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WHAT DIFFERENTIATES THE CLARE VALLEY ARE THE HOT, dry summer days and cool, crisp nights which contribute to the intensity of flavours in the grapes. Reilly's aim to produce low volumes of hand crafted wines from the best fruit. Ryder has been fashioned to traditional vinification techniques, it displays the smothness and impeccable balance which typify Reilly's of Clare. "Plump fruit and regional mint, smokey oak and a gorgeous mouthful of blackberry spice. Exhilarates with a denseness and intensity found in much higher priced wines!" -Winegun.com
PERENNIALLY AWARDED TROPHIES AND GOLDS, Penfolds Grandfather Liqueur Tawny, a blend of the finest old tawnies and aged in small oak casks, honours the proud tradition that is Australia's leading fortified wine. The rich yet delicate fruit character harmonises perfectly with pronounced aged rancio complexity to produce a truly remarkable aged liqueur tawny.
THE MURPHYS WERE AMONGST THE FIRST SETTLERS TO ESTABLISH VINEYARDS AROUND MILDURA. The family moved to Trentham Cliffs in 1960 and re-developed a site which was part of a larger sheep station, nurtured by water from the Murray River. The first vintages were destined for fortified wines, as was the dictate of the times. Blocks were later planted to Pinot Grigio, which performed brilliantly in the rich red loam over limestone soils. "Clean, nice smelling wine of apricot and florals, a bit of nuttyness too, fleshy and pink with juicy fruit!" -Ozwinenews.com
M3 CHARDONNAY IS SOURCED EXCLUSIVELY FROM A SINGLE SITE, the M3 Vineyard at Woodside, named after the three partners in the vineyard, brothers Michael and Matthew Hill Smith along with cousin Martin Shaw. M3 is a major refinement in styling, a serious attempt to produce an exceptional Chardonnay with the capacity to age gracefully. A sophisticated, barrel fermented wine with pure fruit character and restrained oak, long and elegant. "This Chardonnay deserves cult status because of it's style, substance and innovation!" -Sydney Morning Herald
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Spring Vale is
situated at Cranbrook, north of Swansea on near the Freycinet Peninsula, otherwise described as the mid East Coast, and Spring Vale is somewhere in the middle of that
In October of 1826, William Lyne, his wife and five children arrived in Van Diemen's Land (now known as Tasmania.) Among the first of settlers, the Lynes gave names to features of importance to them, such as Christmas Point, at which they arrived on Christmas Day, immediately prior to taking up their land grant. Always a sociable family, they celebrated with their fellow settlers as soon as their first dwelling, a sod hut, was complete. Early life in the area held its fair share of challenges, which the Lynes and other pioneering families rose to meet. Further setting the scene for the continuing fascination with the East Coast of Tasmania was the early artist and author Louisa Meredith, herself the first resident of Spring Vale. From 1875, the Spring Vale property has been in the hands of the Lyne family, who have pursued farming ventures in this beautiful area on the East Coast of Tasmania.
Rodney and Lyn Lyne are the current owner/ operators of Spring Vale. Rodney manages the farm and vineyard - a never-ending task which sees few spare weekends present themselves. He steers the ship with Lyn as counsel and support. Lyn is a retired primary school teacher of 25 years who has shown great enthusiasm for farming and viticulture, giving Rodney her full support and assistance. Continuing in the tradition of hard work and innovation established by William Lyne in 1826, Rodney and Lyn have planted 6.6 hectares of wine grapes at Spring Vale, principally Pinot Noir. The vineyard began in 1986, when a small area of two acres was planted to Pinot Noir. Further plantings were made in the following years: firstly, more Pinot Noir, then Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer, followed by Pinot Gris in 1996. In 2000, more Pinot Noir and a splash of Pinot Meunier was planted. In June 2007, Spring Vale purchased a neighbouring farm, Melrose. The purpose of this purchase was to enable decent amounts of a lighter red to be produced, with the first Melrose Pinot Noir being the 2008 Vintage. The acquisition of "Melrose" brings the total production in a normal year to 120 tonnes. There are plans in place to plant more Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Pinot Meunier in 2009, which should push production closer to 200 tonnes. The number one rule at Spring Vale is that life is to be enjoyed. The work is taken seriously but the relaxation even more so. There are however several core goals. To produce the highest quality wines possible. To promote the Freycinet Coast and Tasmania as food and wine destinations. To promote the Freycinet Coast and Tasmania as super-premium Pinot Noir regions. To retain and expand customer loyalty by maintaining high quality, good value wines. To preserve the qualities that make family businesses unique and rewarding. To always be progressive in winemaking, viticulture and farming. The Freycinet Coast is the driest part of the state, with an average annual rainfall of 550mm. Irrigation is therefore essential. The entire vineyard is drip irrigated. For frost protection, overhead sprinkler systems are employed, while one block has a wind machine to blow away the cold air. The soil at Spring Vale is mostly a fertile clay loam, with the subsoil varying from porous friable loam with rock to medium-heavy clay. Drainage is excellent throughout the vineyard and the pH of the soil is around 6.5. A modified Lyre ("U-shaped") trellis system is used in conjunction with vertical shoot positioning (VSP), while the block planted in 2000 has a simple VSP trellis. "Melrose" is entirely VSP. All vineyard operations are carried out manually - pruning, shoot positioning, leaf plucking and harvesting.
