Bill Hardy, great grandson of founder Thomas Hardy, was in Malaysia to present this tasting of his company's premium wines and I was kindly invited along to lunch where several of the wines could be enjoyed with food.

Hardy wines needs little introduction to wine lovers. It has been described as Australia’s greatest wine producer, and while this is a pretty strong claim, it is also a justifiable one. It was a family estate that was initially created by Thomas Hardy, who was from County Devon, England before arriving in South Australia and started working as a gold miner and cattle herder. Before purchasing a property on the banks of the river Torrens which he named Bankside. The year was 1853.

I sat with Bill throughout the afternoon and found him to be a genuinely modest and somewhat shy character, who nonetheless is fiercely proud of what his family company has achieved (though BRL Hardy is now in corporate hands) and the standards for which it continues to strive. Founded more than 150 years ago, Hardys was at one time the biggest winemaker in Australia. They survived a series of rocky times in the first half of this century, including the destruction of Hardys main cellars by fire and the death in an air crash of Bill's grandfather. The company slipped to around seventh position in that time. Now, BRL Hardy is one of the world's top ten wine companies with a turnover of half a billion Australian dollars and a whole stable of labels in Australia.

The company also has winemaking concerns in New Zealand, Italy, Chile and the very successful La Baume in southern France. Their most recent phase of expansion has been by acquisition, buying up some famous wineries and vineyard sites like Chateau Reynella, Houghtons and Leasingham. Their business aim is to retain the identity and winemaking philosophy of their brands, yet to bring about the economies of scale afforded by a company of their size. In this way they see that they can counter the threat from other New World players like Chile and Argentina, whilst their operations in France and Italy give them an opportunity to get involved in the wine renaissance that is underway in traditional areas.

Bill himself is a winemaker, who studied agriculture in Australia and then went on to study oenology at the University of Bordeaux in the 60's. This makes him amongst the earliest Australians to study at Bordeaux, and one of the last to study under Professor Emile Peynaud, the father of modern winemaking. Though interested and knowledgeable about terroir, and how Australian experiments with matching vine to soil continue, Bill's philosophy is very much to blend the best fruit from wherever it is available, so few bottlings are "single vineyard", but a blend form fruit selected across a region. 

I enjoyed this tasting. I have been very impressed by Hardys wines over the years, from their mass-market brands like Nottage Hill and Banrock Station, to their top-notch, typically Australian blockbuster Thomas Hardy Cabernet and Eileen Hardy Shiraz. The tasting was not blind. Prices are and wines are available from Cave & Cellar, tel:.

Eileen Hardy Shiraz
The Eileen Hardy Shiraz, the flagship red of the Hardy Wine Company was introduced in 1973 to celebrate the 80th birthday of family matriarch, Eileen Hardy. That wine, a selection of the best McLaren Vale Shiraz from the 1970 vintage, was unveiled at a party that apparently lasted for three whole days!

But what began as a birthday gift became a company flagship, despite significant style and quality changes across the years. As we saw last week, during a masterclass tasting with Bill. A modern Eileen now brings together all that’s been learned in vineyard and winery in the 38 years since that first vintage.

Individual vineyard plots – mostly in McLaren Vale but including components from Clare, Padthaway and Frankland River — contribute small batches of varying style. These are all fermented separately and matured in French oak barrels separately until chief wine maker Paul Lapsley assembles the final blend.

The 1998, for example, comes from McLaren Vale, Padthaway and Clare Valley – all matured in a variety of high quality French oak barrels. It weighs in at a pretty staggering 14.6 per cent alcohol and is clearly a wine to cellar. The colour’s deep but not opaque and the aroma and flavour are built on bright, intense varietal character with a delicious savouriness. The structure is firm, tight and satisfying – a wine to reveal more as it ages for another decade or two.

From the previous tasting of the 1986 and then the 1994, 98 and 2004 vintages last week, I’d say the very early Eileens were probably wonderful and the eighties vintages lacklustre. During the nineties the style obviously strengthened, especially towards the end of the decade. But in the new century Eileen appears to be settling into a consistent, fine, savoury style – epitomised to me by the glorious 2004 vintage. This is jaw-dropping stuff.