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White WineThe most restrained of the single-vineyard chardonnays from Giant Steps, this has an air of power to it. The 2012 Arthurs Creek Chardonnay is a wine of wonderful texture and intensity has is representative of its old vine vineyard. Marked by punchy, pineapple and citrus aromas, this is a medium-bodied Chardonnay with ample richness and texture. Custard and citrus flavours finish long and mouthwatering. This wine is a rare beast as it is no longer made. A delicious taste of history!
White WineThe Eden Road Maragle Chardonnay is a stunning wine and it’s often compared to Grand Cru Chablis in terms of its style, texture and flavours.
The grapes used for this Maragle chardonnay come from a small vineyard in the Maragle Valley, south of the Tumbarumba village, at an altitude of 400 metres above sea level. It is a unique site that generally produces more powerfully structured chardonnay compared to other vineyards in the region.
The aroma presents a complex, yet pristine notes of grapefruit, citrus blossom and white peach, with a touch of struck match character. The gorgeous palate also reveals pear, green apple and pristine minerality, mouth-watering freshness that is the alpine snowy mountains. On the palate it is beautifully long, powerful, driven with elegance & restraint.
The winemaking is kept very simple in order to express the terroir of this special Maragle vineyard. The fruit is handpicked and whole bunch pressed directly to French oak without settling. The juice is then simply fermented and matured in French oak with some ‘battonage’ stirring for 12 months.
White WineYalumba, the pioneer of Viognier in Australia, has devoted 20 years to the growing and making of this rare and exotic Rhone variety. The Virgilius is Yalumba’s most distinguished Viognier – a wine that shows power with restraint. As Yalumba’s most premium and enchanting white wine, it is loved by wine lovers looking for something beyond the more conventional offering.
The 2015 Virgilius Viognier opens with intense aromas of early season just-picked apricots, cardamom and fresh ginger. Lifted ginger spice is layered on the palate with mineral texture and complex apricots and cashew nut savouriness. The trademark Viognier lusciousness of the palate is clearly evident in this wine. It is complex while at the same time showing purity and restraint that will unwind slowly in the glass to begin a sensory journey.
At its best with food, The Virgilius complements a wide range of flavors, particularly dishes with spice and richness.
Red WineThis fabulous Pinot Noir from Hardy’s is at its absolute peak now and is an incredible glass of wine. Medium red in colour with vibrant hues with a perfumed, rich and complex nose full of star anise spice and red fruit intermingled with black cherry, blueberry, plum and harmonious oak influence. The use of whole bunches in the press adds subtle complexity. The palate is a mirror image of the bouquet: this wine has a superb length of flavour, a wonderful sweet fruit overlay, mineral acid drive and silky fine tannins.
This really is worthy of your time!
Red WineMount Pleasant, based in the Hunter Valley, was established in 1921 by the legendary winemaker Maurice O’Shea, from 16.3 hectares of adjoining parcels of land, which he named Mount Pleasant.
An elegant and refined Shiraz, with an abundance of raspberry and cranberry fruit layered with perfumed notes of violet, spice and plum. The red fruits drive through the palate with intensity and focus supported by subtle oak.
The Shiraz vines were planted in 1946 in a single vineyard plot named ‘Rosehill’. These low-yielding, old vines have deep and complex root systems. Maurice O’Shea purchased the land during World War II and the site is now regarded as one of the elite vineyards of the Hunter Valley. Once the site of volcanic activity, the Rosehill Vineyard is located at one of the Hunter Valley’s highest elevations. This 22-hectare parcel of volcanic loam soil, with patches of limestone and eroded basalt, is fertile and ideal for producing full-flavoured red grapes. O’Shea devoted it to solely planting Shiraz. The vineyard is cultivated using sustainable techniques, such as employing mulch to nourish the vines and growing cover crops to increase the biodiversity in the soil.
White WineThis legendary dry Riesling from Jim Barry has matured under optimum conditions and displays the complexities that fine Australian Riesling develops over time.
The 2012 Florita Riesling has an ultra reserved pristine nose of lovely lifted kaffir lime leaves and musky, floral notes with a hint of fresh lemongrass. The palate is all about delicacy, power, finesse and
balance, with a huge amount of length and structure coming from the natural acid backbone and the generosity of the lime citrus centred fruit.
A magnificent cellar worthy Riesling.
The Florita has an incredible story, and we urge you to read it below in the ‘Producer info’ section.
White WineThis old vine Muscat is one of our all time favourite wines. Exceptional quality.
