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,..
Melton makes a mean mourvedre»
The story of Langmeil begins with early Barossa settlement, planted to Shiraz by Christian Auricht in the 1840s, the estate vineyards were restored by the Lindner and Bitter families during the 1990s. Some of Herr Auricht's original plantings are still in production, three and a half priceless acres of gnarled, dry grown vines which provided the cuttings for much of Langmeil's refurbished heirloom parcels. A princely range of old, to very old single vineyard wines, delineated by the eloquence of each unique site, defined by the provenance of history and pioneer folklore. Saved from the ravages of time by the hand of providence and generations of dedicated Barossa growers...
The legacy landscapes of langmeil»
Greg Melick embarked on the prodigal road to gambling and booze as a mere teenager, after winning the daily double at Werribee and spending the lot on good red wine. He ultimately returned to the straight and narrow, achieving the rank of ADF Major General, Senior Law Counsel, Master Wine Judge and Officer of Australia AO. Melick now grows his own, he remains besotted with les grands vignobles de Bourgogne, the illustrious Pinot Noir of Cote de Nuits and Cote de Beaune. There are few places in the world, more akin to the 1er Grand Cru style of Pinot Noir, than the temperate pastures along Tasmania's River Derwent. It was here in 2002, amongst the woodland idylls of the apple isle, that Melick established..
Pressing matters in pinot noir»
By those wonderful folks who bring us Shaw & Smith. Tolpuddle was planted to vine in 1988, on a highly precious site along Back Tea Tree Road, just outside of Hobart. The inaugural vintage claimed Tasmanian Vineyard of Year in 2006. The illustrious Messrs Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith acquired the property in 2011, with a view to elevating the excruciatingly limited release Tolpuddle to the status of a national Grand Cru. A singular experience in new world Pinot Noir, Tolpuddle unravels endless layers of pastoral complexity, powerfully structured yet elegant, immaculate and poised...
From little vineyards great wines grow»
