Australian Wines Connoisseur’s Choice

Shaw & Smith Balhannah Vineyard Shiraz

Shaw & Smith Balhannah Vineyard Shiraz – This Shiraz exhibits a complex nose laden with spice and red fruit which leads to a poised and balanced palate. Graphite, sage, kalamata olives, and plum flavours envelop the palate which is lively and medium bodied. Grippy tannins and bright acidity lead into the long finish.

Winemakers Notes

The grapes were hand picked, hand sorted, and fermented as whole berries and whole bunches in open fermenters, with gentle plunging and minimal working. The wine was aged in new (15%) and used 500-litre French oak puncheons for 14 months. Unfiltered and unfined before bottling, the wine then underwent another 14 months of bottle ageing.

Information on the Producer

Shaw + Smith own two vineyards in the Adelaide Hills, at Balhannah and Lenswood, totalling 55 hectares. The vineyards are planted to varieties that perform particularly well in the region, namely Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz. Site selection is particularly important in the Adelaide Hills, with its diversity of altitude, aspect, microclimate, and soil. We also use a number of different cultivars or ‘clones’ of each grape variety, which contribute different qualities to the final product.

The Lenswood Vineyard, about 10km north west of the winery, is planted mainly to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, at 455 – 500m elevation. Undulating with east and west facing aspects, the soils are brown loams over clay with broken shale on the ridges. The vineyard was planted in 1999 and is 20 hectares in total.

M3 now comes from selected sites over the Adelaide Hills, not from the vineyard previously called M3. Pale strawgreen; it may be autosuggestion, but this has great freshness, vibrancy and finesse, the flavours pitched halfway between white peach/stone fruit on the one hand, grapefruit/citrus on the other. Obviously fermented in French oak, but is not obviously oaky. 97 points

You can see our range of Shaw + Smith product at our web page

For more information on the Shaw & Smith  winery go to their website

Shaw & Smith Balhannah Vineyard Shiraz – a great wine from a top class winery

Tyrrell’s Vat 1 Semillon

The Tyrrell’s Vat 1 Semillon is a distinguished wine that hails from the Hunter Valley, one of Australia’s premier wine regions. This wine is a testament to Tyrrell’s dedication to producing high quality wines with a strong sense of place and tradition. Established in 1858 by English immigrant Edward Tyrrell, Tyrrell’s Wines has grown into one of Australia’s most iconic wineries, renowned for its exceptional Semillon.

Vat 1 Semillon only ever comes from the best old vine, dry grown vineyards. These blocks feature ideal sandy, free draining soils that give these wines their unique character. The oldest of these blocks was planted in 1923.

The Story of Winemakers Selection

Murray Tyrrell created the Winemaker’s Selection range back in 1965, when, with the assistance of Len Evans, he set out to determine the best wines from each vintage. He named these wines after the casks in which they were
matured; for instance, the first Chardonnay we made went into cask number 47, so it became Vat 47 Chardonnay, or Pinot Chardonnay as it was then called. In 1974, having discovered that we had up to six casks from the same vineyard block that all tasted much the same, we brought the selection down to about 12 wines in total – a mixture of whites and reds. The early 2000s saw a further consolidation with the inauguration of the Sacred Sites range and the expansion of our Single Vineyard program. Today, the Winemaker’s Selections are estate-grown on the various blocks that form the wines that we believe best represent our land and house style. These wines are only bottled in years when we believe that the quality is high enough to meet our exacting standards.

Producer Information

The Tyrrell’s estate, nestled in the foothills of the Brokenback Range in the Hunter Valley, is a unique patchwork of vineyards. Thriving in a diverse range of soils, from sandy loams lying on ancient creek beds to heavier red clays over limestone, these vineyards produce some of the most distinctive and refined wines in the world.

The Tyrrell family’s association with the grape began with Edward Tyrrell in 1858. Today his legacy lives on through the fourth and fifth generation of the family who collectively manage one of Australia’s oldest and most highly regarded wineries. Tyrrell’s has grown over a century and a half to become one of Australia’s most prestigious winemakers.

To find out more about the Tyrrell’s winery go to the website

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Tyrrell’s Vat 1 Semillon

Sands of Time Grenache by Thistledown

Sands of Time Grenache – Highly aromatic, offering scents of sandalwood, dried orange, violets and gentle wood spice on the nose, it leads into a palate that is at once elegant and vibrant, yet concentrated and enduring. Silky and seamless, it presents a glossy, deeply appealing mix of wild strawberry, violets and the faintest whisper of cinnamon and woodsmoke. Both achingly beautiful and effortlessly drinkable in equal measure.

Viticulture

Sourced from one single vineyard, planted 1952, the bush trained vines on pure sand yield up a wine of immense purity and power that is both light and intense at the same time.

Winemaking

The wine is vinified naturally in a concrete pyramid, where whole bunches are placed alternately with de‑stemmed berries to create a layered ‘cake’, with 33% whole bunch employed. A very gentle, slow fermentation follows, before the wine matures in both oak and concrete. After a meticulous selection, it is bottled unfined and unfiltered after ten months.

Food Pairing

Beef casserole, coq au vin.

