Special six of the Best from Australia

Keith Tulloch Semillon

Keith Tulloch Semillon – This Semillon is sourced exclusively from Keith Tulloch’s own old-vine estate vineyards on Hermmitage & Deasys Roads in Pokolbin, where vines were established in 1968 & 1978 respectively. in 1968 at Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley. It is this deep and fine alluvial sandiness that makes the vineyard resource so significant – the vines consistently produce the purest and brightest signatures of Hunter Semillon. The Semillon was harvested then crushed, chilled and pressed immediately. Fermentation occurred using a selected pure yeast culture in stainless steel tanks, at cool to cold temperatures to maximise and retain varietal freshness.

Zesty lemon and lime-fruit characters are the hallmarks of this classic Hunter Style – the bright and delicate characters are beautiful when young and will sustain for many years of cellaring. A naturally lower alcohol wine at 10.5%. A naturally lower alcohol wine at 10.5%.

Perfect with light and delicate fish dishes, prawns and freshly shucked oysters.

Keith Tulloch have attained the CLIMATE ACTIVE certification by the Australian Government. This means that the winery, vineyard and offices are certified carbon neutral as well as its wines (including glassware, boxes, shipping, bottling). This carbon neutral certification is one of the most rigorous in the world. Every emission created by the vineyard and the winemaking process has been reduced where possible; and where emissions are unavoidable the pollutants have been offset through carbon abatement so that the business and its products have zero net greenhouse gas emissions. Keith Tulloch is also a member of Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (previously known as Entwine) which requires wineries to report and reduce waste whilst promoting sustainable practices. A 65kw solar array has been installed, providing the vast majority of the estate’s power needs.

To see our full range of Keith Tulloch product go to our dedicated web page

To see more about the Keith Tulloch winery go to their website

Paulett Polish Hill Riesling from Clare Valley

Paulett Polish Hill Riesling – A Classic flinty and minerally Polish Hill River Riesling packed with notes of lemon and lime with a clean crisp finish.

Paulett Polish Hill Riesling – we love this great Aussie Riesling and look forward to stocking their full range of wines in the very near future.

The Cigar Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon from Yalumba

The Cigar Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon

The Cigar is a name coined by Coonawarra Vignerons to describe the region’s unique cigar-shaped strip of rich red terra rossa soil. Home to some of Australia’s most famous vineyards, the secret of Coonawarra lies in the intimate bond between the terra rossa soil, limestone layers, pure artisan water and a long, cool ripening season. Fortunate to be part of this iconic place, Yalumba salutes the region’s pioneers and those privileged to inherit its future.

TERROIR/PROVENANCE/REGION – The Cigar Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon

The Menzies Vineyard, Yalumba’s premium Cabernet Sauvignon estate, was established in the world-famous region of Coonawarra in 1975. The terroir is defined by red brown earth
over limestone, perfect for growing grapes for full-bodied, structured red wine.

TASTING NOTES – The Cigar Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon

Dark red plum in colour, medium to full depth in hue. The bouquet shows bright cherry, chocolate and musk fruit aromas supported by savoury cedar oak. The palate is vibrant
with blueberries and rhubarb, balanced by chocolate and mint. The tannins have a mouth-filling praline texture on the long and lingering finish.

FOOD PAIRING – The Cigar Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon

Barbecued lamb loin chops or herbed bean, mushroom and pine nut burgers with a red onion and tomato salsa

Yalumba has long had a mandate to craft exceptional quality wines that are accessible to wine lovers around the world. With this in mind, they set out to create younger siblings for two of our Rare & Fine stalwarts. Youthful interpretations of our beloved Rare & Fine wines that showcase the exceptional fruit to be found in their homes of the Barossa and Coonawarra, respectively. Thus Yalumba The Cigar Cabernet Sauvignon was born.

Yalumba ‘The Cigar’ is a wine from the Yalumba Coonawarra Estate. It is sibling to ‘The Menzies’. This wine is made from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon harvested from The Menzies Estate vineyards. Coonawarra’s potential to grow grapes of exceptional quality is a result of a perfect marriage between the famous red terra rossa soil and a porous limestone layer. This is complemented by a long, cool growing season, making the Coonawarra one of the gems in the global red wine crown. Cabernet Sauvignon is by far the most widely planted variety throughout the region, with more than 60 per cent of Coonawarra vines bearing this popular red grape.

Yalumba The Cigar is made through traditional small lot winemaking techniques. The grapes are crushed to small static fermenters, ensuring good extraction of colour and tannin. The grapes stay on skins for around seven days, though some tanks are given extended skin contact before pressing. The wine is matured for 22 months in mainly French oak hogsheads and barriques; 28 per cent of them new.

To view our full selection of Yalumba wines please click here

For more information on the Yalumba winery click here

Geoff Merrill Reserve Chardonnay

Geoff Merrill Reserve Chardonnay – The limited reserve range of wines from the Merrill stable are the result of Geoff`s desire to make and release small batches of his finest wines. Top Aussie wine writer James Halliday recently rated Geoff as one of Australia’s finest winemakers who is right at the top of his game! This wine is made from a rigorous selection of the best barrels and is a blend of Chardonnay fruit from the Coonawarra, Padthaway and McLaren Vale vineyard regions of South Australia. The wine displays a honey and melon bouquet, integrated with subtle oak aromas and a rich palate. Fantastic weight and complexity, bursting with pineapple and peach fruit flavours, with notes of cream and toast from its maturation in new French casks. The palate is well integrated with the opulent fruit flavours balanced by a refreshing acidity and followed by a youthful finish.

