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| Bedecked with gold medals, significant trophies and countless five star commendations. Clonakilla is a wine that's ultimately determined in the vineyard, where hard work is required to open up the vine leaf canopies, limiting yields and encouraging vines to make grapes with riper flavour profiles. Clonakilla» |
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| Blackjack has claimed the eminent M.Chapoutier Trophy for Best Shiraz at the prestigious Le Concours des Vinson on no fewer than three occasions. Block 6 is a superior parcel of distinguished vines, renowned within the Bendigo district for producing a very high quality, intensely fruit driven Shiraz. Blackjack» |
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| From parcels of Pinot Noir, planted to the foot of tailings, left behind by waves of prospectors who pursued their fortune amongst the open pits and mines on Adelaide Hills during the gold rush of the 1850s. Crushed and destemmed straight into the press with minimal time on skins to extract the perfect pink, its blushing lipstick hues presage a cornucopia of lifted strawberry and cherry blossom characters, ruby grapefruit and luscious jube over a length of tasty, toothsome tannins, the perfect Rosé for lazy afternoons or late night soirées. Bird In Hand» |
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| Metala was the first ever to win Jimmy Watson Trophy, a significant accolade in the world of wine. Fruit for the White Label is sourced from splendid Langhorne Creek vines which can trace a heritage back to the original plantings of 1891. Metala» |
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| Outstanding Langtons Classification. The locals around the Lovedale property say that the sandy soils are so poor, that even the rabbits have to bring a tucker box just to survive! The lean and mean terroir is elemental to the long lived, fine boned style. Mount Pleasant» |
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| Given the scarcity of Best's prestige, limited release, old vineyard icons, Bin #1 affords enthusiasts their first taste of the Great Western Shiraz style and leaves them eager to discover more. A classic, cool climate, aromatic wine, floral and spicy, peppery and elegant, retaining vital Great Western fruit character. Bests» |
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| Named for the Chapel district of Lenton in Nottingham, Brae is Scottish for a small hill, which is what the Lenton Brae vineyard is situated on. Fortuitously placed within the very epicenter for superior Margaret River Cabernet, the site was planted after advisement from the proprietors of nearby Moss Wood, with which it shares a similar terroir and microclime. Lenton Brae» |
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| Named for a rare grasshopper Sigaus childi, found only at Central Otago within the Earnscleugh gold mine tailings, just across the road from Grasshopper Rock vineyard. The site is fortuitously harsh and sufficiently challenging to make the vines work their hardest. Grasshopper Rock» |
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| By one of the most consequential winemakers in the greater Canberra GUI, crafted from Shiraz grown to mature vines at Kyeema, on an elevated granite saddle near Murrumbateman. Reserve Shiraz has enjoyed a series of compelling national trophy wins, including Best Red Sydney Royal Wine Show. Collector» |
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| Originally released in 1976, the Koonunga Hill range has established a sound reputation for quality and consistency, while availing red wine enthusiasts of the opportunity to approach the enduring Penfolds style. The inaugural 1976 vintage of Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet was a legendary wine, still drinking well at Penfolds red wine recorking clinics. Penfolds» |
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| The quality of Shiraz grown to parched vineyards in Victoria's rugged western districts, has been well known throughout the world of wine since the days of gold rush and early settlement. Taltarni have since established an enviable reputation for vintages of powerfully structured, statuesque red wines, fully exploiting the soft spoken majesty and graceful intensity of Pyrenees Shiraz comes naturally. Taltarni» |
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| A highly prolific wine industry trophy winner, including best single vineyard and best Shiraz at the hotly contested McLaren Vale Wine Show. A magnificent collation of old vines fruit from several pickings on the illustrious Rayner property, including a judicious measure of grapes as whole bunches, are treated to a wild indigenous yeast ferment and course of age in barrels of well seasoned French oak. Bondar» |
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About Jasper Hill - the Winery
Jasper Hill
The aim is to make great wine, with the preservation of nature's flavours, complexities and balance by using minimal intervention in the vineyards and in the cellar - to allow the individual vineyard's sense of place to express itself
Jasper Hill are produced entirely on the estate using organic/biodynamic principles. The estate produce their own organic compost and have never used synthetic chemicals on either the vines or the soils, since vineyards were planted in 1975. Viticultural practices are as close to nature as possible: own rooted vines (ie. not grafted on to American rootstocks to confer Phylloxera resistance), no irrigation whatsoever, minimal tillage, natural inter-row mulching leading to broad bio-diversity, in turn giving depth and intensity to our wines. Only hand pruning of the vines and hand harvesting of the fruit can allow the human connection to the living soil.
The soils are derived from Cambrian age basaltic rock (500 million years). Quite rare in the world and particularly in Australia, here they are unusually deep (4metre), red coloured, well drained, gravelly loams on undulating hillsides, but with good moisture retention. They occur in a narrow, non-contiguous strip between two naturally occurring North/South faults, typically only a few hundred metres wide. The faults give rise to a complex mineralogy.
Soil organic matter is high, allowing great bio-diversity in micro flora and fauna and supporting large earthworm populations - all beneficial for natural soil fertility. No synthetic chemicals have ever been applied to the soil or vines; the vineyards are totally organic; no insecticides, no herbicides, no synthetic fungicides and no artificial fertilisers.
The soil surface is either covered in mulch derived from vine prunings, leguminous cover crops and native grasses, or is lightly cultivated, with aeration. Minimal tillage is practiced, within and between vine-rows, using lightweight 4WD tractors to minimise soil compaction. Minimal intervention is used during fermentation and maturation, allowing terroir or earth character of the individual paddock or plot to emerge in the wine. More importantly the grapes at harvest are flavour ripe, regardless of sugar ripeness.
The vines have a sunny, open, balanced canopy that keeps fungal diseases at bay and eliminates the need for summer pruning, leaf plucking and crop reduction. All picking and pruning is carried out by hand by wonderfully skilled people from the district. All vineyards are unirrigated and rely on natural rainfall only. Underscoring the quality of the soils, at vintage the grapes retain high levels of natural acidity. Acid adjustment is rarely ever needed, even when sugar levels reach 14 Baume or higher.
Both Emily's and Georgia's Paddocks are on elevated hillsides at an altitude of 320 metres (1000 feet) and are approximately 1 km apart. Emily’s Paddock has a NE aspect and shallower soil, while Georgia’s Paddock has a NW aspect and the deeper soil. The vineyard at Cornella, is 20km north of Emily’s Paddock, within the Heathcote Region and on the same Cambrian soil, with an altitude of 330 meters and a NE aspect. Emily's Paddock is three hectares of Shiraz including around five percent Cabernet Franc, yielding about two tonnes per hectare (14hL per hectare), planted in 1975/76. Georgia's Paddock is twelve hectares of Shiraz yielding about three tonnes per hectare (20hl per hectare). Three hectares of Riesling giving about three tonnes per hectare (20 hL per hectare). Planted in 1975/76 with further small plantings done after the vineyard was ravaged by bushfire in 1987. One hectare each of Semillon planted in 1992, and Nebbiolo planted in 1993. Cornella Vineyard is four hectares of Grenache planted in 1998.
All fermentation is carried out by indigenous (native or wild) yeasts present on the grape skins. All pressings are returned for completeness of the wine. The red wines are then racked off gross lees into small French and American oak barriques (20 percent new each year) for oak maturation of about 15 months with no racking or fining or filtration. Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally in the barrel without any inducement during late spring. After blending, they are given a coarse filtration just prior to bottling on our own state-of-the-art equipment.
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