Harrison Wines - Modern Australian Wine Personified

It was a pleasure to welcome Riley Harrison to the store recently to look at his new releases. For us, this was our first look at the wines and the fact that we bought everything we tasted goes some way to showing how much we liked the wines. These are modern Australian classics in the making. They are structured and made with precision and care in the winery. Harrison references the past but is making wines suitable to our palate and our climate today, with relatively low alcohols, restrained primary fruit and a sense of energy and freshness across the range. We highly recommend these to all of our customers. - Ches Cook, FWC.

'Sol' is Harrison's white blend, made using fruit from Clarendon in McLaren Vale. Yellow apple, tree fruit, chalk and a saline bite to the wine make for very pleasurable drinking. He's done well to tame these varieties (Roussanne and Grenache Blanc) which can often lead to fat and overblown wines when in the wrong hands. - Ches Cook, FWC. 

Roussanne, grenache blanc. Yangarra vineyard, strong biodynamic farming ethic. About 48 hour skin contact for the largest portion. Textural feast. Delicious, moreish, vibrant white of intense freshness and general energy. Cucumber in tonic water, a touch of cashew, green apple, lime juice. Lively in flavours and scents. Length, vitality, refreshment. It’s a fantastic white wine. 94 points. - Mike Bennie, Wine Front.

Yet another example of the quality of modern Australian Grenache, made with lightness of touch and an eye to being consumed early and often. Red berry, cola, a sense of coolness, rippling acidity and moderate alcohol. This is my style of Grenache! Lovers of Ruggabellus 'Fluus' will find a lot to like here - i see plenty of similarities. - Ches Cook, FWC. 

A couple of Barossa Valley vineyards contribute to this wine. A large portion of all this is whole bunch fermented. Slurpy, soft, juicy red, bright acidity uplifting ripe cherry, blueberry, cola/sarsaparilla characters with lifting sage leaf, bay leaf and minty notes. Sits at medium weight, has a joyful suppleness to the wine and fine, sandy tannins tighten things nicely. Easy to like this. 92 points. - Mike Bennie, Wine Front. 

Probably the pick of the wines in a very strong lineup. The sort of wine that i think could bring drinkers back to Shiraz as a variety - those that have previously been pushed away due to some of the excessively full-bodied and muscular wines that you can find on the market. Here, this wine is dark-fruited but only medium bodied. It's composed and restrained on its delivery of plum and blackberry, with a dusting of black pepper across a slightly meaty and chewy palate. It's got interest and presence, yet comes across so easy and gentle that the complexities of thew wine can be forgotten or skipped over. I'll be taking some of this home for sure. I'd say it will age quite well too. - Ches Cook, FWC. 

Murdoch Hill vineyard plays host to this vineyard. Dark cherries, some white pepper, game meat and mixed dried herbs. Spicy to taste with more of the dark berry, maybe more cherry going on, a sheath of fine, graphite-laced tannins and finishes spicy, peppery, herbal too. Aromatic, medium weight, plush and long. Elegant, whole-bunch focused syrah. Yes, thanks. 94 points. - Mike Bennie, Wine Front.