Paradise IV? Never heard of it? You will. It’s a hidden gem, a small producer releasing around 800 dozen wines annually, although its appearance on so many of the country’s better wine lists might give a very different impression. The cellar door is the winery, there is no cafe, no coffee sold, no plates of nibbles, but there is winemaker, Doug Neal. That, along with the wines he produces with owners Graham and Ruth Bonney is more than good enough reason for Paradise IV to be our Star Cellar Door.
Neal could never be called shy or lacking in opinion. He knows what he wants to achieve in winemaking. Once, it was pinot noir back when he was assisting Rick Kinzbrunner at Giaconda, but since arriving in the Moorabool Valley it is shiraz that most excites him, exploring the grape’s underrated aromatic profile. His cabernet blends exhibit an elegant power and his chardonnays are singularly understated. The wines of Paradise IV can be pretty and complex and sometimes they question the drinker’s impression of what a chardonnay, shiraz or cabernet sauvignon should be. That’s a good thing. Jeni Port