Australian multi region case – Mixed

.Thistledown Great Escape Chardonnay

The Great Escape is our benchmark, cool climate Chardonnay produced from fruit grown in elevated vineyard sites which allow for a long ripening period which helps to maintain the natural sugar and acid balance of the grape. With moderate alcohol, focussed, crisp citrus fruit and a mouthwatering finish, this is an accomplished, truly modern style of this noble variety.

Vintage Conditions

Another dry season, no doubt influenced by El Niño, saw McLaren Vale and the Barossa have a very early, condensed harvest but up in the Hills, it was almost the perfect season. Much improved fruit set led to a healthy crop load wth even bunches that ripened gradually through February’s perfect conditions. Looking to retain natural acidity and energy in the wine, we hand-picked in two vineyards over the course of 10 days with the end result being some of the most pristine fruit we have witnessed.

Winemaking

As with all of our wines, the winemaking process is a gentle one with the intention of preserving the natural flavours of the wine while at the same time building layers of texture.

Fruit is picked in the cool of the early morning and goes directly to press where the free run juice is run off to tank to settle. We retain a relatively high level of solids in the ferment – half of which is done in tank with regular movement of lees and half is done in used French hogsheads with regular “battonage” of the lees to build flavour and texture. We do not encourage malolactic as we want to pre

For more information about our selection of wines from thistledown please visit https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/thistledown/

For more information about the winery please go to :  http://www.thistledownwines.com/

.Thistledown Great Escape Chardonnay – a great example of this truly wonderful Aussie varietal

Heartland Wine Spice Trader

This is a rich, ripe Shiraz-Cab blend from Langhorne Creek in South Australia. The nose opens with aromas of cola, plums, olive and ground black pepper backed by hints of mint and vanillin oak. The palate is bold, plush and sweet-fruited, with chunky oak that shows up particularly on the finish.

The Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon are fermented separately with specific parcels included for their ability to offer greater complexity and character. Time in barrel permits a softening of the wine’s structure. It also offers a complex expression of the fruit and helps the exotic notes of spice to be discovered.

This is a very dark glass of juicy and delicious red. A burst of intense primary fruit greets the palate with blueberries, blackberries and currants. These powerful fruit notes can engulf the uninitiated, but waves of spice can be discovered by seasoned flavour explorers.

Good winter rainfall provided cover crops for a moisture retaining mulch throughout the dry spring and summer. The lack of rainfall over the growing period led to lower yields. Summer saw mostly cool temperatures and an early vintage with most of the region’s fruit off by early April. The Langhorne Creek wine region benefits from cooling afternoon breezes from Lake Alexandrina and this season was no exception. The welcome breezes helped keep overnight temperatures down, enabling fruit to maintain natural acidity.

To find out more about the Heartland Wine brand go to https://www.heartlandwines.com.au/homepage-international/

Today, the Heartland winery produces only red wines and Langhorne Creek is the only area where the winery gets its grapes from.
Located at just about an hour’s drive away from Adelaide, Langhorne Creek is one of the most ancient wine regions in Australia. Some of the country’s oldest and lesser-known viticulture methods are employed for growing the vines here. The southerly-wind dominated climate and alluvial-rich sandy loam soil are two of the main reasons for the full character and flavour of the grapes grown here. Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and their related blends are the common varietals grown here.

To see our full range of Heartland Wines go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/heartland-wines/

Heartland Wine Spice Trader – a great Cabernet shiraz blend from Langhorne Creek.

Tamar Ridge Devil’s Corner Sparkling

Tasmania continues to grow in reputation as the home of Australia’s leading sparkling wines. This sparkling wine represents the best of our cool-climate crafted wines.

