130km north of Adelaide (and west of the Barossa), the Clare Valley sits within a high-altitude pocket granting the vineyards cool to cold nights with long, warm to hot summer days. This cooler climate grants thin-skinned (and indeed temperamental) grapes like rieslings a perfect climate in which to mature slowly without risk of mould during the harvest season. The resulting wines are perfumed, complex, softly flavoured yet powerful.

There are several sub-regions in the 35km stretch of valley, pocketed with varying soils, altitudes and climates. West-facing, high-altitude slopes benefit from drying afternoon sun in summer, producing some of the regions best vintages. The vines are planted from 400 to 500 metres (1,300 to 1,600 ft). The higher altitude, compared to other wine regions in South Australia, ensures cool nights even during the heat of summer allowing the fruit to ripen more evenly and slowly. Soil is a mix of red to brown-grey over basement rock.

History

The region was first

Region: Clare Valley
Proprieter: Ben Jeanneret
Winemaker: Ben Jeanneret
Established: 1992
Address:
Box 61
Sevenhill
South Australia, 5453

A family business founded in 1992, Jeanneret Wines has grown considerably in the last decade, yet retains a hand-crafted, natural approach to winemaking. Winemaker Ben Jeanneret lets nature guide the grapes, ensuring the red wines in Clare Valley, South Australia maintain the character from where they originated.

Jeanneret's fully self-contained winery has an attractive outdoor tasting area and picnic facilities situated on the edge of a small lake surrounded by bushland.

And is it just wine you'll enjoy at the cellar door? Hardly, for the crew at the winery have apparently branched into Poetry!

"On the way to the Bentley"
"If we don’t Dilly Dally and stop for a Hummer, we can stay in Grace and Favour with the Big Fine Girl on the door. Stumbling down the Block we find a Curly Red called Denis. Unlike Cowboys and Indians, we get in Rank & File, seeing