This Muscat is produced in a similar method to tawny port, with a blend of different vintages of sweet wine. These separate wines are fermented, fortified and left to age for decades in oak puncheons using a solera method. While released as non-vintage, each bottle contains a blend on muscat going back many decades. The resulting blend of fortified wine is sweet, dark, and with a higher alcohol component than typical still wine.
The current blend is made from a blend of vintages predominantly late 1990’s, with a little older material to contribute some aged, rancio characters of butterscotch and complex fruit, with some younger wine to give freshness and lift.
It is bright, red-amber in colour with a light young sweet raisin nose. The palate shows nutty raisin apricot flavours, very full and sweet but not cloying. The finish is lingering – very smooth and liqueur like!
Red WineSince 1987, the Hill-Smith family has counted itself amongst those fortunate enough to produce an estate-grown Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon. To own a vineyard upon that famous terra rossa soil over limestone is the holy grail of all Cabernet Sauvignon purists. Experimentation, innovation, minimalist intervention and small-batch winemaking has resulted in The Menzies’ reputation as one of the best wines of its type to emerge from the region – a wine of longevity, elegance and structure.
The 2013 Menzies bouquet leads with violet and lilac floral notes to the tangy counterpoint of seaspray and pepper. The palate is rich and powerful; red fruits and dark chocolate on a robust tannin framework. The finish is long, complex and well worth savouring.
The Vineyard
The Menzies is in the heart of Coonawarra terra rossa country. The vineyard site is reasonably level, with the defining terroir difference coming from the soils. Our soil is red sandy loam over limestone, which is classic Cabernet Sauvignon dirt. Most of the vines for Yalumba The Menzies were planted in 1985 and are trellised tall with wide rows. Bunches are usually small with small berries giving a concentration that favours the creation of full bodied reds.
Red WineCo-fermented with 5% Viognier and aged for 11 months in seasoned French oak barriques. In the glass, it is an opaque dark red black tinged colour with a bright purple-red hue. Plum and liquorice aromas intermix with smoky vanillin cedar, earth and pepper notes. The pretty, light to medium weight palate is elegantly flavoured with spicy plum, cherries and red liquorice over faint vanillin cedar, light earth and pepper. Finishes fresh with fine-grained tannins and a moderate aftertaste. Vibrant, elegant, drinking very well after 11 years in bottle and under £30!
White WineThis legendary dry Riesling from Jim Barry has matured under optimum conditions and displays the complexities that fine Australian Riesling develops over time.
The Florita Story
This story is best told by famous Australian wine writer, Huon Hooke and head of the Barry Family, Peter Barry who below tell the wonderful story of Florita…..
It starts in 1946, just after the war, when Leo Buring bought land at Watervale and planted Pedro ximénez for sherry – the preferred wine of Australians at the time. He named the vineyard Florita, which is Spanish for ‘little flower’ – a reference to the sherry flor (or flower), the film of yeast that covers the dry flor sherry as it matures in its ullaged casks. Public tastes shifted, table wine became fashionable, and in 1962 Buring’s winemaker John Vickery began to remove Pedro and plant riesling. “He started to make riesling (wine), which began to be seen as the future of Australian white wine,” says Barry. Indeed, Vickery and the Leo Buring brand became almost synonymous with riesling. “In 1986 Philip Morris (the tobacco company which owned the Leo Buring brand at the time) had six years supply of riesling in its cellars, and no-one was drinking it – chardonnay was the new fashion. They decided to sell the Florita vineyard.
My brothers and I went to the auction. I was 24. Mum said ‘You’re not allowed to buy it’. She said we already had plenty of vineyards. We told Dad he’d better buy it, and that would let us off the hook.
Southcorp (the precursor of Treasury Wine Group) owned the Florita trademark at the time, and although the Barrys began using the grapes immediately, they couldn’t use the name.
“I had to wait eight years until the registration period was up, but then Southcorp renewed it for another 10 years, so I had to wait 18 years all told, and I registered the name Florita two days after it lapsed.
Eighteen years is a long time to wait for a drink.”
White WineThis legendary dry Riesling from Jim Barry has matured under optimum conditions and displays the complexities that fine Australian Riesling develops over time.
The Florita Story
This story is best told by famous Australian wine writer, Huon Hooke and head of the Barry Family, Peter Barry who below tell the wonderful story of Florita…..
