Australian Wine Funky Labels Case

Good Luck Cabernet Sauvignon

Good Luck Cabernet Sauvignon has a dual-facing label which shows either The Good Luck Club (front) or The Bad Luck Club (back) illustrated in that most animated of media: 19th Century Japanese Kabuki masks. It’s about the highs, lows, ayes and noes of winemaking, chance and the mad undulations of human existence.

The Smalltown block was purchased in 2016, 40 hectares of 28 year old Shiraz and Cabernet in the premium Ebenezer District of the Barossa Valley. This wine was aged in new and tertiary French oak for 24 months. The oak lends a subtle texture and structure to the fruit leaving the palate fresh so this is a bright, varietal Cab that wears its oak lightly as a structural veil rather than anything more monstrous

Summer pudding reaches from the glass, there is an abundance of blackberry and cassis fruit with a naughty creaminess of oak that marries on the palate for a bold pastiche of old vine Barossa Cabernet.
It’s a big glass of juicy theatre.

FOOD MATCH

It’s lovely with steak tartare, seared tuna, roast Mediterranean veg and some crunchy, matured hard cheese

Click here for more information about the winery

Smalltown Vineyards utilises many of the Barossa’s prized districts from Gomersal to  Kalimna as well as the Eden Valley and beyond. They work with exceptional vineyards simply expressed using minimal intervention, basket press where relevant, natural ferments in open top fermenters to best capture the Barossa’s magical flavours. They have a lot of fun with labels because, well because they can. It’s only wine after all…

As of the 1st July, 2019, Australia changed from its previous sustainable programme called EntWine to Sustainable Winegrowing Australia. Smalltown Vineyards is a participant in this programme, which assists with tools and resources to enhance business sustainability, meeting customer sustainability requirements and sustainability claims made by participants.

To see our full range of Smalltown Vineyards’ products go to our website

Good Luck Cabernet Sauvignon – Great wine from one of Australia’s most innovative wine making operations

Smalltown Rag & Bone Riesling

Smalltown Rag & Bone Riesling has a very memorable label as well as being a stunning wine. The rationale behind this label is a quirky one! Our product manager found out that due to the tiny production of a particular wine, half the vineyard fruit was to be discarded….so he stepped in to say we would be interested to play with this other half given the quality of the wine over previous years. This lead to thinking about up-cycling the near-discarded, how one man’s trash is another man’s treasure etc and whilst humming over a potential moniker for the wine, God’s honest truth, a rag & bone van parked up outside his house calling for any old iron etc. Albeit a man in a white van, rather than horse & cart, the name stuck. The label reflects a collection of discarded items which together make up an eclectic assortment greater than the sum of its parts.

The nose classically expresses the vineyard… it’s like a fresh lime crushed gently over minerals… literally lime on the rocks. The palate is bright and zingy, singing with natural acidity and vibrant citrus and floral characters. Lovely delicacy and purity of fruit lifted and a crisp, bracing finish, an outstanding example of cool climate Aussie Riesling.

Eden Valley Riesling is prized for its vibrancy, purity and longevity and has produced many of Australia’s greatest Rieslings. The fruit for Rag & Bone is sourced from a single vineyard, high up on the Eastern side of Eden Valley. Warm days and cool nights ensure that the grapes develop ripe, intense fruit flavours whilst retaining appealing zing and acidity. The fruit was delivered to the winery immediately after harvesting in the cool hours of the morning, then processed very gently through our tank press. The juice was cold settled and 3 days later the clear juice was transferred into fermentation tanks.

Well suited to seafood dishes, spicy cuisine and anytime in the company of those who enjoy a quality riesling! Try chilli prawns, green thai curry, fish and chicken laksa (with chilli, coconut, ginger and lime).

