They don’t claim to know a huge amount about winemaking, but the three Dudley Partners have made some promising wine on Kangaroo Island itself. Together Colin Hopkins, Geoff Howard and Alan Wilson have over 20 acres under vine and despite some fairly rudimentary conditions have released some very creditable wines under their Dudley Partners Kangaroo Island label. This tip is courtesy of well-known consultant winemaker Gary Baldwin, recently back from tasting the 1999 Chardonnay (‘Strong tropical fruit salad flavours, fruity light and bright’) and the 1999 Shearing Shed blend of shiraz and cabernet sauvignon (‘Deep fruit, good weight and generosity in middle palate, finer than McLaren Vale but bigger than Coonawarra’). The partners began making their own wine when in 1997 they harvested some fruit from their Porky Flat and Hog Bay River vineyards which they had been unable to net. The netted fruit was processed in a commercial mainland winery, but the fruit they kept was crushed in fish bins with rubber boots, fermented in a stainless steel cheese vat and was kept in a single barrel under a wooden floor and a tin roof. The Shearing Shed red was born and since then they’ve processed everything themselves, with a little advice from two of the best winemakers in McLaren Vale. The Dudley Partners made around 1,400 cases in 1999, which is sold directly or through Baily & Baily in Adelaide (1800 656 674). With retail prices between $15 and $17, I’m keen to have a look.
