Ultimate Red Mixed Case

Henschke Cyril Cabernet Sauvignon

This wine carries the name of Stephen’s father, Cyril Henschke (1924-1979), as a tribute to one of Australia’s outstanding winemaking pioneers, renowned for old-vine single-vineyard and quality varietal table wines. Cyril planted cabernet sauvignon at Henschke’s Eden Valley vineyard in the 1960s.

Description

Deep crimson with red hues. Concentrated and complex aromas of cassis, black and red currants, blackberry leaf and violets with underlying savoury nuances of crushed dried herbs, cigar box, beefstock and anise spice, all supported by dark cedary French oak. A flood of rich blackberry and bright red currants greet the palate, which is precisely defined by purity of acidity, an elegant structure and layers of long, silky fine-grained tannins that provide great persistence.

To see our Henschke range go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/henschke/

For more information on Henschke go to https://www.henschke.com.au/store/

Henschke Cyril Cabernet Sauvignon

This is one of Australia’s greatest cabernets, staring down Coonawarra and Margaret River (just for starters)…It has a purity and elegance that puts it in a class of its own.

Shaw & Smith Balhannah Vineyard Shiraz

This is the first release of this wine. Fruit was sourced from close-planted low yielding vines at Shaw + Smith’s Balhannah Vineyard in the central Adelaide Hills, planted in 2005. The distinctive site has always shown potential for a single site wine, and in this particular year the fruit was outstanding. It has a north-facing aspect and the soils are loam over clay, ironstone, quartzite and shale. Low yields are achieved by aggressive pruning and pre-harvest bunch thinning. 2013 was a fine growing season, with some warm days balanced by consistently cool nights. It was relatively dry and grapes ripened a touch earlier than usual. The weather leading up to harvest was also mostly dry, ensuring perfectly healthy fruit. The Shiraz was hand picked and fermented as predominantly whole bunches (70%) and the remainder whole berries, in open fermenters, with gentle plunging and minimal intervention. No berries were harmed during the making of this wine! It was aged in 500 litre French oak puncheons for fourteen months, followed by a further fourteen months in bottle. Crimson in colour with purple at the rim. The nose is very perfumed – rose petals, dried herbs, and red berries. Initially it’s generous on the palate, with boysenberry, mulberry, and blueberry notes. Then more layers of flavour and texture reveal themselves. Some cinnamon, some fennel seed, some rhubarb; fine but firm tannins that extend the palate, accompanied throughout by fresh acidity and intense perfume.

To see our full range of Shaw and Smith product go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/shaw-smith/

For more information on the Shaw and Smith winery go to https://www.shawandsmith.com/

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

Brokenwood Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz

Sound fruit and excellent ripeness. Typical mid density colour meaning this is an elegant supple Graveyard Shiraz. The older, large format French oak integrates perfectly with sweetness and fine tannins. The fruit spectrum for Graveyard Shiraz is about red cherries and almost Pinot-like Campari notes. Medium bodied palate but with ripe tannins and a juicy acidity that will keep the wine in good stead for many years.  Drink now till 2040.

The Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine was first released in 1991 and honoured the Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz with ‘Outstanding’. The Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz remains the only Hunter Valley Shiraz in the Classification and was elevated to the highest category of ‘Exceptional’ and has remained for each release since.
The Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine has achieved such prestigious recognition because the criteria for inclusion are objective and market-driven, and the Classification is regularly revised and updated.

The Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz was named after original plans for the site which was to be a cemetery within Pokolbin, however it was never used as such. The first single vineyard selection for the Graveyard Vineyard was in 1983.

Originally planted with Shiraz and Cabernet, the heavy clay soil resulted in vintages of low yield but with extraordinary concentration of flavour in the berries, providing a distinctive and premium wine style.
Today the 15 hectare Graveyard Vineyard comprises solely of Shiraz and is broken up into a number of blocks named in good Brokenwood fun; Pa’s, 7 Acre, Bush, Duck’s, Road, Middle, End, Kat’s and Dog’s, State of Origin, Vegas and Trees.
As Brokenwood’s flagship wine, each new release is welcomed with the annual Graveyard Launch held in May. This exclusive event in the winery barrel shed sees around 300 guests on site for a day of beautiful dining, entertainment, and the first release tasting.

To find out more about the winery go to https://www.brokenwood.com.au/

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

Sands of Time Grenache by Thistledown

Sands of Time, Old Vine, Single Vineyard Grenache 2017
Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale
Early on in our Grenache journey, we were introduced to Sue Trott’s Home Block in the Blewitt Springs sub-region of McLaren Vale. It’s beautiful aspect, raised elevation and free-draining deep sandy soils are the perfect spot for drygrown bush-vine Grenache and we were so lucky to be offered the opportunity to purchase a little fruit. 5 years on and we have learned a little about the site and refined our picking decisions and vinification to the extent that from 2017 we were content that we could do the site justice by bottling separately.
Vintage Conditions
2017 was defined by the very wet winter conditions that preceded it and by the cool, unpredictable and sporadically wet vintage conditions. Careful viticulture with restricted yields and open canopies were essential to healthy development. A late season, up to 6 weeks later than 2015, resulted in wines of purity and tension