It starts in 1946, just after the war, when Leo Buring bought land at Watervale and planted Pedro ximénez for sherry – the preferred wine of Australians at the time. He named the vineyard Florita, which is Spanish for ‘little flower’ – a reference to the sherry flor (or flower), the film of yeast that covers the dry flor sherry as it matures in its ullaged casks. Public tastes shifted, table wine became fashionable, and in 1962 Buring’s winemaker John Vickery began to remove Pedro and plant riesling. “He started to make riesling (wine), which began to be seen as the future of Australian white wine,” says Barry. Indeed, Vickery and the Leo Buring brand became almost synonymous with riesling. “In 1986 Philip Morris (the tobacco company which owned the Leo Buring brand at the time) had six years supply of riesling in its cellars, and no-one was drinking it – chardonnay was the new fashion. They decided to sell the Florita vineyard.
My brothers and I went to the auction. I was 24. Mum said ‘You’re not allowed to buy it’. She said we already had plenty of vineyards. We told Dad he’d better buy it, and that would let us off the hook.
Southcorp (the precursor of Treasury Wine Group) owned the Florita trademark at the time, and although the Barrys began using the grapes immediately, they couldn’t use the name.
“I had to wait eight years until the registration period was up, but then Southcorp renewed it for another 10 years, so I had to wait 18 years all told, and I registered the name Florita two days after it lapsed.
Eighteen years is a long time to wait for a drink.”
White WineSam Connew, previously Chief Winemaker at the famous Wirra Wirra vineyards, said she would never start her own wine label.
Never.
She packed her bags and left the McLaren Vale to her home in the Hunter Valley. A couple of trips to Tassie later, and boom, Stargazer was born.
It is a labour of love for Sam, making small quantities of wine from small parcels of fruit, striving for individuality and quality.
Sams wines are beautiful, ethereal representations of the Apple Isle.
The 2015 Chardonnay was sourced from Tolpuddle vineyard – a famous Chardonnay vineyard in Tasmania. It’s a cracker, with icing sugar-dusted apples, subtle vanilla spice and great clarity and drive of grapefruit, hints of bruised apple and this vineyard’s signature steely slate character.
White WineSeductive aromas of pear skin, grapefruit, white stone-fruit, citrus blossom and white flowers are complemented by hints of apple, lemon curd, clove spice and toasted almonds. Intense and focussed, the palate shows layer upon layer of pear and white peach, tightly wound by a deliciously creamy texture, and perfectly balanced with nectarine acidity and subtle oak nuances, for a powerful yet elegantly restrained, lingering finish.
Fifth-generation winemaker Stephen Henschke and his wife Prue purchased the Lenswood property in the Adelaide Hills in 1981. At 550 metres above sea level, the Lenswood vineyard offers not only magnificent views over the traditional vine country but also higher rainfall and humidity, cooler temperatures to retain high natural acidity, yet still enough sunshine to fully ripen the grapes. The chardonnay vineyard, which consists of seven clones, has taken its name from Frederick Croft, an orchardist who took up a neighbouring property in 1938.
Red WineTahbilk Shiraz is sourced from nearly 30 hectares of vines planted at various times from the 1930s through the early 2000s. Made using traditional Tahbilk techniques; fermentation takes place in 150 + year old open vats, before maturation in French and American oak for 18 months before bottling. The resultant releases are noted as being fruit-driven wines of much flavour and substance, proven over the years to develop added character when cellared. Varietally expressive with ample plum and blackberry fruits, there is warm earth and spicy savouriness that immediately appeals with a backbone of fine, opulent tannins and a rich, persistent finish.
Tahbilk’s vineyards are grouped along the banks of the Goulburn River, a branch of it which flows through the estate. The vines are grown at around 134 metres elevation of gently undulating and flat terrain. The soils are sandy loam with ferric oxide content, which vary from very fine sand near the anabranch to denser loams on the plains. Tahbilk has Shiraz vineyards dating back from the 1860s to the 1990s. The oldest surviving block is the ‘1860 block’; planted on its own roots in sandy soils, which has made it impossible for phylloxera to colonise the vine roots.
White WineOcean Eight is one of the leading wineries on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula; making tiny quantities of exceptional, hand-crafted wines. Over the years the team at Ocean Eight have honed the style of their ‘Verve’ Chardonnay and its now firmly entrenched as one of Australia’s most distinctive and distinguished examples of Chardonnay. The grapes for Verve Chardonnay are picked one week earlier than any other vineyard on the Mornington Peninsula and only old barrels are used for vinification to highlight the vibrancy of the grapes.
The name Verve encapsulates its style, showing distinctive grapefruit and citrus aromas. The palate almost gives you the illusion of richness due to the intensity of the fruit, then the crisp, dry finish lingers in an everlasting finale.
