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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»
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 to find, released in measured editions and allocated to long standing patrons, they represent an essential inclusion for every enthusiast of profoundly structured, statuesque yet sublime, wonderfully west coast.. The kindly cabernet of clairault»

Rolf Binder RHB Reserve Shiraz CONFIRM VINTAGE

Shiraz Barossa South Australia
Rolf Binder's story begins in 1950 when his parents arrived from Austria and Hungary, part of the large influx of post war immigration. They worked the Victorian railways for three years and picked grapes in the Barossa, before acquiring an old winery on Langmeil Road in 1955. RHB is made in the way that Rolf's father enjoyed his wine, full bodied, opulent, the old world style of Aussie claret with solid tannins in support of powerful fruit. An extravagant two year term in French and American oak hogsheads, integrates RHB into a whole that's so much greater than the sum of parts.
Rolf Binder
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Rolf Binder
Magpie Estate is a joint venture which began in 1993, between winemaker Rolf Binder and English wine merchant Noel Young

Rolf's story begins in 1950 when his parents arrived from Austria and Hungary, part of the large influx of post war immigration to Australia. They worked with the Victorian railways for three years. During that time they met Elmore Schulz a train driver and a grape grower in the Barossa Valley. In 1953 they picked grapes in the Barossa, met Chris Vohrer and Wilhem Abel and in 1954 worked a vintage in their winery. This is the old winery on Langmeil Road, which they purchased in 1955.

Rolf Binder

The demand at this time was for fortified wines but slowly a market increased for red table wines from immigrants working at the new industries in Whyalla, Port Pirie and Port Augusta. Highlights include the first of the Bulls Blood which was made in 1967 and was called 'Bikaver'. Later came the realization of the great riches of the Barossa Valley in old vine shiraz, mataro and grenache. Experiments at Veritas and a number of other, mostly small Barossa wineries followed and led through the 1980's to the release of many exciting old vine varietal blends.

Veritas slowly gained recognition and in 1996 and 1997 was awarded the Trophy for Best Small Producer at the Barossa Wine Show and the Trophy for the Best Barossa Shiraz. In 2002 Veritas again won the Trophy for the Best Small Producer. More recently Veritas has been awarded twice in 2002 and 2003 the Trophy for the Best Semillon at the Barossa Wine Show. In 2002 Veritas were the makers of the top three pointed semillons at the Barossa Show and included the gold medal and trophy winning wine.

"2003 Rolf Binder Wines Grenache / Mourvedre / Shiraz Heinrich. From one of Australia’s finest winemakers, this wine stood out brilliantly for its precision, richness, complexity, and ageworthiness. In addition, some very good bargains are available from this talented producer!" -Robert Parker, "The change of name from Veritas to Rolf Binder came with the 50th anniversary of the winery, established by Rolf's and sister Christa Deans' parents. The growth in production and sales is due to the quality of the wines rather than the (hitherto) rather laid-back approach to marketing!" -James Halliday

Rolf Binder

Wine merchant Noel Young is based in Cambridge U.K. and holds a real passion for the Rhone varieties that matched Rolf's own. Most of the Magpie Estate's production are released into the English market with smaller parcels kept for Australia. The grapes used for Magpie wines are from spme of the better vineyards in South Australia as well as the estate's own. Noel likes more new oak than you would find in Rolf Binder's estate grown Veritas wines, and he takes the trip to Australia twice per year so that he and Rolf together can taste the various parcels of wine and agree on final blends for bottling.

The Magpie expression changes from label to label and this is done to poke fun at wine pretension. The range can vary from vintage to vintage and the following wines have been made over the last few years.

  • Magpie Estate ‘The Thief’ Barossa Valley Mourvedre Grenache. The mouvedre (mataro) in the Veritas Bulls Blood is made from the heavy grape skin mat left over after the ‘free run’ juice is run off. Some of this juice which is light in colour, like a rose, but high in alcohol goes into ‘The Thief’. The Grenache can have a number of sources. The blend percentage varies but is around 50%-50%.
  • Magpie Estate ‘The Schnell’ Barossa Valley Grenache Shiraz. Sourced from a wide number of growers and in the case of the 2003 this numbered eight. A delicious early drinking style and while the varietal percentage will vary it is about 50%-50%.
  • Magpie Estate ‘The Fakir’ Barossa Valley Grenache. Sourced from a number of vineyards for the first few years but is now mostly sourced from James Mader vineyard that lies on the valley floor at Light Pass in the Northern Barossa Valley. The winemaking team at Magpie Estate like to keep their options open about the final blend.
  • Magpie Estate ‘The Sack’ Barossa Valley Shiraz. A wine designed to cellar. Sourced from many growers, a tonne here and a tonne there, from old school friends and a circle of closely knit growers.

Rolf Binder