Jane Mitchell is one of Clare Valley's leading wine industry identities, Clare Valley Legend and Clare Valley Winemakers Hall of Fame, Centenary Federation of Australia Medal, SA Tourism Commission, Australian Regional Winemakers Forum, Wine Federation of Australia Council and Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation Board. Mitchell's largest vineyard is at Watervale, a very bleak place in the middle of winter at pruning time. It is known by the vineyard workers as Alcatraz, a place to do penance in the cold, wind and rain of a Clare Valley winter. Alcatraz only ever yields minimal harvests, source of the most memorable vintages in our nation's..
These old clare valley vines are just getting better»
Established 1851 by the French Marist order, Mission Estate are New Zealand's oldest winery, under continuous management ever since. The city of Lyon's Society of Mary sailed to New Zealand with little more than faith, fair winds and a few healthy vines. Men of Burgundy, they knew from good wine, they chose their ground and planted rootstock near Ngaruroro River between Napier and Hastings at Pakowhai. Agriculture and livestock were a necessity, but the establishment of a productive vineyard was essential. The area is now known as Hawke's Bay, internationally renowned for the rich terroirs of Gimblett Gravels, home of New Zealand's most salient brands...
The burgundy tradition of te ika a maui»
Lees stirring bran meal characters add texture to the laden palate, layered with fresh citrus and stone fruit flavours supported by perfect acidity. Enter Brokenwood's response to the modern day enthusiasm for finely structured Chardonnay with more balance, lower phenolics and timely oak... More»
Touches of cedary oak and some complex pine needle and herbal nuances add to the appeal of the bouquet. The late, great Greg Trott, patriarch of Wirra Wirra, saw many of his unusual dreams realised, such as the construction... More»
Hints of black cherry, plum and a caramel sweetness are embedded within the many layers of complexity. The Edwards are a well established family of agriculturalists with a long history of farming McLaren Vale for generations... More»
The palate is mouth filling with rich satsuma plums and blackberry fruits, dark chocolate and aniseed. From time to time, Wirra Wirra produces wines from very small parcels of extremely intense, high quality fruit... More»
The fruit is complexed by lemon curd, aromatic cedar and cashew notes. Wirra Wirra patriarch Greg Trott venerated cricket as the most noble of pursuits... More»
Fragrant varietal lift with bright red fruit aromatics of raspberry and plum. Church Block was the first wine which the late Greg Trott produced under the Wirra Wirra label back in 1972... More»
Halls Gap Vineyard was planted 1969, along the steep eastern slopes and parched rocky crags of Grampians Ranges, at the very beginning of a renaissance in Victorian viticulture. Since early establishment in the 1860s by the noble Houses of Seppelt and Bests, the region had earned the most elite peerage, a provenance of extraordinary red wines, bursting with bramble opulence and lined with limousin tannins. The Halls Gap property had long been respected as a venerable supplier to the nation's most illustrious brands. Seppelt and Penfolds called on harvests from Halls Gap for their finest vintages. Until 1996, when it was acquired by the late, great Trevor Mast, who was very pleased to bottle Hall Gap's fruit behind the exhalted label of Mt Langi Ghiran. Halls Gap joined the tally of Circe estate..
Land of the fallen giants»
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 Hunter Valley wine...
Sociable soils make for healthy vine»