"such a fun wine to drink" - Mike Bennie
A small family-run winery situated 8km west of Heathcote, Wild Duck Creek achieved international fame when it received the highest-ever Robert Parker score for an Australian wine (Duck Muck 1997). David (aka ‘Duck’) and Diana planted their first vines in 1979, and continue to employ traditional winemaking methods including hand-picking, open fermentation, hand-plunging and basket-pressing.
Wild Duck Creek's Yellow Hammer Hill Shiraz Malbec is "a wine made for pure enjoyment", with the 2021 vintage a blend of Shiraz, Malbec and a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes are sourced from the same vineyards every year, fully and gently de-stemmed, hand plunged and basket pressed. The wine is then matured for up to 23 months in older French and American oak barriques, hogsheads, and large format vats, as well as some concrete vats for added complexity. Yellow Hammer Hill is a flavoursome, versatile red wine with widespread appeal.
"93 Points. Sees French and American oak barrels plus some of the wine hangs out in concrete vats. The kinda entry level deal here. It’s such a fun wine to drink, all slurpy and loose knit, lucid in red and black berry fruitiness, ripe, round, smooth, supple, a jelly meets currants meets jube thing going on. Elements of herb and spice, some sweetness for sure but a sappy bitterness in tannin is pleasingly there and a light dusting of clove-cinnamon spice keeps some other elements in play. Heady, overt, party time gear for big red lovers, but done well. For me, probably a bit much to get a few glasses down in its lush style, but you can see the pedigree and balance as an observer. Neck oil. Rated: 93 Points Tasted: JUL23 14.2% alc. $32 Screwcap Drink: 2023 - 2030"- Mike Bennie, The Wine Front.