2010 was an excellent vintage in the Yarra Valley and produced Pinots of exceptional purity and longevity. This stunner from the Gladysdale vineyard in the Upper Yarra is a magnificent beast. Bright raspberry and cherry mingle with a tickle of liquorice. Supple and inviting with attractive spice and smooth tannins. The fine, embedded acidity is typical of the excellent vintage as is the overall vitality and vigour. Vibrant and with a pleasing sweetness that is balanced by provencal herbs. Balanced, poised and has aged very well indeed. 10-year-old Pinot from a renowned vineyard for this price – bargain!
Australia
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White Wine
2010 The Florita Riesling, Jim Barry
£4500Add to BasketThis 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.
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Red Wine
2016 Pinot Noir, Stargazer
£4500Add to BasketThis is the first Stargazer Pinot Noir to come from the Palisander Vineyard, purchased in February 2016. Located in the Tea Tree sub-region of the Coal River Valley, twenty minutes north-east of Hobart, it was planted with vines in 2002. It is very aromatic with a lifted nose which is firmly in the red fruits spectrum: think cranberries, red cherries and pomegranate. Light and delicate the 2016 Pinot Noir is all about crunchy red fruits and a creamy, layered texture. The tannins are lacy and delicate. Some more refined, savoury dried herb characters emerge with air. Delicious and rare only 2880 bottles produced.
Owner and winemaker of Stargazer, Samantha is a former Red Winemaker of the Year, a title won whilst head winemaker at McLaren Vale’s Wirra Wirra Vineyards. Now bringing her skills to bear on her own project she is undoubtedly going to propel Stargazer onto ever greater heights.
Stargazer pays tribute to Abel Tasman, who as an explorer and navigator, must have spent a fair amount of time gazing towards the heavens. Tasman, a Dutchman under the employ of the United East India Company was the first European to sight Tasmania (on 24 November 1642) and then the South Island of New Zealand, nineteen days later on 13 December.
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Red Wine
2009 Shiraz, Flametree
£4500Add to BasketThe 2009 shiraz shows fruit flavours in the plum, cherry, liquorice and spice spectrum. It is wonderfully fragrant with a bouquet of plum, cherry and spicy blueberry. A generous, fruit driven palate of berries and liquorice follows soft velvety tannins.
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Red Wine
2008 ‘La Ciornia’ Shiraz, La Violetta
£4500Add to BasketThe inspiration for La Ciornia comes from Andrew Hoadley time spent working in Barbaresco. Really refined bright, the aromatic nose showing sweet, pure raspberry and cherry fruit with subtle hints of meat, olive and spice. The palate is superbly elegant with pure, seamless, beautifully poised cherry and raspberry fruit. Lovely elegance and freshness I think Matthew Jukes summed it up best for me when be said of Ciornia “I certainly had no idea that a Shiraz from Denmark could have Pinot Noir tenderness under its malevolent, vampiric exterior.”
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Red Wine
2008 Shiraz ‘Westgate Vineyard’, The Story
£4500Add to BasketThis is a single vineyard wine made (in the winemaker’s words) ‘naturally fermented over 21 days in open French oak puncheons, then hand bucketed and pressed to 31% new French oak from Francois Frères, and Gillet cooperages. It was allowed to mature for 14 months (then bottled) without fining or filtration’. The result – very floral Shiraz characters such as violets, graphite, meat, black fruits and black pepper. The palate is full of warm spice synonymous with the Grampians region. A dark, ripe, controlled and firm core of black fruit and spice ripples through the palate, the tannins are generous but supportive, and the finish fresh and lengthy.
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White Wine
2012 Trevarrick Riesling, Skillogalee
£4500Add to Basket“Trevarrick” was the original name of the property when it was first settled by John and Anne Trestrail in the 1850s. More than a century later, in 1970 this magnificent piece of land was planted to vines and Skillogalee was born. With each individual contour block on the estate harvested and vinified individually, the Trevarrick name is reserved for those contours which exhibit exceptional quality and varietal character.
