Graeme Melton and a mate were travelling across South Australia in 1973, their EH Holden was in dire need of maintenance and Graeme took up casual work at a passing winery. The site supervisor was Peter Lehmann and young Graeme had his epiphany on the road to Barossa Valley. Lehmann suggested that Graeme change his name to Charlie and take the pilgrimmage to Vallee Rhone. Charlie became prepossessed with the culture of old vines Grenache, Shiraz and Mourverdre. He returned to the Barossa, at a time when old vineyard fruit was made into flagon Port and growers were destroying their historic sites in return for government grants. Charlie emabarked on a crusade to conserve and restore the ancient vines, establishing his cellars at Tanunda along Krondorf Road. He has since retained the most..
Melton makes a mean mourvedre»
Originally formulated by John Charles Brown OBE in 1954 and crafted to this very day in the exact same manner, Brown Brothers flagship icon endures as one of the nation's most distinguished single vineyard wines. Mondeuse plantings were brought to Australia in the early 1900s by the legendary Francois de Castella of St Hubert fame, they have remained the most precious parcel of Brown Brothers heirloom vines since the 1920s. At Milawa, Mondeuse translates into an inky, deeply tannic wine, it forms synergies with the sweet fruit plumpness of Shiraz and statuesque elegance of Cabernet Sauvignon to coalesce into a rich, opulent style of eloquence and structure...
The brown brothers most closely guarded secret»
Hints of pepper and soft oak spice are well integrated with the dark lush fruits. Increasingly, Mount Langi are reaping the harvest of some sensational old rootstock, sown decades ago... More»
Exhibits the freshness and vibrancy for which Prosecco is renowned, late picked fruit achieves a softer, rounder palate full of crisp citrus notes. Prosecco is a variety of grape and style of wine, as well as Denominazione di origine controllata in northeast Italy... More»
Fine texture and acidity, a degree of minerality and a lasting, refreshingly crisp finish. Dog Point took the wine world by storm, purely on the basis of its exceptional Sauvignon Blanc... More»
The palate is rich and concentrated with sweet fruit and hints of nutmeg. A stately Victorian Cabernet Sauvignon and the Brown Brothers flagship, released at five years of age... More»
Vibrant with rich fruit flavours of citrus, fleshy stonefruits and tropical notes. Voyager are meticulous in everything they do, from varietal and clonal selection to vineyard management and the winemaking process... More»
Rich, supple, concentrated berry flavours integrated with fruit and oak tannins, a very good length of flavour. George Francis Morris established a small vineyard in 1859, just two miles east of the current Mia Mia Morris family... More»
Returning to his home along the Nagambie Lakes after the completion of service during World War II, Eric Purbrick discovered a cache of wine, hidden circa 1876 under the family estate cellars. Though pale in colour, it was sound and drinkable after seven decades. The promise of long lived red wine inspired Purbrick to establish new plantings at Chateau Tahbilk in 1949, today they are some of Victoria's oldest productive Cabernet Sauvignon vines. Having barely scraped through the ravages of phyloxera and a period of disrepute, the fortunes of Tahbilk were turned around by Purbrick who was the first to market Australian wine under its varietal name. Tahbilk proudly hosts the largest, single holding of Marsanne on the planet. Tahbilk's original rows of Shiraz are commonly cited as one of the great vineyards of the world, regularly sampled..
Phyloxera, ancient cellars & seriously old vines»
The Australian winemaking industry is grateful to Leontine O'Shea, instrumental in the establishment of Mount Pleasant wines, she sent her son Maurice to France for an education in viticulture right at the outbreak of World War I, gifting him his first Hunter Valley vineyard in 1921. Mount Pleasant are now custodians of some grand old sites, a canon of small, elite blocks of vine that yield a precious range of icon wines, which represent peerless value and readily disappear before release of the following vintage...
The legacy of grand old hunter valley vineyards»