Handford Wines

Jim Barry was the first qualified winemaker to come to the Clare Valley in 1948. He spent 22 years as manager and winemaker at the Clarevale Co-operative Winery. In 1959 he and his wife Nancy purchased their first vineyard. Today the Barry family has 225 hectares of vines ensuring that all wine produced comes from the family vineyards. Jim and Nancy began operating their own winery in 1974 and have to date won more than 50 gold medals and 10 major trophies for their wines. Four of their six children are involved in the winery.

The Wine

1998 was recorded as a 5 star vintage in Australia and produced big rich ripe wines but also wines that had good fresh acidity, classical definition and elegance along with power. The 1998 has old world savoury black pepper notes and then layers of spice, minerals and sweet fruit. Needs to be decanted for 30 to 45 minutes to open up. Clean acidity adds structure to the wine and complements the fine grained tannins. Lovely hints of bottle age complexity of leather, spice and savoury sweet stewed fruits make for an exciting museum release wine that’s well worth the price. Sadly, quantities are very restricted.

Single Bottle: £24.95

In a case of 12: £23.70