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After several decades of crafting Australia's most memorable vintages, Mike Press is more sanguine than ever that great wine can only come from the finest vineyards. His dedicated hands on approach means that he is personally involved in every stage of the winemaking, from pruning the vines and inspecting grapes, right to plunging the ferments and bottling his finished wine. Mike Press» |
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Gold Medal Winner at the highly prestigious London International Wine Challenge! The taste is very sweet, smooth, pronounced and delicous, just like dried raisins or rich tawny grape juice. Serve at cool room temperature with fine desserts, pastries and cake, pour liberally over the best quality ice creams. Lustau» |
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Campbell's Topaque is the most wickedly intense, lusciously rich elixir, laden with candied peel flavours, honeycombed fruit and amber complexities. Painstakingly crafted to the old world Solera system, a bespoke tradition of fractional blending and elevage, achieving the most indulgent concentration of flavour through a laborious racking of barrels as the angels take their share. Campbells» |
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Originally planted during early settlement, the sandy loam soils of Haan Vineyard yield an outstanding quality of Shiraz. Fortuitously positioned along the hallowed mile of Siegersdorf Road, mid way between the ancient winegrowing hamlets of Angaston and Tanunda, the heirloom parcels once known as Hanenhof, have claimed significant trophies at the prestigious London International. Haan» |
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Don Lewis spent thirty five years crafting the nation's most memorable vintages while at Mitchelton. Nowadays he travels to Spain each year where he makes wine for Merum Priorati, returning to Australia just in time for vintage. Tar Roses» |
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Sourced from Neil Steven's Glenoak property at Pokolbin, a scenically undulating site that's planted to a combination of light sand and red clay soils, widely regarded as one of the finest white wine vineyards in Hunter Valley. The oldest block was established circa 1911, the youngest plantings date back to 1965. Tyrrells» |
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Considered an undistinguished vintage, it won a trophy, five Gold, four Silver and six Bronze medals between 1974 and 1982.. . Penfolds» |
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It was the great Cabernet wines of Bordeaux which inspired Bill Taylor to diversify from imports and retail into the highly fraught pursuit of grape growing. An ardent enthusiast of Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Taylor had a keen enough palate and nose to determine that the most auspicious lands for Cabernet Sauvignon were amongst the idyllic rolling pastorals of Valley Clare. Taylors» |
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Leasingham have remained at the fore of Clare Valley viticulture, making great wine since 1895. They have since established an endowment of the region's most auspicious vineyards. Leasingham» |
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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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Whole bunches and oak barrel ferments, the costly extravagance of three years tirage on sedimentery yeast lees, each bottle individually riddled by hand, disgorged and sent to cellar for the ultimate indulgence of extra age before release, Pamela is the zenith of the sparkling winemaker's art. Her luxurious effervescence exudes brioche, tarte tatin and French boulangere, her creamy textural mousse unravelling ribbons of rich yeasty autolysis, crème caramel and baked fruits. Wicks» |
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Peter Lehmann has always been Riesling's most outspoken advocate, he has claimed best Riesling trophy at the prestigious London International on more occasions than any other, he declares Riesling to be his wine of choice if marooned on the proverbial desert island. Early picking of fruit from a superior single vineyard in the salubrious climes of Eden Valley has produced a fresh, lively Riesling, expect this captivating wine to exhibit genuine charm and offer great longevity as it narrowly missed being bottled behind Lehmann's flagship Riesling label.. Peter Lehmann» |
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About Claymore - the Winery
Claymore
Claymore was established in 1991 when the founding partners, who were medical practitioners, realised they could not change water into wine!
They purchased their first 11 acre vineyard at Leasingham in the Clare Valley in 1991. The terra rosa soils (red loam) on a limestone bed, support 70 year old grenache, riesling and shiraz vines. The vineyard is non-irrigated with yields low averaging 1.5 to 2 tonnes per acre. They started making a little grenache, and a little bit of riesling in quantities which the ordinary family would finish in a few months. Claymore still produce limited quantities, but over time the Claymore range has expanded to include a wide range of premium Clare varietals, filling out this boutique winery's portfolio.
In 1996, upon meeting a local identity nicknamed Bluey, Claymore Wines invested in the forty acre Kupu-kupu site at Penwortham, a premium vineyard which grows good quality shiraz, merlot and grenache vines. With brown loam soil over slate and very little surface water, just magnificent terroir for growing concentrated rich fruit, Kupu-kupu has become the Graceland of Claymore Wines, the home of many modern classics.
The first commercial releases of Claymore began in 1997 under the possibly misguided premise that this could be a path to early retirement. Now almost 10 years on thoughts of retirement may be premature! Desparate lots of parched fruit are high maintenance, but Claymore have not looked back with regards to the quality of their award winning fruit. Non-irrigated, the vineyard yields only small volumes per tonne (no more than 2 tonnes per acre) but this is more than compensated for by the quality of the wines produced.
Claymore is a Clare Valley winery, a region with wine heritage dating back over 160 years, the first vines planted in 1842 by James Green, a servant of the districts pioneer John Horrocks. The region comprises a series of valleys with altitudes ranging from 300 to 500 metres. The climate is moderately continental with cool to cold nights and warm to hot summer days. Rainfall is predominantly in winter-spring (June to September) with an annual average from 430-630 mm. The average summer daytime temperature is 29 degrees, and 13 degrees in the winter.
All the Claymore's grapes are sourced from their own vineyards in the Watervale and Penwortham region with some fruit coming from premium grape growers around the Clare Valley. Each Claymore release is titled after a favourite rock album of the winemaker, the wine often reflecting the melodies and rhapsodies of it's namesake.
Claymore strive for excellence in the quality of fruit, processing limited yields of the most excellent possible material through a combination of traditional and modern wine making technique. Claymore's award winning editions including the Joshua Tree Riesling, the Dark Side of the Moon Shiraz and the Nocturne Grenache Shiraz. It is an amazingly satisfying experience to savour the flavours that capture the vibrance of these wines, made from premium fruits.
The underlying philosophy at Claymore Wines is to keep things fun (something they admit to taking their fun quite seriously) but Claymore have always maintained similarly serious standards for their award winning wines, serious wine. Claymore's exemplary attention to quality has resulted in wide acclaim from industry peers, and around the wine show circuit.
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