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| Woodhenge is about big ideas, in the manner of cyclopean fences built by Australia's early settlers. A wine of great elemental sculpture, the assemblage of individual vineyard and sub-regional characteristics is the key to success of the style. Wirra Wirra» |
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| Twice Gold Medal Challenge International du Vin! Moscatel and Gewürtztraminer grapes, grown to estate vineyards on the mountains of the Upper Penedes, form the backbone of fruit for Viña Esmeralda, a delicate but strunningly fragrant wine. The dry fig and raisin characters of Moscatel de AlejandrÃa give Esmerelda it's luscious and flavourful palate, fleshed out by the orange of Frontignac or Moscatel de Grano Menudo as the Spanish say, further enhanced by the complex aromaticness and spice of the vivacious Traminer.. Torres» |
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| The top shelf in toothsome and dulcetly fragrant, fruit forward frizzante wines, fashioned for those who know what they like and take their Moscato seriously. Brown Brothers make the best Moscato in the land, their dedicated Muscat vineyards have been trained to deliver harvests of the most luscious fruit. Brown Brothers» |
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| A vineyard of some historical import, Bernoota is the original block, planted to the Follett family homestead along the banks of River Bremer, two decades before federation. A splendid construct of Langhorne Creek Shiraz Cabernet, selected from old vines around the distinguished Follett family vineyard, perennially released to resounding accolades. Lake Breeze» |
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| Haan have claimed a breathtaking tally of world class accolades for such a small, boutique Barossa estate. Conspicuous trophies and medals at the prestigious London International, Australian Wine Producer of Year and Trophy for Best Blended Red. Haan» |
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| Saint Clair continue to deliver Marlborough's most internationally lauded Sauvignon Blanc. The winemaking team are on a perpetual odyssey, to isolate and retain Marlborough's finest harvests, capable of producing wines with intense regionality. Saint Clair» |
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| After twenty years of the most distinguished winemaking, having amassed over sixty trophies and three hundred gold, including a Jimmy Watson and twice International Red Wine Maker of Year, David O'Leary and Nick Walker came home to Valley Clare. Two heart surgeons from Adelaide own the Doctors Vineyard at Polish Hill River. OLeary Walker» |
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| The Daisy Hill district thrived throughout the 1850s, due to its location along the main route to and from gold fields. The Amherst property sits atop old alluvial tailings, ancient diggings can still be seen around the property dressed in rich quartz soils. Amherst» |
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| She's such a special wine, that a distinctive hand blown bottle was designed just for her. Tempus Two is the definition of romance and desirability, elegance and finesse, all who have countenanced her endowments agree. Tempus Two» |
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| The marvelous S1 block is a sheltered, relatively warm site within the splendid vistas of Seaview Vineyard, on a north facing plateau at 160m above sea level, refreshed by maritime winds that blow in from the Cludy Bay coast. Fruit is crushed and destemmed, chilled and gently pressed, the clearest juices are racked off for a long, cool ferment to capture the full opulence of S1 vineyard grapes on the vine. Yealands Estate» |
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| Grove Estate became the go to vineyard for esteemed national brands on the hunt for stellar quality Hilltops Shiraz, some very choice parcels of Grove Estate found their way into the winner of the Finest Australian Shiraz Trophy. Immediately identified by early settlers who planted vineyards and made great wine, the Hilltops are renowned for a unique confluence of superior winegrowing aspects. Grove Estate» |
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| Classically structured with a well established estate styling, Hunter's have won more than 100 gold at international wine competitions, including Marquis de Goulaine Trophy for Best Sauvignon Blanc in the World at the International Wine & Spirit Competition. Jane Hunter is a highly qualified viticulturist with a long family history of wine growing, she worked closely with eminent Australian oenologist Dr Tony Jordan to achieve the quality of harvests which are benchmarks in the world of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.. Hunters» |
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Clonakilla
About Clonakilla - the Winery
Clonakilla
Clonakilla is a small, family winery dedicated to making distinctive, handcrafted wines, they can be hard to find but are worth the search
Clonakilla was established in 1971 by John Kirk, a Canberra based research scientist. Of Irish descent, John came to Australia with his young family in 1968 to work with the CSIRO Division of Plant Industry. To his surprise despite the suitability of the environment there was no wine industry in the cool southern table lands of NSW around Canberra. To remedy this situation, in 1971 he bought a 44 acre farm near the village of Murrumbateman in New South Wales, 40 kilometres north of Canberra. The soil consisted of sandy clay loams over a friable clay subsoil and, with a climate not dissimilar to the Bordeaux region and Northern Rhone valley in France, he held high hopes for its wine producing potential.
He proceeded to plant 1.2 acres each of Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling. He named the property Clonakilla (‘meadow of the church’) after his grandfather’s farm in County Clare. A further 1.2 acres of Shiraz, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir were planted in 1972 and the vines grew well, although some were lost in a drought in 1972-73. John persevered and produced the Canberra District’s first commercial vintage in 1976: a Riesling and a Cabernet Shiraz. It wasn’t until 1978 when a bore was sunk that larger plantings became feasible. From 1978 to the present the vineyard was gradually expanded with Shiraz, Viognier, Riesling and the Cabernet family, now making up the bulk of the vineyard.
At the end of 1996 John’s fourth son Tim left a career in school teaching to work full time in the family business as winemaker and general manager. In 1998 Tim and his wife Lara bought the 50 acre property next door and planted Shiraz and Viognier as well as a small olive grove on the warm north-east facing slope. Between the two properties there are now twenty two acres under vine with further plantings planned for the future.
Through the seventies and eighties the Cabernet and Shiraz were blended together in traditional Australian style. With the 1990 vintage Clonakilla decided to bottle the wines separately. The first Shiraz went on to win two gold, one silver and two trophies in only three showings. It was at this point that Clonakilla began to see the potential of Shiraz in the Canberra District.
In 1991 Tim travelled to the Rhone Valley in France. There he tasted a number of impressive Shiraz wines including Marcel Guigal’s single vineyard blends of Shiraz and the rare white grape Viognier. Inspired by those wines Tim began including a small amount of Viognier in his own Shiraz as of 1992. The Viognier component now accounts for between five and ten percent and adds an intriguing floral dimension to the wine.
Clonakilla also started incorporating other winemaking approaches that were unashamedly borrowed from Rhone valley and Burgundian winemakers: inclusion of whole bunches in the ferments, pre-ferment maceration and French oak barrel maturation. More importantly he worked harder in the vineyard to open up the vine leaf canopies, limit yields and produce grapes with riper flavour profiles. The work began to yield some impressive results, with gold medals, trophies and numerous five-star reviews following in succession. It is this wine, the Shiraz Viognier, that has cemented Clonakilla's reputation as one of Australia’s top small wineries, having been named NSW Wine of the Year in 1999, Penguin Wine of the Year in 2002 and one of Australia’s top ten Shiraz (Gourmet Traveller Wine). It is ranked Outstanding in the prestigious Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine. It is one of only five Shiraz to receive a perfect rating in Jeremy Oliver’s Australian Wine Annual.
In 1998 Clonakilla began producing a straight Viognier, now seen as an Australian benchmark for the style. The Riesling and the Hilltops Shiraz are rising stars. The newly named Ballinderry, a Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc/Merlot blend, made from some of the oldest vines on the property, is now also drawing critical acclaim. Clonakilla currently produce around 9000 cases of wine per year and you will find them at many of the best restaurants in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Hong Kong.
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