Blackjack Vineyards

''A recent tasting of all the past vintages of Black Jack Shiraz showed the age-worthiness and refined style of these smartly labelled wines. The pleasantly rustic winery nestles among forested ranges in old orchard country at Harcourt, making it a picturesque place to discover these tasty reds. Don''t ignore the very good ''second'' label, Chortles Edge, either. Incidentally, the winery is named after an adventurous black American sailor who jumped ship to join the gold rush in these parts 150 years ago.'' RALPH KYTE-POWELL

"This winery was named after an American sailor who jumped ship during the Gold Rush of the 1850s and made his way to this part of the world. So much for the history lesson. The wines are much more interesting, anyway. Shiraz is ripe, sweet and jammy, but has lifted liquorice and bacony, tarry flavours and odours, too. And it will get better in the bottle. The Cabernet Sauvignon is intense and quite fine, with a core of very pure cabernet fruit; there''s savoury and meaty flavours on show, as well. These are big wines with generous dispositions." Ben Canaider

Established:

1988

Wine Region:

Bendigo

Winemakers:

Ian McKenzie and Ken Pollock

Owners:

McKenzie and Pollock Families

Open:

11am-5pm Weekends and Public Holidays while stocks available.

Wines:

Cabernet/Merlot, Shiraz.

Price:

$18.00-$30.00