Three British Army officers, in their capacity as agents of the East India Company, established one of Western Australia's first agricultural enterprises in 1836. Named after Captain Richmond Houghton, it was not until Thomas Yule's stewardship that vines were planted and the first vintage of Houghton wine flowed in 1859. Thomas Yule now sources fruit from the eminent Justin Vineyard in Frankland River, a dark ruby Shiraz of lifted liquorice and intense brambleberry, seasoned by piquant pepper notes and supported by showroom tannins. The very elite of Frankland River Shiraz... Artisanal wines of distinguished sites»

William James Maxwell was an architectural sculptor who migrated from Scotland to Australia in 1875. He built a mock castle and established a family vineyard just outside Adelaide, which he named Woodlands Park. His son planted vines in nearby McLaren Vale and his grandson served a term as winemaker for Hardy Wines at the historic Tintara wineworks. William Maxwell's progeny remain in McLaren Vale, producing the southern hemisphere's most successful brands of Honey Mead, as well as vintages of the most extraordinary value in McLaren Vale Shiraz. But what does Maxwell taste like? Gentleman James Halliday describes Maxwell as robust, picking the eyes out of McLaren Vale shiraz; licorice, dark chocolate, savoury firm, ripe tannins, blackberry, positive oak the.. Made of mature vine mclaren vale »

Airline pilots make surprisingly good wine. Their appreciation of the sciences, a respect for the weather and a bird's eye view of the land, all invaluable to the winemaker's art. John Ellis would take every opportune weekend away from his regular New York Paris route, to pursue a passion for viticulture. He planted the first commercial Cabernet Merlot vines in the Hamptons and found time between trans atlantic flights to work vintages amongst the Grand Cru vineyards of La Bourgogne. Ellis ultimately made the great lifelong sea change in favour of our land downunder. He settled on a farmstead outside Leongatha, amongst the slow ripening pastures of Gippsland and established a vineyard called Bellvale. It is now a place of fully mature vines and old world.. Placing pinot amongst the pastures»

An ongoing resurrection of some fabulous old vines, a distinguished Blewitt Springs site and a range of the most spectacular McLaren Vale wines. When Kelly and Bondar acquired Rayner Vineyard in 2013, they knew that everything depended on the management of site and soil to achieve the excellence of wine they had in mind. The most fastidious husbanding regimens and a tightly scheduled evolution towards organic viticulture, the propitious Rayner vines have never yielded finer harvests, all translating into a tour de force across the entire Bondar range. Salient quality and penurious pricing make for a compelling mix. Old vines grown to salubrious soils, the harvest timed to perfection, a precision picking of fruit at just the right hour of day, aimed at capturing and bottling the exquisite expression of place... Model mclaren macerations»

Lindsay McCall's enthusiasm for great wine began in the 1970s, he established his first Mornington plantings in 1985 on the site of a derelict orchard at Red Hill along Paringa Road. From day one, McCall focused on exactingly managing the soils and the vines, after completing his day job as local school teacher. His affinity for the land and astonishing feel for winemaking produced monumental vintages of Pinot Noir, which propelled the exquisite range of Paringa Estate wines to international renown. McCall works closely with Mornington's finest vignerons to nurture better standards of viticulture and deliver finer vintages with each harvest. Limited yields of elite parcels, the artisanal efforts of Paringa Estate are regional icons, weaving the pick of Mornington's fruit into one of our nation's most.. Exquisite editions by the master of mornington»

The very first blocks of vine planted at Scotchmans Hill, are now in their fourth decade. Set aside for bottling as a range of limited release, single vineyard wines, they represent the first growth of viticulture from the fertile crescent of Port Phillip's western shore. Crafted to traditional old world techniques, very similar to the great Crus of la Bourgogne, they afford the true enthusiast an opportunity to engage with the decadent delights of the greater Geelong, as sampled alongside Gruyere, game and the finest gourmandise... All the best from scotchmans hill»