The mean gravelly soils and invigorating climes of Mount Barker of the Australian southwest, were identified during the 1960s by the world's leading viticulturalists, as a place uncannily similar to the great terroirs and clime of Bordeaux. The pioneering vines of Forest Hill were the first ever planted here, sired from rootstock of ancient Houghton clones, inaugurally vintaged by the illustrious Jack Mann in 1972. The Cabernet and Riesling of Forest Hill were promptly distinguished by multiple trophy victories and praised by gentleman James Halliday as the most remarkable wines to come out of the Australian west. Forest Hill have remained a source of the most profoundly structured, intensely focused,.. Softly spoken wonders from the west»

Established 1973, Woodlands of Wilyabrup were one of the first vineyards in Margaret River, planted with a view to emulating the great growths of Bordeaux. Recipients of the highly prestigious Jack Mann Memorial Medal and Wine Industry Lifetime Achievement Award for their tremendous vintages of all things Cabernet. Assembling the rich Medoc style blends are what Woodlands do best. Painstakingly crafted by hand, to challenge the primacy of the illustrious Chateaux de la rive gauche, very few vineyards yield the quality of fruit that merits vintaging into a statuesque wine dominated by the prettily fragrant Cabernet Franc. Woodlands were established from the ground up with a view to achieving limited.. The complex bordeaux blend by one of margaret river's founding wineries»

Coonawarra graziers have access to the finest soils for viticulture. Doug Balnaves was born in the very heart of Coonawarra, quite near the sacred cricket pitch at Penola. An accomplished herdsman and shearer, Balnaves took up the challenge of planting vineyards in 1971. Working under the tutelage of legendary Coonawarra winemaker Bill Redman, Balnaves immersed himself in the culture of the vine, ultimately establishing a grande marque of Coonawarra and securing the inaugural presidency of the Coonawarra Vignerons Association. He remains a lifelong member of the Penola Pipe Band. For those who like their wines structured yet satin, powerful yet prettily perfumed, in the mouthfillingly muscular.. The old sheep shearer's shanty»

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»

Established just eleven years after the founding of South Australia, the ancient vines in the Hundred Of Moorooroo were planted circa 1836 by the Jacob brothers, after accompanying Colonel William Light on the Seven Special Surveys expedition to populate Adelaide's north. Moorooroo endures as the nation's cardinal parcel of vine, the mother rootstock for many of the Barossa's most distinguished sites. For over a century, these sacred vines contributed fruit to the Orlando company, where they formed the backbone of countless spectacular historical vintages. Decimated by the government sponsored vine pull schemes of the 1980s, only four rows of these priceless vines were saved by master Ed Schild from complete annihilation. One of the smallest yielding.. The fruit of vines established 1836»

Established 1976, Clairault are one of the pioneering estates on Margaret River. A tastefully limited range, from elite vineyards within the very dress circle of prestigious wineries at the heart of Margaret River's most illustrious precincts, Wilyabrup, Yallingup and Karridale. These are the dearest winegrowing terroirs in the Australian west, a place of auspicious soils and stimulating climes, the motherlode of environmentals which yield the most august vintages on the continent. The team at Clairault take a decidedly pastoral approach, biodynamically grown and environmentally sound, a sanctuary to native flora and fauna, their vineyards are managed to a completely natural agriculture. So exclusive are the wines of Clairault, that they can be hard.. The kindly cabernet of clairault»