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Established 1851 by the French Marist order, Mission Estate are New Zealand's oldest winery, under continuous management ever since. The city of Lyon's Society of Mary sailed to New Zealand with little more than faith, fair winds and a few healthy vines. Men of Burgundy, they knew from good wine, they chose their ground and planted rootstock near Ngaruroro River between Napier and Hastings at Pakowhai. Agriculture and livestock were a necessity, but the establishment of a productive vineyard was essential. The area is now known as Hawke's Bay, internationally renowned for the rich terroirs of Gimblett Gravels, home of New Zealand's most salient brands... The burgundy tradition of te ika a maui»
There were two scrub covered parcels of land, just outside Pokolbin village along McDonalds Road, that local council had long set aside for use as cricket ground and cemetery. Both were ultimately auctioned off to the highest bidders and sown to vine. A third undeveloped site became the subject of a long running feud among the new and old neighbours. Dodgy invoices between the rivals were exchanged and the division of firewood became a further cause of contention. A truce was eventually called by the two protagonists, Brokenwood and Hungerford Hill, for the sake of healthy viticulture. The nascent blocks achieved international renown as the eminent Cricket.. Sociable soils make for healthy vine»
There are but two winemakers who can lay claim to a staggering four Jimmy Watson Trophy victories. Wolf Blass was the man behind the label. John Glaetzer was the man behind Wolf Blass. While working for Wolf, Glaetzer was moonlighting on his own brand, applying the same extravagance of technique to the pick of Langhorne Creek fruit. Perfection in the form of black bramble fruit, muscular yet affable tannins, all framed by the luxury of ebony oak. Aspirants of the great Black Blass Label fables of 1974, 1975 and 1976, are privately advised to avail themselves of John's Blend, Cabernet or Shiraz. Crafted from the same parcels, in the same way, by the same hands,.. Timeless mystique of langhorne creek»
There are few family names in the Australian wine industry as eminent and enduring as Glaetzer and Potts, they own and operate many of the oldest and most precious vineyards in Langhorne Creek. John Glaetzer was right hand man to the legendary Wolf Blass throughout the breathtaking sequence of Black Label Jimmy Watson victories. Ben Potts learned his trade at the oldest family owned wineworks in Australia Bleasdale, established by the larger than life Frank Potts in 1858. Ben's great grandfather was the first Langhorne Creek grower to supply grapes to Wolf Blass. The Glaetzer and Potts families have collaborated for decades to achieve many of the nation's.. Vital vintages from the most precious parcels»

Jim Barry McCrae Wood Shiraz CONFIRM VINTAGE

Shiraz Clare Valley South Australia
Jim Barry purchased seventy acres of prime river flats in 1964, from Duncan McRae Wood in the Armagh area of Clare Valley and planted his first vineyard with Shiraz. It was an inspired choice of variety and location. The site would go on to become the foundation of Jim Barry's red wine production and to yield a spectacular quality of Shiraz which is earmarked for the internationally renowned The Armagh. McCrae Wood is a big, full bodied wine with extravagant palate in true Jim Barry styling, layered with deep tannins and ripe, concentration of flavours.
Available in cases of 6
Case of 6
$341.50
With its beautiful rolling hills, ideal winter rainfall and Mediterranean climate, Clare Valley grows some of Australia's most distinctive Shairaz. The region is blessed by aquifers that refresh the vines, and welcome falls of rain keep the fruit looking healthy. The idyllic climes surrounding the McCrae Wood property mean that even in drought years the vines can offer amazing resilience. To this day the site enjoys near perfect growing conditions and produces outstanding Shiraz grapes which are often destined for inclusion into some of the world's great wines. The finished McCrae Wood Shiraz is teated to an extended maturation in a selection of seasoned and new French and American oak barrels.
Colours of crimson and inky, ruby red. The nose displays intense aromas of black fruit, raspberry, blackcurrant and plum, supported by tar and asphalt, liquorice, oregano and lavender. The palate is unreserved in its flamboyance. Initial arrival of blueberries, tobacco, nutmeg and cranberry. The departure shows coriander, sage, vanilla pods and cinnamon, the finish shows excellent length. A generous red wine to accompany pasta and meats.
Jim Barry
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Jim Barry
The Jim Barry vineyards were established in the cool uplands of the North Mount Lofty ranges in 1959