The grapes for this wine were selectively harvested from the highest altitude, earliest ripening contour on the property at around 500m. The stony, thin soils and topography of this part of the vineyard produce unique, high-quality grapes bursting with varietal character.
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White Wine
2019 Lovedale Semillon ‘1946 Vines’, Mount Pleasant
£4500Add to BasketMount 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.
Expressive aromas of lemon, lime and concentrated lemongrass are layered with delicate floral overtones. The perfectly balanced palate has gorgeous acidity providing drive and cut, with intense citrus notes found throughout.
O’Shea selected the Lovedale vineyard site on the flats of the Pokolbin region of the Hunter Valley in 1939. Unfortunately, the outbreak of the Second World War saw O’Shea’s plans curtailed as the land was reclaimed by the Australian Government for use as an emergency landing field as a part of the war effort. O’Shea eventually planted his first Semillon vines on the site in the spring of 1946. Over the years, Lovedale has proven to be another brilliant choice by Maurice O’Shea, as the sandy aggregate loam soils help to capture the perfect tightness and acidity for making quality Semillon. 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. This sustainable approach has resulted in some of the healthiest vines on the estate in recent years; the vines have developed plentiful canopies which have assisted in preventing sunburn of the fruit. The grapes are hand-harvested at optimal maturity.
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Dessert Wine, Port & Dessert Wine
Sotto di Ferro, Charles Melton
£4900Add to BasketCharles Melton is the only Australian producer of a vin-santo styled dessert wine, he calls it, Sotto di Ferro. Made from Pedro Ximenez and Muscadelle grapes that are hung and dried in bunches under the rafter of old iron sheds on the Melton property. From the trickle of juice gathered from the shrivelled grapes comes this wine showing rich, luscious dried apricot and nut characters. This is not a wine to rush. Take your time and allow it to impress you with its sweet complexity that develops in the glass.
For those interested in the winemaking process this from the winery: Pedro Ximenez and Muscadelle bunches are carefully hand-picked and placed in small crates before being taken to our ‘hanging shed’. There, an experienced team tie six to eight bunches of grapes onto strings which are then suspended from the rafters for up to eight weeks. The grapes dehydrate naturally as they are exposed to air, and when the team at Charles Melton Wines deems the grapes to be concentrated enough, the bunches will be pressed in a basket press. The juice is then yeasted and fermented in small 60-litre old oak casks known as ‘Caratelli’ for 18 months. After fermentation completes, the wine will remain in barrel for a further four years before it is bottled.
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Red Wine
2010 The Ironstone Pressings GSM, d’Arenberg
£4900Add to BasketThe Ironstone Pressings is named because most of McLaren Vale’s acclaimed and historic vineyards are impregnated with ancient, decomposed laterite granite known as ironstone. Its extraordinary rusty red-brown colour is derived from the iron oxides present in the stone. The larger pieces were cleared from the vineyards in the late 1880s and utilised in many of the buildings at d’Arenberg, most notably the old stables.
Unctuous blackberry and plum notes lay at the heart of this classic d’Arenberg example of a Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre (GSM). A spattering of exotic spices the likes of star anise, cardamom and nutmeg cling to the sweet, dark fruits and of course, it wouldn’t be a d’Arenberg wine without a rousing dose of earthy, gamey character. The palate is fleshy and juicy with an almost velvet-like texture. Abundantly warm and generous but sufficiently structured to suggest this wine can go the long hall.
While enjoyable in youth, this wine will reach its full potential with bottle age up to at least 20 years. The considerable structure and depth will ensure that the fruit characters will develop over time revealing more complexity and providing immense interest.