Passing Clouds is
a small hands on operation using traditional winemaking techniques, sheltered by hills of ironbark forest, an ideal growing climate for premium red wine
The story begins in 1973 when Graeme Leith and Sue Mackinnon great friends and partners decided that they wanted even more challenges in life than were possible for them in their careers as electrical contractor and journalist; Graeme was the electrical contractor. They wanted to brave the elements, face the challenges of the land, and like so many before them pursue the holy grail of the best wine in the world.
Working on the principle that enthusiasm triumphs over professionalism, the first vines were planted at Kingower by Sue Mackinnon, Graeme Leith, Anne and David Brown (who then wisely took up cheese making) in November 1973 by the headlights of the van from which they had driven from Melbourne after work. They didn’t want it to be dependent on pesticides or insecticides so they chose a site in a dry area north west of Bendigo on old gold diggings, where the soil had been dug over a hundred and twenty years before by goldminers. They laid out the wires, measured the distance between the vines, dug the holes with shovels and planted 150 vines, initially shiraz and cabernet sauvignon to make a classic Aussie blend. There were also riesling vines planted, that Tom Lazar had left over from his last plantings at Virgin Hills, and which he had kindly donated. They then had some supper and drove back to Melbourne. They were younger, then. After several years of nurturing their plantings, they experienced the first real Passing Clouds vintage, and released their inaugural wine. They were successful, and the first wine they showed at the Melbourne Wine Show, the 1982 shiraz cabernet won gold. Since then the vineyards produce has won numerous medals for magnificent wines, presently including not only the predominant Graeme’s Blend shiraz cabernet, but The Angel, a cabernet sauvignon merlot cab franc, some spectacular shirazes, and over the last few years the pinot noir made from Coldstream grapes. White wines are made too, but Passing Clouds is famous for its reds, reds of great character, individuality and superb quality. As one wine writer said "I have a lot of sample bottles on my table at the end of the day, but whenever there’s Passing Clouds, it’s the one we drink with dinner!" The first Passing Clouds, a glorious concentrated red had too little chemical input, no sulphur was added as a preservative and the wine had a very short life span. From then on all wines have had minimal sulphur additions to keep them alive and well, as Winemaker Graeme Leith accepted that the Romans had it right two thousand years ago when they burned sulphur in their amphorae. Unirrigated, ripe fruit, traditional methods of hand plunging in small fermenters and hand presses cranking down the cake late into the night was the formula for the next twenty years and many superb wines were produced.
The Ingoldby family
has been associated with McLaren Vale winemaking heritage for more than a hundred years
Since inaugural release Ingoldby have enjoyed a stunning run of success at national wine shows. It was in 1973 that Jim Ingoldby finally adorned the label of traditional McLaren Vale wines with the family name. From the outset Jim and his Ingoldby wines were unashamedly proud of their McLaren Vale heritage. The region is often referred to as the middle palate of the Australian wine industry. The Ingoldby's innate skill at managing vines and soils which they have husbanded for generations yields splendid fruit with concentrated flavours. Their fruit has been the secret ingredient in many of Australia's most cherished wines. Ingoldby's Cabernet is highly valued and still sought by some of the nation's most popular brands.