In his 57 years of winemaking, the late Jim Barry saw many changes. Jim Barry graduated from Roseworthy Agricultural College in 1947 and was offered a position at the Clarevale Cooperative, becoming the first qualified winemaker to work in the Clare Valley. In 1959 Jim and his wife Nancy purchased their first property on the northern outskirts of Clare and in 1964 purchased 70 acres of land from Duncan McRae Wood, part of which now forms the famous Armagh vineyard. With a growing family to look after, Jim took on the challenge of establishing his own winery and cellar door, with the first home-made wines being produced in 1974. "When I first came to the Clare Valley, grapes were delivered by horse and cart. Today our business is international but one thing won't change, at the end of the day, the wines are what matters!"

Jim Barry

The Jim Barry philosophy to winemaking is very simple, own the vineyards to develop the best fruit flavours possible and retain these flavours during winemaking. Fruit bottled under the Jim Barry Wines label is sourced from family owned vineyards, ensuring complete and utter control over every stage of production from vine to wine. Jim Barry Wines has four distinctive climatic and geographical sites in the Clare Valley. Watervale towards the southern end of the Valley, Lodge Hill in the eastern ranges, vineyards at the northern entrance to Clare and Armagh to the west. In addition, the company has a 14 hectare Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in the Coonawarra region.

The Florita vineyard at Watervale is one of the area’s oldest. This is the vineyard where legendary winemaker, John Vickery, sourced the grapes for his great Leo Buring Rieslings of the 1960s and 1970s. At a time when the South Australian Government had initiated a vine pull program to counter an oversupply of grapes, Jim Barry went against conventional wisdom and purchased the Florita vineyard. Despite fruit being in oversupply and Riesling being overshadowed by a huge surge in popularity by Chardonnay, they knew that Florita was one of the best vineyards in the country and was crucial in their plans to produce premium Rieslings.

The first time Jim Barry walked on the soils of Lodge Hill in 1977, he knew it was a special site. It now produces two of Jim Barry’s most famous wines – The Lodge Hill Riesling and The Lodge Hill Shiraz. At 480 metres, the Lodge Hill vineyard, situated on the eastern ranges of the township of Clare, is one of the highest points in the Valley. Jim’s original intention was to devote the entire Lodge Hill vineyard to premium Riesling. The soil in the Riesling vineyard, on the other side of the crest, is brown loam over a layer of clay and slate bedrock that is about 900 million years old and has cracked just off the vertical so that water can drain freely through it. It’s a soil that nourishes the vines adequately, but makes them struggle just a bit, making it suited to growing intensely flavoured, finely structured Rieslings.

Jim Barry

However, while he was pottering around with his trusty shovel, digging here and there, he discovered a very different soil profile on the small north-facing slope. Warmer than the rest of the property, Jim decided it was the perfect place to plant Shiraz. So in essence, there are two vineyards within the one. The Shiraz vineyard's soil consists of about 40-50 centimetres of rich, chocolaty loam over rock, consisting of almost vertical sheets. The cracks between the sheets have been filled with soil, providing passage for the vine roots and free drainage – the ideal environment for low-yielding Shiraz vines.

The Armagh Shiraz has achieved extraordinary success and is regarded as one of Australia's highest quality wines. The vineyard was named after the adjoining hamlet of Armagh, established by Irish settlers in 1849 and named after the lush rolling hills of their homeland. Jim Barry planted the 3.3 hectare vineyard in 1968 with Shiraz clones originally sourced from Israel. The vineyard is planted on its own roots on grey sandy abrasive topsoil over clay subsoil and receives an average rainfall of 600 millimetres per year. Such is The Armagh vineyards suitability that minimal intervention is needed to maintain yields below 4 tonnes per hectare, which produce rich and concentrated fruit of the rare quality required to produce wines with ageing potential.

On the southern boundary of Coonawarra is the old Penola cricket ground, which first saw a ball bowled in anger and the flashing cover drives of local champions in 1950. Jim Barry always had an affection for Coonawarra and the region's fabulous Cabernet Sauvignon fruit, so when the property went on the market, the opportunity to transform it into a vineyard was too good to miss. To preserve a little piece of Coonawarra cricketing history, the original pavilion was retained and the vines were planted around the cricket pitch. Jim Barry today, maintains the traditions of a family run winery committed to producing quality wines through an innovative approach to viticulture and winemaking technology.

Jim Barry