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Red Wine
2016 Estate Shiraz, Paringa Estate
£4900Add to BasketIn 2007 James Halliday awarded Paringa the title of ‘Best Winery in Australia’, not a bad effort for former school teacher Lindsay McCall who heads up the operation. McCall was one of the early pioneers in Mornington, who boldly experimented with different styles and possibilities in the region and quickly earned himself an impressive reputation, despite his humble beginnings as a teacher. He was the first to recognise the potential of the Mornington Peninsula for Australia’s favourite grape – Shiraz, and thank God he did. The result is the exact wine we have today, a spicy, dark, cool-climate Shiraz. Elegant and refined, a testament to the efforts of an exceptionally gifted winemaker.
In the glass, aromas of black pepper, blackberry and plum waft invitingly and lead the way into a flavoursome palate, which is savoury and textured. Fine-grained tannins give outstanding structure, balance and palate length. This is an excellent Paringa Shiraz that can be enjoyed young with food but will also cellar well for the next 20 years.
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2020 Shiraz ‘Mast’, Mount Langi Ghiran
£4995Add to BasketTrevor Mast was a legend of the Australian wine scene. Among his many accomplishments, he is most revered as a pioneer of cool climate Shiraz. The Mast Shiraz is a tribute to his memory, recognising his role in establishing the reputation of Mount Langi Ghiran. Thanks to his foresight, the Langi vineyards showcase the ultimate expression of cool climate Shiraz.
Fruit for this wine is solely hand-picked and sourced exclusively from a single block on the Mount Langi Ghiran Estate Vineyard. This block was planted by Trevor Mast himself some 26 years ago.
In the glass, this outstanding Shiraz has a vibrant, deep garnet colour with aromas of concentrated raspberries and redcurrants with hints of red liquorice and cola spice. Eucalyptus and vanilla are also present. On the palate, it has concentrated forest fruits with blackberry complementing the red fruits experienced on the nose. Undertones of mocha, cigar box and a brown earthiness. Supple, mouth-coating tannins give a structure that will hold this wine for years to come.
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White Wine
2008 The Florita Riesling, Jim Barry
£5000Add to BasketThis 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.”
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White Wine
2018 Judd Chardonnay, Ten Minutes By Tractor
£5300Add to BasketTen Minutes by Tractor needs little introduction, nor does the man in charge – Martin Spedding. A gently-spoken man with a background in finance and IT, in 2002, he finally acknowledged the fact that his true passion lay in wine. Despite his origins in New South Wales, he simply couldn’t get enough of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and would travel down to Victoria to immerse himself in Australia’s heartland of these noble varieties. In 2003 he visited one of his favourite small wineries on Mornington Peninsula and was delighted to discover that it was for sale. Without a moment’s hesitation, he snapped it up, and so began Martin’s journey with Ten Minutes by Tractor.
Enticing notes of grapefruit and white flower build this fine structured wine filled with poise and precision. Green apple crunch leads into the crisp and clean finish that lingers with persistence displaying incredible length and purity. Best drinking 2020-2030
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Red Wine
2016 Abednego GSM, Grant Burge
£5450Add to BasketThe Abednego completes the Icon trio from Grant Burge Wines, sitting alongside the highly awarded Meshach and Shadrach which are Grant’s flagship Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is 100% Barossa using fruit sourced from Grant’s own vineyards with an average age of 110 years. The old vines deliver fruit with incredible concentration and depth giving the resultant wine the ability to develop over many years. The iconic 2016 Abednego is a richly flavoured and elegantly structured wine with a beautifully balanced palate, complemented by flavours of plums, spice and liquorice with hints of vanilla. The dense, mouth-filling mid-palate and long, textural finish combine to create a wine that is rich and elegant. Drink now to 2035.
The origin of the name of this wine comes from the fact that Abednego in Hebrew means the ‘Servant of Nego’, the Babylonian god of wisdom. Abednego, with Shadrach and Meshach, were cast into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar in 600BC. Grant Burge named his flagship and icon Shiraz Meshach (after his great grandfather Meshach Burge 1843-1942), and the icon Cabernet Sauvignon Shadrach (inspired by the story). This wine is Abednego to completer the trio with a trio of the Barossa’s finest grape varieties.