Click here for more information about the winery

Smalltown Vineyards utilises many of the Barossa’s prized districts from Gomersal to  Kalimna as well as the Eden Valley and beyond. They work with exceptional vineyards simply expressed using minimal intervention, basket press where relevant, natural ferments in open top fermenters to best capture the Barossa’s magical flavours. They have a lot of fun with labels because, well because they can. It’s only wine after all…

To see our full range of Smalltown Vineyards’ products go to our website

Smalltown Rag & Bone Riesling

Old Bean Truck ShirazCabernet

Old Bean Truck ShirazCabernet is a deep red colour. Lifted aromatics dominated by cassis, eucalypt and mint. Concentrated palate displaying both Cabernet and Shiraz character. Earth, berry fruit and mint. Med bodied with chalky tannins.

This is a great, honest, earthy Australian red made by the Osborn family from Langhorne Creek fruit. The aromas evoke strawberries and dusty blackcurrants over red earth, baking under a blazing Aussie sun. There are hints of eucalyptus, mint and Italian Amaro. A cracking wine, and great value.

From entry level to iconic, all d’Arenberg wines have been basket pressed, reds and whites, with all red ferments foot trod during fermentation.

Walking the vineyard rows and tasting grapes, Chester Osborn classifies and determines the ideal picking time for each individual vineyard.

Small batches of grapes are gently crushed, then transferred to five tonne headed-down open fermenters, all batches remain separate until final blending. The red wines are foot trod two thirds of the way through fermentation, and then basket pressed.

d’Arenberg is one of the only wineries in Australia to basket press both white wines as well as reds, making for a labour intensive process, but the quality of the results makes this worthwhile as the action is controlled and extremely gentle.

White wines are basket pressed before fermentation to ensure no colour or tannins are extracted from the skins, and the reds are pressed afterwards. After pressing, reds are transferred to barrel to complete fermentation, and then aged on lees to slow aging and keep the wine fresh, while also reducing oak influence.

All parcels remain separate until final blending, an extensive barrel tasting process is undertaken to determine the final wine. There is no racking until final blending, and the wines do not undertake fining or filtration prior to bottling.

To see our full range of d’Arenberg product please click here

For more information on the d’Arenberg wines and winery click here.

Old Bean Truck ShirazCabernet – another great entry level wine from the d’Arenberg winery

Y Series Sauvignon Blanc by Yalumba

Y Series Sauvignon Blanc – Pale straw in colour with a green hue, the Y Series Sauvignon Blanc displays lively aromas of freshly squeezed citrus and wildflowers, with captivating aromatics from the wild fermentation. The palate is vibrant and bursting with life and zest. There is a freshness of nettles and lemon with crunchy acid that sweeps along to finish this enjoyable wine, showing all the hallmarks of fruit driven Australian Sauvignon Blanc; line and length with generosity of flavour. Enjoy with a citrus dressed BBQ calamari salad.

Vintage Conditions

Good late winter and early spring rainfall replenished the soils. A mild, wet spring kept moisture levels up to the growing vines. Summer and autumn were mild and dry which
was ideal for ripening the grapes and allowed us to harvest at the perfect ripeness.

Producer Profile

In 1847 a 37-year-old brewer called Samuel Smith left his home in Wareham, Dorset with his wife Mary and their four children. Boarding a simple three-masted barque they left Plymouth and began the long and arduous journey to Australia, arriving in Port Adelaide. From there they trecked north to Angaston where Samuel took a job as a gardener. It was arguably this brave decision to start a new life in a remote and distant land, together with the hardship that they endured, that formed the strong sense of family unity that has been the bedrock of the family business ever since. In 1849 he started the wine farm that would grow over the next 5 generations to become one of Australia’s leading wineries, with a winemaking culture that is internationally recognised and respected. To embrace the native culture, Samuel decided to adopt a local name for his farm, calling it “Yalumba” meaning “all the country around’’ in the indigenous Peramangk language.

At Yalumba they believe that one good wine leads to another. The Y Series was created with that belief in mind. The Y Series represents a collection of iconic classics and exciting new varietals. Each authentically crafted with fruit from South Australia’s most celebrated wine regions. They hope that the glass of wine you hold in your hand right now marks the beginning of a delicious journey, and we look forward to sharing our love of wine as you explore the Y Series.