Color: A pale, straw-coloured sparkling wine with medium bead and good persistence.
Aroma: The emphasis is on the bright and lively aromas of ripe new season’s apples and a citrus fruit tang
Palate: This wine has a well-balanced palate dominated by fresh crunchy apple, a touch of citrus and just a hint of yeasty complexity. It is lively and fresh in the mouth with a good persistence of flavour and a finish that is dry and refreshing.
Wine Analysis: Alc/Vol: 12%
 
Growing Conditions: Premium cuvée for sparkling wine is made from various combinations of the grape varieties, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. When grown in areas that experience cool ripening conditions like Tasmania, the varieties produce sparkling wines of finesse, elegance and delicacy of flavour. This Cuvee is made from a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes from selected sites in our Tamar Valley vineyards. It contains a blend of parcels of wine from several vintages each contributing its own subtle layer of flavour and complexity.

More information about the winery can be found at https://www.brownbrothers.com.au/about-us/our-brands/devils-corner/

To see our full range of Devil’s Corner wines go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/tamar-ridge/

Winemaking and wilderness have come together to create a uniquely modern range of cold climate wines shaped by the pristine Tasmanian East Coast. We hope you enjoy these award-winning wines made in partnership with the wild.

Tasmania has a growing reputation for white sparklers and this is one of the new style of wines from this area. Devil’s Corner Sparkling is comparable with European Chardonnay/Pinot based wines, the product is ideal for entertaining and special occasions. Well worth a try and part of a stunning range from Devil’s Corner

Three Lions Great Southern Cabernet Merlot

The Plantagenet’s were the first truly armigerous royal dynasty of England meaning they were entitled to strike and bear various coats of arms. The arms of this noble, later royal, family, Gules, three lions passant guardant, termed colloquially “the arms of England” were first adopted by King Richard the Lionheart (1189–1199), son of King Henry II of England (1154–1189), son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou (1113/17–1151).
These Three Lions signified royalty, history, power and a code of conduct that was instantly recognized wherever they were displayed.
So too with this range of wines. They are from the oldest established winery in Great Southern – they are wines with power and provenance. The Three Lion coat of arms of Plantagenet Wines is a recognized symbol of quality and prestige.

Three Lions Great Southern Cabernet Merlot – a good tight grain French oak with juicy acidity give a fine structural thread to the black plum, brambly fruit with a slight herbal edge. Medium palate weight and good clean acid on the finish balances this wine superbly

Three Lions Great Southern Cabernet Merlot is kept in French oak for 15 months and is best paired with Roast Beef with herbed potatoes

http://www.plantagenetwines.com/assets/images/products/media/ThreeLions•CABERNETMERLOT•2015.pdf

To see our full Plantagenet range go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/plantagenet/

Plantagenet has once again received an amazing result in the 2019 Wine Companion. We’re thrilled to say that he has rated no less than 9 of our wines at 90 points and above, with 6 of our wines receiving 94+ points – a truly outstanding result that we are very proud of. Please follow the link below for a full list of scores and reviews.
Read the full list of reviews here http://www.plantagenetwines.com/blog/2019-James-Halliday-Wine-Companion

Plantagenet Wines embodies the best of the west with its distinctive wines of finesse and elegance. As a pioneer of the Great Southern region, Plantagenet’s reputation is celebrated for its rich heritage, its expressive wines and family-owned sensibility, making it one of the most trusted wine brands in the country.
The rich tapestry of the Plantagenet story begins in 1968, when English migrant Tony Smith envisaged great things for his land in Mount Barker. With his small inheritance, he bought a farm called Bouverie in the Plantagenet Shire and literally planted the seeds of the Plantagenet future – Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes bore the fruit of what would become some of the most highly awarded and sought after wines, both nationally and internationally. The fruit was picked in 1974 and the wines showed exciting potential, enough for Smith to convert a local apple packing shed into a winery and get to work making tight and lean Shiraz with typical regional spiciness and full-bodied cabernet. Embracing the conditions of the Great Southern’s cool climate, Smith went on to plant further varieties, including Riesling, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The vineyards all benefit from their coastal proximity, enjoying abundant rainfall and cool twilight breezes from the neighbouring Southern Ocean.

