Right next to the Merry Widow Inn at Glenrowan, infamous of Kelly gang folklore, Richard Bailey set up shop to service prospectors during the great Victorian gold rush of the 1860s. Rows of newly planted Shiraz soon followed and the Baileys released their first vintage in 1870. The region was ultimately infected by the terrible vine killing plague of the 1890s, a guarded blessing for Glenrowan, which elevated the quarantine status of its vitiated vineyards to a marque of the highest provenance. Baileys endure as one of the new world's most arcane and mythical wineworks, a small estate of historically significant parcels, producing limited vintages, defined by their exceptional value, purity of parentage and wondrous regional..
The bushranger's brew»
Stephen George grew up amongst the grape vines, very near the hamlet of Reynella and the nascent Skillogalee in Valley Clare. Both salubrious sites which were originally planted to vine by George senior in 1970. Stephen's pioneering work at Ashton Hills was a major catalyst for the development of Adelaide Hills as an internationally renowned wine growing region. Along with the eminent Brian Croser, Stephen was one of the principals who placed Adelaide Hills on the map, resolved to produce the best Pinot Noir in the country and bring global fame to the Adelaide Hills Piccadilly Pinot style...
From the misty chills of ashton hills»
The palate is rich and fleshy with layers of Satsuma plum and raspberries interwoven with nutmeg and aniseed spice. Woodhenge is about big ideas, in the manner of cyclopean fences built by Australia's early settlers... More»
Soft entry to the palate on a length of compote berries and dried fruit richness, supported by a veneer of oak and ripe grape tannins. Brokenwood release two editions of Pinot Noir each vintage from the eminent Indigo Vineyard at Beechworth... 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»
Crisp and refreshing palate brimming with layers of fruit, grassy notes, minerality and complexity provide interest. Mike Press is one of the nation's most experienced winemakers... More»
The palate dominated by a citrus backbone and fleshed out with the texture of oak barrel ferments and malolactic. Three quarters Semillon, the balance in Sauvignon Blanc, from fruit selectively hand picked and sorted off dry grown estate vines... More»
A multi layered palate of wild piquant raspberries, red licorice wick and frais de bois, dark anise tannins and sasafras oak in support of the textural, weight of fruit. Dan Buckle and Aaron Drummond are Mornington born and bred... More»
Somewhere near the Seaview end of McLaren Vale's Chapel Hill Road, a perfunctory passerine perched her pincers astride a pair of power poles and saw herself alit. Down she went amongst the dry grown branches of an old Grenache vineyard, setting the valuable veterans ablaze. The scorched site eventually came to the attention of a winemaking trio, the Messrs Leske, Tynan & Cooke, Masters of Wine and a venerable vintner, all driven by a consuming passion to make greater Grenache. Thistledown vintage very small amounts of the most extraordinary Grenache. Beautifully detailed and conspicuously elegant, their floral bouquets and graceful finish emulate the aromatic lift and peacock's tail of a prettily perfumed Pinot Noir. Magnificent to savour as a captivating aperitif, a bliss alongside fine cuisine, the Grenache of Thistledown represent..
Polly & the pyre to paradise»
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»