Yalumba is part of Australian wine alliance Australia’s First Families of Wine, a multimillion-dollar venture to help resurrect the fortunes of the $6 billion industry while highlighting the quality and diversity of Australian wine.

To view our full selection of Yalumba wines please click here

For more information on the Yalumba winery click here

Y Series Sauvignon Blanc – great wine from a great winery

Smalltown Vineyards Songlines Grenache

Smalltown Vineyards Songlines Grenache – The ancient people of Australia navigated the vast emptiness of the continent using mind maps; instructions remembered in song and passed down the generations. Kind of like a pre-GPS Tom Tom. This enticing wine celebrates this near-lost tradition and the Barossa’s well-trodden red earth in its deep, warbling fruit, a very song of the soil.
100% Grenache

HOW IT’S MADE

This is a single vineyard Grenache. The grapes come from the Gomersal sub-region of the Barossa. Partially wild yeast fermented with around 30% whole bunches. Aged only in stainless steel to preserve a crunchy freshness.

TASTING NOTES

An juicy nose of cranberries, pomegranate with hints of star anise and black pepper. The palate is a bright wash of berries and crushed graphite. An expressive, primary and bright Barossa Grenache.

The perfect match for herb infused grilled meat and ratatouille or pasta dishes.

Click here for more information about the winery

Smalltown Vineyards utilises many of the Barossa’s prized districts from Gomersal to  Kalimna as well as the Eden Valley and beyond. They work with exceptional vineyards simply expressed using minimal intervention, basket press where relevant, natural ferments in open top fermenters to best capture the Barossa’s magical flavours. They have a lot of fun with labels because, well because they can. It’s only wine after all…

To see our full range of Smalltown Vineyards’ products go to our website

As of the 1st July, 2019, Australia changed from its previous sustainable programme called EntWine to Sustainable Winegrowing Australia. Smalltown Vineyards is a participant in this programme, which assists with tools and resources to enhance business sustainability, meeting customer sustainability requirements and sustainability claims made by participants.

Smalltown Vineyards Songlines Grenache – a great wine from an inventive vineyard at the forefront of new developments in this field

The Courtesan Riesling – one of the Character Series wines from Wild and Wilder

The Courtesan Riesling – A crisp, tangy and dry white wine with the typical Clare Riesling character of citrus, blossom and mineral hints. Deliciously juicy on the palate with wonderful, floral citrus fruit and mouthwatering freshness.

This wine goes well with white fish, asian food that include ginger, lemongrass and coriander.

Viticulture

Fruit was sourced from one vineyard in the Southern end of the Valley, close to Auburn. Mature vines and a moderate season combined to ensure that the yields were very low and fruit concentrated.

Winemaking

Vinification, as one might expect with good fruit, is very simple. The grapes are picked in the cool of the morning and rapidly transported to the winery where they are lightly crushed and sent to press. For the Courtesan, we retain only the purest, free-run juice. The wine is fermented at a cool temperature in stainless steel to retain fruit profile and the finished wine is aged on its lees for 2-3 months before bottling.

Producer Profile

Wild and Wilder by Thistledown is all about good, clean fun. Working hand-in-hand with their merry (in a good season) band of growers, they craft wines of supreme quality without taking it too seriously.

Their ethos is great fruit, grown by great people and made with love in the sure knowledge that wine is about the good times – delicious food and great memories. Founded by Giles Cooke MW and Fergal Tynan MW, who also make the Thistledown wines, ‘mundane’ is simply not in their DNA: being involved in every stage of the winemaking process, from bud burst to bottling, means that every bottle from by Thistledown is an experience you’ll want to savour again and again.

To see our full range of Wild and Wilder wines go to our dedicated web page

To see more about the Wild and Wilder winery go to their website.

The  Character Series has a range of beautifully produced and packaged wines, benefitting from ultra premium quality fruit. Each wine has great varietal definition coupled with our signature vibrancy and freshness. These are wines that are immediately pleasing, yet an authentic expression of the variety and place.

The Courtesan Riesling by Thistledown is truly in the royal family of wines.