Ingoldby based its success on two classic red varieties that represent brilliantly the unique qualities of the McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. From 1986, the Ingoldby reds began a stunning run of success at the show level, and the Cabernet Sauvignon has been highly acclaimed to this day. Ingoldby operates vineyards which have been in the family for generations, with additional fruit provided by long term contract growers. The wines exhibit rich fruit flavours that are enhanced by the judicious use of new and aged oak. Ingoldby has also established a range of white wines that impress McLaren Vale's traditional red wine enthusiasts. It is always a special moment to have hard work recognised and for people to acknowledge that your wine stands out above all others in it's class. Ingoldby couldn't be prouder of their winemaking team. And once you have tried Ingoldby wines, we know you will want to share the secret with friends. As McLaren Vale is best known for Cabernet and Shiraz, Ingoldby has been traditionally associated with its full flavoured reds. Ingoldby's flagship wine, the Golden Vine Reserve Shiraz has been the most widely acclaimed release within the Ingoldby repertoire. With the the success of Ingoldby Chardonnay taking top Gold trophy at the Royal Queensland Wine Show, they have demonstrated their talents at producing a range of extremely high quality wines against traditional expectations that full flavoured reds are what the region does best. The outstanding fruit driven flavours of the 2004 Chardonnay wowed judges at the Bendigo Bank Royal Queensland Wine Show securing the highest accolade in its class winning Top Gold and 2 further trophies. Proudly crafted in the traditional McLaren Vale style, the 2004 possesses an intensely flavoured fruit palate derived from a long and dry vintage.
Balgownie Estate is
one of Australia's great small vineyards located near the historic gold mining town of Bendigo in central Victoria, just 150km northwest of Melbourne
Here, on the rich soils of Maiden Gully, the well-known and highly regarded winemaker Stuart Anderson established the vineyards and winery in 1969. In 1999 Balgownie Estate was purchased by the Forrester family, passionate wine lovers with a determination to build on the Estate's illustrious history. Today, the Bendigo vineyard has expanded to thirty hectares with plantings of cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, pinot noir, and chardonnay as well as smaller quantities of merlot cabernet franc, sangiovese and viognier.
The Estate Shiraz and Estate Cabernet Sauvignon have long stood the test of time and are again regarded as benchmarks for regionally distinctive, red wine styles in Central Victoria. Two other Estate wines are produced, a Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. These come from very small vineyard parcels and produced in very limited quantities. The Estate's Chardonnay shows the white peach and nectarine flavours typical of Yarra Valley chardonnay. The palate is intensely flavoured but taught and balanced. This wine is made with no malolactic fermentation in order to retain natural acidity and freshness, a wine that can be enjoyed immediately. "Regional powerhouse Balgownie specializes in a long-lived shiraz and cabernet! -WinestateThe Pinot Noir reflects a fine and balanced expression of the variety, winemaking artifice has been kept to a minimum allowing the fruit to shine, added fruit from the Yarra Junction sub-region of the Yarra Valley brings delicacy and balance. The nose shows bright cherry and red plum fruit with hints of undergrowth, the palate is intense and layered but not heavy. The interest in Balgownie's White label Cabernet Sauvignon shows no signs of waning, it shows richness and accessibility, and like all Balgownie Estate Cabernets it will reward those with the patience to cellar it for many years. "This winery was one of the pioneers of commercial winemaking in the Bendigo region, first planting vines in 1969. Now under new ownership, it continues to make massive strides, as underlined by this classic cabernet with its blackcurrant and tobacco leaf bouquet and intense blackcurrant and cedar flavours. Tremendous structure and complexity make this a wine for cellaring". -Winsor Dobbin Balgownie are fortunate to have a collection of museum wines that covers a large part of Balgownie Estate's history. Starting with a few bottles of some very rare vintages from founder Stuart Anderson's day, right through to the wines of our current winemaker Tobias Ansted. To celebrate this history, the Estate runs a series of back vintages dinners to showcase these precious wines and to share the experience with wine lovers. |
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