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Excellent Langtons Classification. Winner of Australia's most coveted award, the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy for vintage 1992, Elderton are one of the nation's great icon winemakers. Elderton» |
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There's a single block of Montepulciano along Bird In Hand Road at Woodside in the northern Adelaide Hills, a warmer site with rocky, well drained soils, perfectly suited for Italians. The seaside influence of Gulf of St. Bird In Hand» |
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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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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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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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Stephen Pannell is one of Australia's most decorated winemakers, Jimmy Watson and twice Max Schubert Trophy winner, London International Winemaker of Year and Chairman National Wine Show. He found time in between tours of duty at Wirra Wirra, Tintara and BRL Hardy, to do vintage in Burgundy, at the illustrious Mouton Rothschild and amongst the grand old vines of Barolo. SC Pannell» |
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Enthused by a consuming desire to make great wine, Andrew Nugent honed his craft as viticulturalist and winemaker amongst the vines of McLaren Vale before returning to the Adelaide Hills, where he established his very own wineworks at Woodside. Hand crafted from fruit grown to mineral rich soils above the historic Bird in Hand gold mine, a pure Pinot Noir with superb effervescence, dominated by red berry characters, adorned by a lift of stonefruits and floral.. Bird In Hand» |
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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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A single vineyard, strongly terroir wine by maestro Ken Helm AM, from fruit picked off neighbour Al Lustenberger's property, only released under the premium black label if it reaches the highest quality benchmarks. Since 2005 the collaboration of Lustenberger and Helm has claimed more than fourteen trophies. Helm» |
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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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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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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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Bethany
About Bethany - the Winery
Bethany
Johann Gottlob Schrapel and his family arrived in South Australia from Silesia on the ship George Washington in 1844, just eight years after the colony was settled
Like many of their fellow Germanic migrants they made their way by ox cart to Bethany, the Barossa Valley’s first settlement, where they established a home and cleared the land to grow crops and graze animals. The Schrapels planted their first vineyard in 1852 from cuttings carefully nursed from Europe. A wine cellar was also built, but despite Johann’s reputation as an early colonial winemaker, the family concentrated on grape growing rather than winemaking for the next four generations. More than a century later in 1981, Johann’s fifth generation descendants, brothers Geoff and Robert Schrapel, established Bethany Wines in a quarry, where the pioneers had hewn stone for their homes, high in the Barossa Ranges overlooking the family’s vineyards and the historic village of Bethany.
The early 1980s were tough times for Barossa grapegrowers. A red wine boom was followed by a glut and, as grape prices fell below production cost, the State Government encouraged growers to pull out their old Shiraz and Grenache vines. Instead, the Schrapels chose to establish a tradition of winemaking from this undervalued yet irreplaceable resource of old vineyards. Gradually their reputation grew.
Now a vibrant family wine company, Bethany Wines employs many people and plays a significant role in the Barossa community. Geoff and Robert’s vision was to create a Barossa wine experience and in doing so, improve the quality of life for their customers, friends and family. In this they have succeeded. Their aim is to live well, provide for their children, care for the land and hand the winery and vineyards to the next generation in a better position than when they started.
The family's historic vineyards are the key to production of theiquality wines. Thirty hectares of vineyard in Bethany are owned by the Schrapels, comprising the Bethanien Block, the Old Manse Block and the Homestead Block. A range of varieties are grown from Chardonnay, Riesling and Semillon to Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Grenache. The age of their vines ranges from 15 to 80 years. The old vines require traditional management of hand pruning and harvesting, while the newer plantings are managed with modern viticultural techniques such as close planting, high trellises and canopy control.
Geoff and Robert look for maximum expression of fruit flavour in their wines and pay particular attention to the careful handling of grapes at vintage. The use of chemicals is minimised in grape growing and wine is made in small lots to maximise variations in fruit flavour and ripeness which contribute complexity to the wines; wines which are the most natural expression of their unique Barossa terroir.
During the last two decades Bethany Wines has won acclaim at Australian and international wine shows and consumer tastings for its hand-made, fruit driven wines. The greatest natural advantage the Schrapels have is the fruit which comes from the family's carefully tended vineyards. Their thirty hectares of vineyard in Bethany, comprising the Bethanien Block, the Old Manse block and the Homestead Block are fanned during summer evenings with cooling gully breezes, creating a special microclimate which allows the grapes to achieve good sugar and acid levels without becoming over-ripe. It takes a long time to know a vineyard. At Bethany these vines can live for four or five generations. The special understanding of how to grow grapes on the unique Bethany clay soils has taken many years for the Schrapel descendants to master.
The idyllicly gradual ripening conditions create well balanced wines with flavour and structure. The life cycle of the vineyard continues in much the same way as it always has, with minimal intervention to produce the best possible grapes and wines. Bethany also leases a further seven hectares of vineyard in the Trial Hill area in the high country of the Barossa Valley which contributes added elegance and complexity to their wines.
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