Clos Clare
About Clos Clare
Given that we’ve been known to have one or two reasonably good Rieslings in the portfolio, it’s amazing it took so long to add a Clare Valley rendition to the list. All good things take time, I suppose! The Barry family in Clare have been friends of CellarHand pretty much since our inception, and great supporters of our work with the Frankland Estate International Riesling Tasting (subsequently Riesling Downunder) over the years. When the opportunity finally arose to add clos Clare to the portfolio it was a natural fit. The clos Clare patch is located within the famous Florita vineyard in Watervale and is getting on for 50 years of age. The clos Clare Riesling is often among the very best in the region, and ignore the reds at your peril – these are some of the top bargains in our folio.
About Tom & Sam Barry
Tom Barry worked his first vintage at Yalumba in the Barossa in 2005. The following year he started his Bachelor of Oenology. In his final year he undertook a placement vintage at Shaw + Smith in the Adelaide Hills before graduating from the with the same degree that his father Peter Barry completed in 1985 and grandfather Jim Barry received 63 years earlier. In January 2010, Tom started as junior winemaker at Jim Barry Wines, where he has now taken the reins under the watchful eye of his old man. He’s also worked vintage with Erni Loosen in the Mosel and with Bert Salomon in the Kamptal, Austria, and was named Gourmet Traveller WINE Young Winemaker of the Year in 2013.
Younger brother Sam did his first vintage at Jim Barry Wines in 2007. He then studied Commerce at the University of Adelaide during which he completed three part-time vintages at the Wilson Vineyard at Polish Hill River, where he and Tom make the clos Clare Rieslings. In 2015 Sam was chosen to take part in Wine Australia’s Future Leaders program.