Viticulture
From grower Sue Trott’s Home Block in the Blewitt Springs sub-region of McLaren Vale. It’s beautiful aspect, raised elevation and free-draining deep sandy soils are the perfect spot for old dry-grown bush-vine Grenache.
Winemaking
Hand-picked, on the way up, we vinify naturally in concrete and place whole bunches alternately with de-stemmed fruit to create a layer cake. A very gentle, slow fermentation is followed by maturation in oak and concrete before a careful selection is done, which is then bottled unfined and unfiltered 10 months later. A faithful expression of the site.
Tasting
Sourced from our favourite vineyard in the world renowned Blewitt Springs subregion of McLaren Vale, this is a delightfully mid-weight wine whose subtle layers of fruit lend it a persistence that belies its appearance. Hand-picking and a very gentle winemaker process produce a wine that is a faithful expression of the site – beautiful, haunting aromatics, fine sandy tannins and wonderful, memorable length on the palate.
Alcohol: 14.5%
Total Acidity: 5.9 g/l
pH: 3.62
Residual Sugar: <1 g/l
SO2: 67 mg/l
Fining: None
Vegan: Yes
Vegetarian: Yes

To find out more about the winery go to  https://www.thistledownwines.com/the-story

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

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

Coolart Road Pinot Noir from Ten Minutes by Tractor

The Coolart Road vineyard is the earliest picked of the Ten Minutes by Tractor vineyards and typically produces a more fleshy wine. Yet in 2016 it is a different beast, with darker, savoury, meaty plum fruit and an earthen edge. The grapes for this wine were picked over several days at a range of different ripeness levels, a move which ultimately delivers surprising complexity. A brooding Pinot Noir, from a vineyard otherwise known for easygoing flavours.

Grapes hand-harvested in mid February and, on arrival at the winery, 100% destemmed. A 3-7 day pre-ferment maceration preceded a 100% indigenous yeast fermentation with manual plunging throughout, followed by a short post-ferment maceration (a total of 15-25 days on skins). Following pressing and a short settling period the wine was transferred to 20% new French oak barriques. After a natural 100% MLF with warmer temperatures in spring, the wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered following a total of 12 months of oak maturation

The almost smoky edge would make this perfect with a smoky bresaola charcuterie platter. Serve at 14–17°C.

Best Drinking 2018-2028

To find out more about the Ten Minutes by Tractor Vineyard go to https://www.tenminutesbytractor.com.au/estate/

To see our full range of Ten Minutes by Tractor products go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/ten-minutes-by-tractor/

Ten Minutes Coolart Road Pinot Noir – More than 95% of this vineyard was planted with Pinot Noir in 2000 and 2001, the first vintage was 2005. In 2008 Ten Minutes by Tractor purchased half of the vineyard and used fruit for the first time under our label in 2009.
In 2012 small plantings (1.82ha) of white varieties (Riesling, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc) were removed from two blocks and replaced with Abel and Pommard clone Pinot Noir.
With the vines now at maturity we have released Single Vineyard Coolart Rd wines which represent a warmer style Pinot Noir from the north of the Mornington Peninsula. Single vineyard Pinot Noirs from Coolart Road have been made in 2016, 2015 and 2013.

Charles Melton Nine Popes GSM – Blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre from old vines. Whilst the Nine Popes was initially modelled on Chateauneuf-du-Pape, it has evolved into an internationally recognised example of this style in its own right.

Medium deep colour, the bouquet is a lovely amalgam of cedar oak with softly sweet Grenache perfumes and some liquorice spice in the background. Elegantly defined palate with a fine balance between weight and strength., Plump mid palate with soft tannins. Some savoury grip to finish. Will richen in both perfume and body over the next decade.

To find out more about the Charles Melton Winery go to http://www.charlesmeltonwines.com.au/

To see our full range of Charles Melton Product go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/charles-melton-wines/

Nine Popes is vinified with a couple of key objectives in mind. We use both whole bunch fermentation and destemmed but uncrushed berries during the maceration period, to ensure the greatest degree of fragrance along with cool fermentation temperatures and careful cap management to gain the silky texture and density that the Popes is known for. “Sur Lie” ageing in French oak for the whole 24-28 month maturation period adds additional mouthfeel and smoothness. The wine is then naturally settled and bottled without any finings whatsoever.

The grapes for the wines are drawn from some of the oldest and most venerable vines in the Barossa.
These gnarled old veterans, dry grown on a mix of estate vineyard and family owned blocks, reflect the unique style and traditions that produce the famed Barossa Valley red wine style.
Careful chemical-free husbandry delivers to the winery fruit of the purest flavours for the wine making team to shape into fine wines that truly reflect our Barossa earth. Yields are extremely low with often only one tonne to the acre, and the vineyards are truly old with many exceeding 80 years.

Charles Melton Nine Popes GSM – a premier wine from a great winery