Rolf Binder Hales Shiraz

This deep cherry red wine fills the glass with aromas reminiscent of sweet red berries. Dark cherries enhanced with liquorice, cassis, hints of vanilla and blueberries on the medium bodied palate. Ripe tannins and a complex acidity lend to the overall perception of a smooth, approachable red wine, with a nice persistence of flavour.

Vintage conditions
Things started well for 2015 with above average early winter rains that filled the soils and dams. Spring was drier and warmer than average, meaning the vines got away to a good healthy start. In the second week of January, a nice amount of rain fell, which kept vines healthy and grapes ripening. In fact the ripening conditions were perfect, and February did nothing to stop the ripening or hinder quality, being warm to hot during the day, cool at night and almost completely dry. March was also very dry and average in temperature with most of the vintage harvested before its end. 2015 could well go down as another really great Barossa Valley vintage.
Vinification details
The Shiraz for this wine was picked over a period of three weeks, coming from vineyards in the inner west and northern reaches of the Barossa. All batches were crushed as one, using traditional pump over or heading downboards during the fermentation. After pressing, the seperate free run juice and pressings were blended back together. Maturation was done in a majority of shaven American and French oak hogshead barrels.

To find out more about the winery go to https://rolfbinder.com/
To see our full range of Rolf Binder wines go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/rolf-binder-wines/

Christa and Rolf form the heart of Rolf Binder wines, continuing a family wine-making tradition that spans nearly 60 years. Their parents arrived in Australia in 1950 – just two amongst the many post-war immigrants from Europe – and met a grape grower in the Barossa while working to help pay for their assisted passage. From such unlikely beginnings, a passion for the Barossa was born, a winery was purchased and a new life began. They soon came to appreciate the riches of the Barossa, the old vine Shiraz, Mataro and Grenache, and were at the forefront of many old vine varietal blends. Now Christa and Rolf are taking the winery into the 21st century, with Rolf forging a world-wide reputation for his red wines while Christa takes the plaudits for her white wines.

Rolf Binder Hales Shiraz

Pitchfork Semillon Sauvignon Blanc

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
VINTAGE: 2018 VARIETY: Chardonnay 100%
ALCOHOL: 13.0% growing region: Margaret River

To see our full range of Pitchfork wines go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/pitchfork/

For more information on the winery go to https://hayshedhill.com.au/collections/pitchfork

The Hay Shed Hill vineyard is situated on a picturesque property that was established as a group settlement farm for returned soldiers from the First World War. Known as Sussex Vale the property was originally a dairy farm. The current homestead, considerably renovated, still has much of the original Group Settlement look and feel.
Vines were first planted in the early 1970s. In the late 1980’s the vineyard was bought by the Morrison Family and the wine brand Hay Shed Hill was established taking its name from the local reference to the hay shed located on the property. The sister label, Pitchfork, was developed to complement the single vineyard Hay Shed Hill label. A series of ownership changes saw numerous alterations to labels, wine style and distribution until the current group of partners bought back the farm and the brand in late 2006 and returned to the original concept of producing wine with integrity that expresses the quality of the site.

The Hay Shed Hill vineyard is located in the Willyabrup Valley, the premier sub-region of the Margaret River Wine region. Only 5 Km from the Indian Ocean with an elevated aspect, the vineyard thus enjoys the benefit of the ‘doctor’ the well-known sea breeze that comes off the ocean each afternoon and cools down the vineyard giving the fruit a much cooler climate character than the latitude of the vineyard might suggest. The vineyard is hilly with several aspects ranging from steep south facing slopes on which the best Semillon Sauvignon Blanc is located, to equally steep north facing slopes where the best Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys the full face of the sun. The majority of the vineyard is dry grown producing small yields of outstanding fruit.

Pitchfork Semillon Sauvignon Blanc- great wine from Western Australia