
Travel West from Ballarat on the M8 towards Ararat and you will come to the town of Beaufort in central Victoria. Right beside the road sits Michael Unwin wines, home of three wine labels (in order of cheapest to most expensive): One Goat, Umbrella Man and Tattooed Lady.
What we liked: The cellar door is actually in the working winery, so you are greeted with a room full of barrels and are served by winemaking staff who really know and care about the products you are tasting. From the cheapest $17.50 bottle right up to the $65 bottle, everything is on taste and an amazing array of palates are catered for.
Our favourite wine: Without a doubt the Tattooed Lady Shiraz. Aged in older but smaller oak barrels, this wine has quality fruit flavours (as do the One Goat and Umbrella Man Shiraz wines) but this signature wine has serious structure, balance and a smooth but very long finish. The fortified wines are also high quality, with the Tattooed Lady being our pick again at $28 per bottle.
Best value wine: This is a split between the One Goat Brut (Blanc de Blanc style) which is crisp yet dries through the finish and the One Goat Chardonnay which really delivers on the fruit flavours yet remains well restrained despite the brilliant colour in the glass. Interestingly enough the entire One Goat range (named after the goat that goes by many other names but was banished to the back paddock at the time of our visit because she had tried to escape out the front gate…) are all Non Vintage wines.
