Australian Wine Funky Labels Case

Good Luck Cabernet Sauvignon

The dual-facing label to 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

This is a partnership between Barossa Valley winemaker, Rolf Binder and UK wine merchant, Noel Young. Established in 1993 when Mourvèdre and Grenache were largely forgotten varieties, these two Rhône-philes have adapted that great larrikin of the Australian sky – the magpie – as their mascot. Driven by the desire to highlight the Barossa Valley’s rich resources of Rhône Valley varieties and to have a good laugh along the way, Magpie Estate claims Mourvèdre, Grenache and Shiraz as its own. The pair create a range of superbly crafted varietals and blends that collectively represent the many personalities and expressions of these three noble varieties in the Barossa.

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

Good Luck Cabernet Sauvignon

Old Bean Truck White

A beautiful fruit driven wine with some guava, passionfruit and pieapple aromas. Gummy jube like flavours, and some toffee apple. Candy-Melon. Fresh, crisp and bright. Drink young.

Bright, fresh and light in alcohol, the Old Bean Truck white has guava, passionfruit and pineapple aromas and a slight waxy note. It has sherbet-like tingly acidity, with toffee apple and melon flavours. A straightforward, pleasurable wine, this is a McLaren Vale field blend mainly of Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling, made by the Osborn family.

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 find out more about the d’Arenberg winery go to https://www.darenberg.com.au/

To see our full range of d’Arenberg product go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/darenberg/

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

Smalltown Rag & Bone Riesling

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

This is a partnership between Barossa Valley winemaker, Rolf Binder and UK wine merchant, Noel Young. Established in 1993 when Mourvèdre and Grenache were largely forgotten varieties, these two Rhône-philes have adapted that great larrikin of the Australian sky – the magpie – as their mascot. Driven by the desire to highlight the Barossa Valley’s rich resources of Rhône Valley varieties and to have a good laugh along the way, Magpie Estate claims Mourvèdre, Grenache and Shiraz as its own. The pair create a range of superbly crafted varietals and blends that collectively represent the many personalities and expressions of these three noble varieties in the Barossa.

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

Smalltown Rag & Bone Riesling

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
Versatile, super juicy, young, and bright. Brace yourself for a damson torpedo! Earthly notes beneath lovely warbly fruit. This is a really aromatic wine that captures the colorful and vibrant Aussie surroundings.

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

Click here for more information about the winery

This is a partnership between Barossa Valley winemaker, Rolf Binder and UK wine merchant, Noel Young. Established in 1993 when Mourvèdre and Grenache were largely forgotten varieties, these two Rhône-philes have adapted that great larrikin of the Australian sky – the magpie – as their mascot. Driven by the desire to highlight the Barossa Valley’s rich resources of Rhône Valley varieties and to have a good laugh along the way, Magpie Estate claims Mourvèdre, Grenache and Shiraz as its own. The pair create a range of superbly crafted varietals and blends that collectively represent the many personalities and expressions of these three noble varieties in the Barossa.

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

Y Series Unwooded Chardonnay

A refreshing, lip smacking Chardonnay. Nature does the work for us and guides this wine’s evolution. With minimal winemaker intervention and no oak influence, this Chardonnay is pure and fresh, with subtle complexity from the 100% wild yeast fermentation.

Light straw with green hues the Yalumba Y Series Unwooded Chardonnay has fresh aromas of pineapple, quince and paw paw with floral spices. A rich, yet mineral palate complemented by fresh tropical fruit that finishes with fresh grapefruit acidity.

The Y Series Chardonnay grapes were picked across the flavour spectrum, from lively citrus flavours such as lemons and limes to peach and tropical fruits. We picked in this way to ensure that when blended, the wine was balanced with flavour and natural acidity. Pressed straight to fermentation, the juice was managed using a “hands off” approach. Wild yeasts initiated and completed fermentation and once finished the wine was left on
lees to build complexity.

Pale straw with green hues. The aromatics show paw paw and mango with blossom notes and sweet spice. The wine has a savoury edge with flinty notes from the wild ferment. The palate is fine and creamy with a touch of nuttiness, evolving with zingy citrus notes, fresh mango and cream. A refreshing, lip smacking acidity gives this wine lovely length and the finish is savoury and textural.
Try with pan fried haloumi with lemon and parsley, or chickpea, zucchini and carrot fritters with a green mango salad

To view our full selection of Yalumba wines please take a look at https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/yalumba/

For more information on the Yalumba winery click here

At Yalumba we believe that one good wine leads to another. The Y Series was created with that belief in mind. The Y Series is a collection of iconic classics and exciting new varietals. Each wine is authentically crafted with fruit
from South Australia’s most celebrated wine regions. We look forward to sharing our love of wine with you as you explore the Y Series

Y Series Unwooded Chardonnay

Wishbone Shiraz Cabernet

This is a bright, bloody Shiraz from old river land vines blended with Barossa Cabernet that gives the nose a grapite, leafy lift. A South Australian classic the palate reflects the rich iron source soils with
notes of ripe, fresh red cherries with a touch of star anise from the local eucalypt influence.

Bottled after 10 months in oak. Fruits comes from vineyards around the Barossa. The wine is partly tank fermented and partly aged in oak, with a small new oak component. The blend is put together to be a juicy drinkable red that has some depth and complexity often missing at this price point.

This wine is great with roast beef or lamb, as well as grilled meats and BBQs. 

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

Click here for more information about the winery.

Established in 2011, Smalltown Vineyards highlights many of the Barossa’s prized districts, including Gomersal, Kalimna, Eden Valley and beyond.

We work with exceptional vineyards, simply capturing with the unique characteristics of the fruit by applying minimal intervention. Basket pressing were relevant, and natural ferments in open top fermenters capture the magical flavours of the Barossa.

And when it comes to the labels, we embrace the fun, quirky and creative, because, well, we can, and it is 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.

Wishbone Shiraz Cabernet

The wishbone is broken between two people whilst each make a silent wish – the one who gets the bigger half also gets their wish (supposedly!). We liked the bony-ness of the
name, the structure beneath that holds the wine altogether.