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Giovanni Tait mastered the family tradition of coopering wine barrels before migrating to Australia in 1957. He took up work in the Barossa and ultimately settled in for a lengthy engagement at B Seppelts and Sons, where he played a significant role in the vinification and maturation of some of the most memorable vintages in Australian viticulture. Tait's boys grew up to be winemakers, their attention to detail and close relationship with the Barossa's finest growers have earned the highest accolades from the international wine industry press. Generously proportioned yet exquisitely balanced, famously praised, perennially by savant Robert Parker as the most consistently outstanding quality, exceptional value wines from Barossa Valley... Bespoke parcels of old vineyard fruit»
There's a vineyard at Moorooduc in upper Mornington, planted to a splendid north facing slope which captures the maximum warmth of sunshine each day. Refreshed after nightfall by the invigorating maritime winds off Bass Strait and Port Phillip Bay, it's a place of exceptional winegrowing. Populated by ten unique Burgundy clones, this very special block of vine grew the only Pinot Noir ever to claim our nation's highest accolade for great red wines, the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy. The property continues to yield limited releases of outstanding vintages, it's a place of exacting viticulture and uncompromising pursuit of excellence, cherished by cognoscenti and exalted by industry press, the vineyard known as Yabby Lake... The burgundy clones of mornington»

Gemtree Uncut Shiraz CONFIRM VINTAGE

Shiraz McLaren Vale South Australia
Perfect balance in wine cannot be manufactured, it occurs naturally. Gemtree achieves this elusive idyll. Uncut has distinguished itself throughout the vintages with Double Gold in San Fransisco, Blue Gold in Sydney and Silver Great Australian Shiraz Challenge. Hand selected from forty year old vines grown to the estate's Tatachilla Road Vineyard, Uncut Shiraz requires very little intervention. The synergy between fruit and oak, acid and tannin are seamless and sublime.
Hands off winemaking, purity of fruit, unfined and unfiltered, a raw gem, the uncut version. In 1980 Paul and Jill Buttery purchased their first property on Tatachilla Road, a 38-acre vineyard of Cabernet and Shiraz with a limited supply of mains water. Over the years some of the original site was grafted to white varietals and has since been converted back to various clones of Shiraz. The incredibly low yields across the Uncut blocks have translated into an amazingly powerful wine. Minimally pruned vines, open ferments, gentle pressing and minimal fining and filtration, these are the maxims. A dozen or so Wiltipole sheep amongst the vines help reduce weeds and keep the grass mown around the place.
Deep crimson, purple hues. Satsuma plums, licorice, white pepper, black jubes, mocha, red cherry, hints of cinnamon and savoury oak. A complex web of flavours that traverse the palate. The front is dominated by a darker spectrum of fruits, blackberry, plums and blueberry. A definitive concentration of uncut Shiraz characters, yet elegant with a degree of restraint.
Gemtree
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Gemtree
Gemtree Vineyards is owned and run by third generation grapegrowers, the Buttery Family

The Buttery family is dedicated to producing interesting and appealing wines of the highest quality from their McLaren Vale vineyards. They are also passionate about sound environmental practises, sustainable agriculture and innovation.

Gemtree

In 1980 Paul and Jill Buttery took a punt and put all their hard earned money, with some help from the bank, into buying a vineyard on Tatachilla Road, at the heart of the McLaren Vale Wine Region. A few years later when the wine industry was struggling they bought another vineyard with land on the eastern side of the region in the foothills near McLaren Flat and called it Gemtree. They set about gradually planting the rest of the land.

In 1994 their daughter Melissa was doing some extra work in the vineyard having already completed an Associate Diploma in Business from the University of SA when she decided she enjoyed grape wrangling so much she would make a career out of it. She studied to qualify as a viticulturist and now manages the Gemtree Vineyards as well as other vineyards for customers of the Terraces Vineyard Management, an offshoot of Gemtree. In 1997 Melissa's brother Andrew returned from Melbourne to manage The Terraces and in 1998 the grapegrowing Buttery family agreed to launch the Gemtree wine label.

Enter Mike Brown stage left, a winemaker and boyfriend of Melissa. Having worked for a couple of years at d'Arenberg, Mike was asked by the Buttery's to make their wine. Shortly after that he asked the Buttery's, including his girlfriend, if he could marry Melissa. In 1999 Gemtree was joined part time by Helen, wife of Andrew with a background in marketing, to round off the team. Today Gemtree owns 330 acres of prime vineyard with varieties such as Shiraz, Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Riesling, Semillon, Alborino and Verdelho.

Gemtree

Since 1998 Gemtree has also been developing the 10 ha Gemtree Wetlands. Having created 6 dams and planted 20,000 native trees and plants they are now working in partnership with Greening Australia creating a an area of biodiversity which is a major haven for native plants, frogs, birds and animals as well as being a great teaching resource for the community. The Buttery/ Brown family is dedicated to producing interesting and appealing wines of the highest quality from their McLaren Vale vineyards. They are also passionate about sound environmental practises, sustainable agriculture and innovation.

Gemtree has two vineyards. Tatachilla Road behind the township of McLaren Vale and the Gemtree Vineyard in the foothills near McLaren Flat. In 1983 Paul and Jill Buttery sunk a bore which helped improve the Tatachilla Road vineyard and then in 1987 and 1989 bought adjoining parcels of land (15 acres & 10 acres) which were planted with Semillon and Cabernet Sauvignon. Over the years some of the original vineyard was grafted to Riesling, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The Sauvignon Blanc has since been converted back to Shiraz and in 2006 the Chardonnay was removed and replaced with 3 different clones of Shiraz. 2005 and 2006 saw some Cabernet Sauvignon grafted over to Albarino (a Spanish white variety).

Having established a vineyard management business called The Terraces, Paul was engaged to establish a new vineyard in the McLaren Flat region for a group known as Viticulture 2000 Trust set up by Brian McGuigan. This property was known as Gemtree and 96 acres of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Pinot Noir were planted in 1989. In 1991 the Gemtree property was put on the market and Paul and Jill purchased it. Since then they have purchased adjoining parcels of land planting vines on it. Today Gemtree Vineyards in McLaren Flat comprises 260 acres under vine planted with Chardonnay, Verdelho, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Petit Verdot and Sangiovese.

In the vineyard, Melissa allows the vines to achieve their natural balance. An integrated pest management program encompassing minimal sprays, and canopy management, encouraging air flow and sunlight exposure, assists in prevention of disease and promotes fruit quality. The use of organic and straw mulches combined with soil moisture monitoring technology, minimises the need for irrigation and demonstrates Gemtree's commitment to sound environmental practices. Gemtree are also trialling organic practises in Petit Verdot, biodynamic practises in the Tempranillo, Albarino and Shiraz and the use of Wiltipole sheep to help reduce the weeds and keep the grass mown around the place.

Gemtree