wine tasting and tours through the cellars where the winemakers will let you in on some of their expertise.

Tours and Events

Read more about the events and wine tasting.

Contact information

Chapel Hill Wine
Website: http://www.chapelhillwine.com.au/
Phone: +61 8 8323 8429

Find Chapel Hill Wine on: Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.

Address

Chapel Hill Wine
Corner Chapel Hill and Chaffey’s Road, McLaren Flat SA
5171, Chapel Hill, McLaren Vale, Australia

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