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| Villa Maria possess the magic touch with Pinot Gris, regularly clearing international wine events of prestigious trophies. Private Bin has been included in the Decanter Top 50 Best Under £10 and identified as a Decanter favourite. Villa Maria» |
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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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| From two blocks of superior vines grown to the McLaren Flat estate, hand planted by the Scarpantoni brothers in the early 1970s. Brothers Block claimed Australia's most illustrious award, the highly coveted Jimmy Watson trophy in 2007. Scarpantoni» |
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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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| Clare Valley Shiraz is internationally renowned, remarkable for its spectacular complexity, elegance and poise. Bill Taylor planted Shiraz with a view to formulating the very style which has won primacy throughout the world of wine. Taylors» |
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| A mostly Cabernet wine with a tenth of Merlot, a jot of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, representing almost a third of Hollick's annual production. Previous vintages of Tannery Block have won numerous prestigious awards, including the pre-eminent Jimmy Watson, Robert Bryce and Arthur Kelman Trophies. Hollick» |
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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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| Excellent Langtons Classification. The legend continues for the stately Katnook of Coonawarra. Katnook» |
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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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| Galli Estate produce a variety of quality wines from fruit grown on their vineyards at Sunbury and Heathcote. Galli Estate have been very well received by reviewers, and have been recognised for quality at competitions, already receiving Gold for their Pinot Grigio, a varietal that the winemaking team find very exciting. Galli Estate» |
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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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| 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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Granite Hills
About Granite Hills - the Winery
Granite Hills
Granite Hills is one of Australia's highest and most picturesque vineyards – perched atop the spectacular boulder strewn hills of the Great Dividing Range at 550 meters altitude
Granite Hills lies at the northern extremity of the Macedon Ranges wine region on Burke & Wills Track – the route taken by those famous explorers on their fateful journey north to the Gulf. The Knight family pioneered winemaking in the Macedon Ranges region - and since planting Granite Hills in 1970, have amassed in excess of 400 awards at Australian and international wine shows making Granite Hills wines the region’s most acclaimed.
Granite Hills winemaker is Llew Knight, son of the founders – Gordon and Heather Knight. Llew is a Wine Science graduate of Charles Sturt University, and a cool climate wine enthusiast. His winemaking philosophy is – to coax the most pronounced flavours from the classic varieties using a range of winemaking and oak management techniques, creating distinctive cool climate wine styles, marked by their complexity and aging ability.
The Granite Hills planting’s are the oldest in the Macedon Ranges region; their roots now well down into the old granitic sandy loam soils. It’s the good drainage and low fertility attributes of the soil at Granite Hills which is so beneficial to the balance of the vine, keeping the yields low and the quality of the grapes high. This ‘clean vineyard’ theme is also reinforced by the nature of the vineyard being very exposed to the prevailing winds - a factor which tends to lower humidity and therefore disease pressure as well as naturally limiting yields.
The Estate vineyard comprises 12 hectares of vines – 3 hectares each of Riesling and Shiraz, 2 hectares each of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, One hectare of Pinot Noir, and an additional hectare made up of smaller planting’s of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The ripening season at Granite Hills is long due to the southern latitude and altitude. This has the beneficial effect of allowing fruit characteristics to develop whilst still retaining good natural acidity. Vintage can continue into June in cooler years.
While its location places Granite Hills vineyard in a cool climate classification, careful management of the vines and moderation of grape yields, produce deceptively powerful and definitive varietal characters. Hand pruning and close attention to the management of the canopy allows for maximum penetration of sunlight to ripen the fruit, and selective hand picking is utilised to ensure only well ripened grapes enter the winery.
The focus at Granite Hills is to produce a select range of quality food wines. To show distinctive varietal and Regional characteristics, are well balanced, finely textured and structured to age over a 5 to 10+ year period. The philosophy is that "Great wines are made in the Vineyard". The approach in the winery is one of minimalist soft winemaking, utilising a mix of modern and traditional winemaking techniques. Only hand picked grapes are used. An elevated crushing system ensures that berries gently gravitate from crusher to press (whites) or to small open fermenters (reds). Not just gentle winemaking, this system leaves open options to many different winemaking techniques to optimise the character of all Granite Hills wines.
Llew Knight recognises the need for maturation of many cool climate styles – to allow their natural acids to soften, and their inherent flavours to develop and gain complexity. As a consequence, Granite Hills red wines spend up to 2 years in small oak before bottling, and are given some bottle aging before release. The white wines also, Riesling in particular, has shown over 29 vintages at Granite Hills, that it benefits from bottle development. In particular, the "cellar reserve" Riesling program winning 10 Trophies in Australian and International wine shows as a mature wine.
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