There are four tiny patches of vine at Scotchman's Hill, which have been mollycoddled by Robin Brockett, since the start of his tenure as chief winemaker in the 1980s. Excruciatingly limited after a strict pruning and rigorous sorting of fruit, they each yield a mere hundred cases of wine. Brockett has set aside the precious harvests of these superior blocks for his own label, a personal project to hand craft the finest of vintage, an exclusive range of the Bellarine's most elite single vineyard efforts. So besotted is Brockett by the spectacular quality of fruit from these four regal parcels, he has imported two 800 Litre Tuscan vinification Amphora from the Brunello commune of Montalcino. Whole bunches and wild ferments in the like of ancient clay urns, hand plunged in the old world..
Brockett begets the best of bellarine»
Torbreck of Barossa are one of Australia's great export brands, synonymous with luxury and excellence throughout the world of wine. Crafted from the fruit of old and ancient vineyards, the opulence and exclusivity of Torbreck's painfully limited production challenge the primacy of Grange. Established by a share cropper in the 1990s, its precious range has risen to the status of First Growth amongst the community of ardent international advocates. Woodcutter is the entry level, assembled from parcels which may have been destined for some of the brand's lofty icons, an essential experience for all enthusiasts of compelling Barossa Shiraz...
Chew a chop of woodcutter's wine»
Rich tropical fruit flavours of lychee and paw paw with hints of citrus and red apple create a fruit salad styled palate. Some of the Chenin Blanc vines at Voyager Estate date back to the property's first planting in 1978... More»
Hints of pepper and soft oak spice are well integrated with the dark lush fruits. Increasingly, Mount Langi are reaping the harvest of some sensational old rootstock, sown decades ago... More»
Rich and concentrated palate, displaying sweet mid palate fruit seasoned by complex spice flavours. Pepper Tree have strayed from their wineworks at Pokolbin to secure harvests of Terra Rossa Shiraz which are second to... More»
Rich, supple, concentrated berry flavours integrated with fruit and oak tannins, a very good length of flavour. George Francis Morris established a small vineyard in 1859, just two miles east of the current Mia Mia Morris family... More»
Full bodied and tightly structured, the palate exhibits perfect ripeness and brooding richness along with a spine of beautifully integrated acidity and fine tannin that will greatly reward. The view from Struie down towards Dornoch Firth, is as inspiring as the panorama across Barossa's Valley floor from atop... More»
A rich and generous palate shows flavours of bread dough, strawberry and oyster, with a lean acid backbone from its cool climate fruit origins and a lingering creamy mouth feel due to extended time on lees. Australia's latest requisite fashion accessory, a darling little wine for all occasions... More»
Clonakilla are one of our nation's most eminent vineyard wineries, a tiny production operation, established by a CSIRO scientist at Murrumbateman, very near Canberra. It turned out to be a fortuitous planting, with a climate not dissimilar to Bordeaux and northern Rhone, the Clonakilla property now occupies a rank next to the mighty Grange on the prestigious Exceptional Langtons Classification, it yields vintages of Australia's most invaluable Shiraz. At $26.99, the estate's entry level belies its stature and excellence within the pantheon of great Australian wine, an essential experience this week for all enthusiasts, a canny choice for shrewd and judicious aspirants of elite new world Shiraz...
Here's what our most picky pundits prefer»
Planted to a rocky hillock just east of township Clare, Mocandunda is a collaboration of three well seasoned vignerons, the Messrs Heinrich, Ackland and Faulkner. Heinrich grows fruit for a number of the nation's leading labels, Faulkner is one of Clare Valley's most accomplished agronomists, Ackland established the illustrious Mount Horrock Wines. Mocandunda was years in the making, one of the highest altitude terroirs in all Clare Valley, the extended autumns and dry grown vines, encourage a exceptional ripening of grapes, intense with varietal characters, magnificently balanced between natural fruit sugars, acidity and tannin. Mocandunda sell the lion's share of their crop to eminent brands, their harvests have claimed Winestate Trophy and South Australian Wine Of Year. A small cut from the finest pick of Mocandunda fruit is..
The craggy copse on valley clare»