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The seemingly countless, memorable vintages of Delatite have claimed a litany of trophies, accolades and rave reviews throughout the world of wine. Her first vines were planted in 1968 on a picturesque rise overlooking the vistas of Mt Buller. Delatite» |
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Pietro D’orsa found work in Australia as a winegrower circa 1868, quenching the thirst of miners during the Victorian gold rush. Several generations later, Pietro's progeny returned to viticulture. Sanguine» |
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The inaugural release of Hanging Rock Shiraz was vintage 1987 and what an event it was, immediately claiming gold and inspiring comparisons to Grange by the industry press. From from fruit grown to the estate Athols Paddock, a complex Heathcote style, more Syrah than Shiraz, boasting several trophies and over fifty gold to its distinguished history, big, powerful and rich, yet exhibiting an elegance and finesse that's rare in Australian wine. Hanging Rock» |
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Meshach William Burge 1843-1942, was Grant's great grandfather, a central figure in establishing the Burge vineyards and estate. He was eleven years of age when his family moved from Wiltshire to the Barossa, where he toiled to develop what has grown into a thriving viticultural, wheat and sheep property near Lyndoch. Grant Burge» |
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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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David O'Leary really knows about things Cabernet Sauvignon, having claimed a Jimmy Watson Trophy and twice International Red Wine Maker of the Year. From low yielding vines up to fifty years of age, grown to superior sites within the Armagh Valley and Polish Hill River districts, the O'Leary Walker team create a powerful and complex, exquisitely perfumed and seamlessly layered Cabernet Sauvignon, framed by judicious oak and supported by graceful tannins, reflecting the idyllic growing climes of Valley Clare. OLeary Walker» |
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Born at Guildford, very near the Houghton Swan Valley wineworks, Dr John Gladstones was an internationally acclaimed scientist who identified the Margaret River in 1965 as being world class for planting vines and growing grapes. Dr Gladstones also played a role in the development of the Frankland River region, Pemberton and Manjimup. Houghton» |
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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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The five most most exclusive parcels of old vine Shiraz, a secret component of the Barossa's most memorable vintages, hand picked off the De Fazio and Hillview vineyards at Belvidere and Moppa. Batches are crushed into traditional open top fermenters for a week of pumpovers, gently pressed into an extravagantly high proportion of new French oak hogsheads for two years maturation, followed by the final assemblage, unfiltered and unfined. Pirathon» |
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Stoney Rise is all about drinkability, the creation of complex, fully approachable food friendly wines, without any excessive oak or uber ripeness. Pinot Noir goes into the oldest barrels available to soften the tannins and refine textures without overpowering the sensual fruit characters. Stoney Rise» |
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Pinot Meunier like no other, certainly the most distinguished bottling of its kind anywhere in the new world. Mostly old vine Concongella Pinot Meuniere, from grapes picked off parcels established 1970, with the inclusion of a priceless component of ancient vines 1868 Pinot Noir. Bests» |
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There are two superb high altitude sites in Carey Gully and Piccadilly Valley, which yield an extraordinary quality of Sauvignon Blanc. Knappstein take the top cut of each harvest, crushing the fruit for a long cool vinification, treating a batch to the added richness of oak barrel ferments for texture, complexity and weight. Riposte» |
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Philip Shaw
About Philip Shaw - the Winery
Philip Shaw
The adventure began when Philip Shaw purchased land for his Koomooloo vineyard in June 1988
Shaw was focused on a property which would yield lovely elegant wines with good structure, bright fruit, terrific balance and length. A sophisticated style of wine which could be an Australian benchmark. In close proximity to the region’s highest peak, extinct volcano Mt. Canobolas, Koomooloo rises to an altitude of 900 metres with red loam soils over limestone. But the dream started long before the acquisition of Koomooloo. Shaw spent years investigating and exploring many regions within Australia until by accident he noticed the undulating roll of the countryside when flying over the Orange region. After a few days of intense research into this highland area he returned the next week to find the region had a near perfect balance of elevation and sunshine.
Koomooloo is 47 hectares of a unique hand kept vineyard, planted by Shaw and his family between 1988 and 1989, managed by a routine of hand pruning, shoot thinning, leaf plucking, crop thinning and hand picking happening in multiples if needed. Koomooloo took twenty years to find and another twenty years to grow. Fewer than 1% of Australian vineyards rise above 600 metres above sea level, Koomooloo is one of the highest viticultural sites on the continent. Annual rainfall averages 850mm, although it’s not unusual to see snowfalls during winter and into spring, the ripening months of February to April are traditionally the driest. Higher altitudes provide cooler conditions throughout the growing season.
The fruit from Koomooloo has clearly defined varietal character that displays elegance, power and length. This immaculately tended vineyard has already produced the Prix D'Excellence Chardonnay at the 1998 VinExpo in Bordeaux and Best Red Wine at the 2002 National Wine Show in Canberra.
The Orange region generally and Koomooloo in particular is perfect for the styles of wine Shaw is keen to make. Understanding the uniqueness of the region has been an unravelling journey. To respect and work a vineyard like Koomooloo to its full potential is sometimes daunting, however the future is too exciting to sleep through.
The Orange region has so much to offer and, finally, people are now starting to notice this quiet achiever. Deep aged limestone is at the base of Koomooloo with volcanic rock soil forming the sub-section. Topsoils are predominantly 150mm of wind blown fine red loess from Central Australia, some of the oldest on the planet.
Shaw has been making wine in Australia for more than four decades and he approaches each aspect of winemaking with a healthy mix of innovation and unrelenting quality standards. Shaw's wines are made only from grapes grown at Koomooloo. He has waited a long time to make sure the vineyard has enough maturity before attempting to make wine from it. Great wines should have silk, a softness, a texture, in chardonnay and pinot particularly but to some degree it should be in all wines. The tannins should be elegant and soft. It's about finishing a wine off, not refining it, but getting it right. It's in the making – a marriage between the vineyard and the winemaking. The wines of Burgundy illustrate the point, where there may be 10 to 20 different vignerons in the same vineyard owning three to four rows each and the quality of the wines and differences in styles is just enormous – it’s not only the vineyard, it's the making, the union.
Philip Shaw was twice International Wine and Spirit Competition's Winemaker of the Year. Following a career as chief at Rosemount and Southcorp, Shaw laboured to determine the most favourable terroir in Australia, capable of making classic wines with elegance, depth and bright fruit character. Shaw's search for the ideal Australian region came to rest in 1988 when he accidentally caught sight of the undulating countryside whilst flying over Orange in New South Wales.
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