Torbreck of Barossa are one of Australia's great export brands, synonymous with luxury and excellence throughout the world of wine. Crafted from the fruit of old and ancient vineyards, the opulence and exclusivity of Torbreck's painfully limited production challenge the primacy of Grange. Established by a share cropper in the 1990s, its precious range has risen to the status of First Growth amongst the community of ardent international advocates. Woodcutter is the entry level, assembled from parcels which may have been destined for some of the brand's lofty icons, an essential experience for all enthusiasts of compelling Barossa Shiraz...
Chew a chop of woodcutter's wine»
There were two scrub covered parcels of land, just outside Pokolbin village along McDonalds Road, that local council had long set aside for use as cricket ground and cemetery. Both were ultimately auctioned off to the highest bidders and sown to vine. A third undeveloped site became the subject of a long running feud among the new and old neighbours. Dodgy invoices between the rivals were exchanged and the division of firewood became a further cause of contention. A truce was eventually called by the two protagonists, Brokenwood and Hungerford Hill, for the sake of healthy viticulture. The nascent blocks achieved international renown as the eminent Cricket Pitch and the Langtons Listed Graveyard Vineyard, establishing Brokenwood as one of the most cherished marques in..
Sociable soils make for healthy vine»
Lively upfront lemon zest with a slatey minerality not normally seen from this vineyard. Daniel James Wilson would write DJW rules on school book covers, desks, garden edgings and wet concrete whenever the opportunity... More»
The palate displays vibrant rich plum and raspberry fruits infused with bitter chocolate and aniseed that fill the mouth. RSW is an acronym for Robert Strangways Wigley... More»
The palate is refined and elegant, mouthfilling with plums and mulberry, black cherry fruits and long, persistent fine grained tannins. Robert Strangways Wigley was an eccentric South Australian cricketer who established Wirra Wirra in 1894... More»
A velvet palate that's loaded with intense fruit flavours, festive cake and dark cherry notes, a wonderful red berry acid line keeps everything vital. The top contender for the most exceptional value in outstanding yet underrated Australian red wine... More»
Palate is mid weight, yet suprisingly supple and rich. Pinot Noir is the most temperamental of wine grape varieties and remains the ultimate challenge for many makers... More»
Blood plums and cigar oak with a violet floral lift from the inclusion of stalk during fermentation. Sourced exclusively off the unirrigated eight acre block, established 1973 at the western extremity of Yarra Yering... More»
Rockbare are raiders of precious but wayward vineyards, planted to outdated standards of viticulture, sadly unviable for large scale winemaking. These are however, precisely the nature of site that Rockbare choose to retain. Winemaker Tim Burvill worked at Wynns and Penfolds, where he refined his style alongside some of the best winemakers in the nation's history. Establishing his own label, he embarked upon a secret project to acquire parcels of prodigal Barossa vine. With a backbone of fruit grown to some of the oldest sites in Australia, much of Rockbare's fruit comes off vines a century or more of age. The intense power and complexity of Rockbare's resplendent range of wines are complimented by sweet oak and gripping tannins, culminating in vintages of extraordinary flavour and exquisite..
Precious & prodigal parcels of the barossa»
Clonakilla are one of our nation's most eminent vineyard wineries, a tiny production operation, established by a CSIRO scientist at Murrumbateman, very near Canberra. It turned out to be a fortuitous planting, with a climate not dissimilar to Bordeaux and northern Rhone, the Clonakilla property now occupies a rank next to the mighty Grange on the prestigious Exceptional Langtons Classification, it yields vintages of Australia's most invaluable Shiraz. At $26.99, the estate's entry level belies its stature and excellence within the pantheon of great Australian wine, an essential experience this week for all enthusiasts, a canny choice for shrewd and judicious aspirants of elite new world Shiraz...
Here's what our most picky pundits prefer»