The perfect partner to chicken or fish dishes with a creamy sauce.

For more information on the vineyard go to their website

To see our full range of Geoff Merrill products go to our webpage for further information.

Geoff Merrill Reserve Chardonnay

Mount Horrocks Clare Valley Shiraz

Mount Horrocks Clare Valley Shiraz – This Shiraz was produced from dry-grown older vines (one quarter are more than 100 years old). It is an intensely flavoured, elegant wine displaying ripe fruit and spicy, cherry aromas. It has a full inky palate with great depth, length and fine tannins finishing with a firm dry aftertaste. An elegant yet mouth-filling wine. It is vibrant cherry red. Dark-fruited with fragrant, almost floral, oak aromas. On the palate, youthful, lively red and black fruits mingle with alluring spice and plush, peppery tannins. The finish is long and appealing.

Our low yielding Alexander Vineyard is ideally suited to producing high quality, certified organic and biodynamic wine. Here, Stephanie takes a distinctly European approach with one quarter of the hand-picked fruit whole-bunch foot crushed to give more perfume, while the remainder is crushed and fermented for more palate weight. Both components then spend 18 months in French oak barriques. Expressive and beautifully poised, this release is half our ‘normal’ production.

To see our full range of Mount Horrocks wines go to our dedicated Mount Horrocks web page

For more information on the Mount Horrocks winery go to their website.

Mount Horrocks Wines restricts production to approximately 2,500 cases per annum to achieve the highest quality single vineyard wines. All three estate-owned Clare Valley vineyards, totaling ten hectares, are ‘A grade certified’ by Australian Certified Organic (ACO).

Only estate grown grapes are used and these are hand-picked and gently handled under conditions that ensure the varietal and site-specific flavours in the resultant wine, as well as its organic status, are retained.

Mount Horrocks Clare Valley Shiraz

Willunga Trott Vineyard Grenache from Blewitt Springs

Willunga Trott Vineyard Grenache – The wine has a bright lifted nose of redcurrant and violets. This profile continues onto the palate where the red berry fruit is complemented by warm cinnamon spice, orange zest and cranberry. The wine finishes with bright, juicy acidity and lingering fine grained tannins.

 Willunga 100 has sourced fruit since 2013 from two of the most fabled vineyards in McLaren Vale, Sue Trott’s 70-year-old site in Blewitt Springs and the other from Bernard and Wayne Smart’s century-old, one hectare vineyard in Clarendon. In 2019, Willunga 100 purchased the 19-hectare Blind Spot vineyard in Blewitt Springs. The focus on single sites has brought critical success to Willunga 100. The 2021 ‘Smart’ won the Grenache trophy at Australia’s National Wine Show in 2023. This is the second time a Willunga Grenache has been honoured with a trophy at the show, as in 2017, the 2015 ‘Trott’ won Best Alternative Variety. National Wine Show success continued in 2024, with Willunga 100 winning two of the three gold medals awarded in the Grenache class for the 2022 McLaren Vale Grenache and 2022 ‘Trott’.

VINEYARDS

The dry-grown Grenache bush vines used for this wine were sourced solely from the top 12 rows of Sue Trott’s vineyard in Blewitt Springs, which was planted in 1952. This is the highest part of the vineyard, sitting at an elevation of 210 metres and facing east. It benefits from cool breezes coming off the Gulf of St. Vincent. These breezes not only protect the fruit from diseases and help enhance the aromatic character of the wine but they also ensure that the temperature is slightly cooler than it is lower down in the McLaren Vale. The soil is deep Maslin sand over a clay and ironstone base.

PRODUCER

Willunga 100 has focused on old-vine Grenache in McLaren Vale since its first vintage in 2005. They made their first single-vineyard wine in 2009 and have since helped pioneer a fresher, more lifted style that highlights the sensitivity of Grenache to site in the Blewitt Springs and Clarendon sub-regions.

You can see more information on the Willunga 100 winery by going to their website.

To see our full range of Willunga 100 product go to our dedicated web page

The soils in McLaren Vale are among the oldest in the world, estimated at over 500 million years. The resulting low vigour and old vines combine to produce low yields in the vineyard and stunning, concentrated fruit.

The name is taken from the historic ‘Hundred’ (administrative area of 100 square miles) of Willunga that was established in 1839 – only three years after the settlement of South Australia – and today marks the land from which much of our fruit is sourced. The tree featured on our bottle label is an old River Red Gum, which stands tall over the vineyards and was already over one hundred years of age when the first vines were planted in McLaren Vale in the 1840s.

Before the first vintage in 2005, the team explored the McLaren Vale vineyards and came across plots of 50-year-old Grenache vines. At this time, most of the wine produced from this fruit was destined for blending as there was little demand for top quality Grenache. We decided this had to change, so they made these vines their focus and gave them the attention they deserved. They haven’t looked back since.

Willunga Trott Vineyard Grenache. – A great example of Aussie red wine from a winery which is passionate about Grenache.