Producer Profile

To find out more about the Thistledown winery please go to their website

To see our full range of Thistledown wines go to their page on our website

Best known as one of the leaders of the contemporary Grenache movement, Thistledown Wines make small batch Grenache, Shiraz and Chardonnay from McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and the Adelaide Hills. Alongside Wild & Wilder Wines, benchmark regional varietals and Mediterranean blends, and Millions Suns, sustainably certified wines from The Riverland, they produce world class wines with quality, value and sustainability at their core.

Like the Thistle itself, Thistledown wines may appear robust on the surface but they seek deep flavours, a core of beautiful fruit and complexity that can be peeled back, layer by layer.

Sands of Time Grenache by Thistledown – great Grenache from an afficianado producer

Stella Bella Suckfizzle Chardonnay

Stella Bella Suckfizzle Chardonnay

n a warm vintage like ’22, a wine like this—made from just 700 vines in the most southerly vineyard in Margaret River—shines. Cool maritime influence is out in full force: Flint, oyster shell, toast, nougat, citrus and stone fruit comprise the bright nose. The palate shimmers with intensity and slices with racy acidity. There’s more fruit than in previous vintages. Combined with subtle toasty richness and a saline streak throughout, it makes for gorgeous drinking now, with the power to last for several years into the future. 

Winery Information

Margaret River’s micro climate is well known to be very conducive to the production of Bordeaux style wines. This wine is a good example of a well structured Cabernet Sauvignon varietal.

This boutique winery in the heart of Margaret River creates idiosyncratic named ranges like Suckfizzle in a low interventionist and organic way keeping their approach as simple as possible to allow their cherished vineyards to show their quality.

It is not merely in the names where these wines are memorable, as once you have tasted them you will see why Luke Jolliffe, the winemaker, continues to receive recognition and awards from around the world for wines that have that wonderful Margaret River restraint and elegance, but are bound together with a fruit purity that makes them delectable.

Their philosophy regarding viticulture is simple, and that is to operate in a manner that consciously respects the vineyards that they tend as well as the local environment. Minimal chemical inputs and fertilisers are used along with minimal intervention as – aiming for vine balance. Stella Bella are acutely aware of the environmentally pristine nature of this part of the world and manage their vineyards accordingly.

To see our full range of Stella Bella product go to our dedicated website page

For more information on this Margaret River winery go to their website

Stella Bella Suckfizzle Chardonnay

Yalumba The Virgilius Viognier

Yalumba The Virgilius Viognier – The Virgilius is Yalumba’s most distinguished Viognier – a wine that shows power with restraint. As Yalumba’s most premium and enchanting white wine, it is loved by wine lovers looking for something beyond the more conventional offering.

Terroir & Site

After 35 years we believe that the Eden Valley has proved its place as one of the great homes of Viognier. The ‘new’ clones, imported by the Yalumba nursery, are starting to mature and bear fruit that we can compare to each other and our established vineyards. While not enough volume or vine age for The Virgilius yet, the diversity of this material will help us to look at further planting material.

Winemaking & Viticulture

Handpicked grapes were whole-bunch pressed directly to mature French oak barriques, where they were fermented by ‘wild’ or indigenous yeasts occurring naturally in the vineyard. These wild yeasts play a small and subtly different part in the development of the wine, creating layers of richness, complexity, fine textures and flavours. After fermentation the wine was aged on lees with regular batonnage for ten months to further heighten the palate weight and increase the complexity and flavour generosity.

Tasting Comments

The nose has intense aromas of early season just picked apricots, cardamom, white pepper and fresh ginger. Lifted ginger spice is layered on the palate with mineral sourdough like texture and complex apricots and almond savouriness. The trademark Viognier lusciousness of the palate is clearly evident in this wine. It is complex while at the same time showing purity and restraint that will unwind slowly in the glass and take the imbiber on a sensory journey. At its best with food, The Virgilius complements a wide range of flavours, particularly dishes with spice and rich flavours. Try with poached pike perch; grilled sirloin and chips; beef rendang; pan fried herb stuffed mushrooms; or fresh gnocchi with olive oil and shaved truffles.

Producer Profile

In 1847 a 37-year-old brewer called Samuel Smith left his home in Wareham, Dorset with his wife Mary and their four children. Boarding a simple three-masted barque they left Plymouth and began the long and arduous journey to Australia, arriving in Port Adelaide. From there they trecked north to Angaston where Samuel took a job as a gardener. It was arguably this brave decision to start a new life in a remote and distant land, together with the hardship that they endured, that formed the strong sense of family unity that has been the bedrock of the family business ever since. In 1849 he started the wine farm that would grow over the next 5 generations to become one of Australia’s leading wineries, with a winemaking culture that is internationally recognised and respected. To embrace the native culture, Samuel decided to adopt a local name for his farm, calling it “Yalumba” meaning “all the country around’’ in the indigenous Peramangk language.

Yalumba is part of Australian wine alliance Australia’s First Families of Wine, a multimillion-dollar venture to help resurrect the fortunes of the $6 billion industry while highlighting the quality and diversity of Australian wine.

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Yalumba The Virgilius Viognier

Balnaves Cabernet Sauvignon

Balnaves Cabernet Sauvignon – The vineyard is planted at the end of The Coonawarra ‘Terra Rossa’ strip. Planted in 1975, the vineyard is 48 hectares in size and has been in the family for three generations. The predominant variety planted is Cabernet Sauvignon. Winemaker Pete Bissell was the Qantas Winemaker of the Year 2005 and Balnaves was Winery of the Year in 2008