Australian Wines Connoisseur’s Choice

Tyrrell’s Vat 1 Semillon

Vat 1 Semillon only ever comes from our best old vine, dry grown vineyards. These blocks feature ideal sandy, free draining soils that give these wines their unique character. The oldest of these blocks was planted in 1923.

The 2016 growing season was one that started with great promise with our wettest winter in nearly a decade. Perfect conditions for budburst and flowering were followed by an unsettled summer consisting of hot days and wild storms. Luckily, these weather patterns calmed down into one of the driest February’s on record.
Winemaker’s Notes
Handpicked in the early hours of the morning, the fruit is very lightly crushed and pressed before a relatively cool fermentation. Then the wine spent minimal time on yeast lees before being bottled early to maintain its freshness. No oak fermentation or maturation.
Tasting Notes
An inviting nose of citrus and a palate, which is the perfect mid-point between power and elegance. Typical Vat 1 fruit power which is balanced with the delicate acid profile resulting in a seamless wine that will enjoy a long life in the cellar with crisp acid that leaves the wine with a clean finish.

THE STORY OF WINEMAKER’S SELECTION
Murray Tyrrell created the Winemaker’s Selection range back in 1965, when, with the assistance of Len Evans, he set out to determine the best wines from each vintage. He named these wines after the casks in which they were
matured; for instance, the first Chardonnay we made went into cask number 47, so it became Vat 47 Chardonnay, or Pinot Chardonnay as it was then called. In 1974, having discovered that we had up to six casks from the same vineyard block that all tasted much the same, we brought the selection down to about 12 wines in total – a mixture of whites and reds. The early 2000s saw a further consolidation with the inauguration of the Sacred Sites range and the expansion of our Single Vineyard program. Today, the Winemaker’s Selections are estate-grown on the various blocks that form the wines that we believe best represent our land and house style. These wines are only bottled in years when we believe that the quality is high enough to meet our exacting standards.

To find out more about the winery go to http://www.tyrrells.com.au

To see our full range of Tyrrell’s product go to http://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/tyrrells-wines/

Tyrrell’s Vat 1 Semillon

Langmeil Jackaman’s Cabernet Sauvignon

Bright, juicy and rich blue fruits flow onto the palate which is medium to full-bodied. Briary spice, black olive and cedary hints add to the complexity with a touch of new oak sweetness and silky tannins to add complexity to the fruity and velvety finish.

The Jackaman’s vineyard is home to Langmeil’s finest and rarest Cabernet Sauvignon, planted in the 1960s during the Cabernet revolution in the Barossa. This vineyard was lovingly tended by the colourful Barossan Arthur Jackaman, a World War II paratrooper, boxer and butcher who in retirement passed his small plot into Langmeil’s care.
Aged for 25 months in a combination of new (36%) and second fill (64%) French oak hogsheads the Jackaman’s Cabernet Sauvignon displays lifted aromas of blackcurrants and blueberries that entwine with biscuity French oak, minty hints and savoury, black olive notes. Bright, juicy, blue fruits flow onto the palate which is medium to full-bodied. Spice, black olive and minty hints add to the complexity with a touch of oak sweetness and silky tannins to lengthen the fruity and velvety finish.

To see our full range of Langmeil product go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/langmeil/

To find out more about the winery go to https://www.langmeilwinery.com.au/The-Wines

1 acre Jackaman’s Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard was planted in 1964 on a site consisting of darker loam and produces a harvest of 1-1.5 tonne. Of note, it was Arthur Jackaman’s foresight to plant Cabernet Sauvignon at the time which helped kick start an era that changed the Barossa’s focus from fortified winemaking to table wines.
The wonderful diversity of soil profiles makes our Lyndoch vineyard an ideal property for the planting of a range of varieties, including Shiraz and Viognier.

Capturing the distinctive hallmarks of Barossa’s rich viticultural landscape lies at the foundation of each Langmeil wine made with dedication and an individual style. Langmeil Jackaman’s Cabernet Sauvignon is a great example of this

Sands of Time Grenache by Thistledown

Sands of Time, Old Vine, Single Vineyard Grenache 2017
Blewitt Springs, McLaren Vale
Early on in our Grenache journey, we were introduced to Sue Trott’s Home Block in the Blewitt Springs sub-region of McLaren Vale. It’s beautiful aspect, raised elevation and free-draining deep sandy soils are the perfect spot for drygrown bush-vine Grenache and we were so lucky to be offered the opportunity to purchase a little fruit. 5 years on and we have learned a little about the site and refined our picking decisions and vinification to the extent that from 2017 we were content that we could do the site justice by bottling separately.
Vintage Conditions
2017 was defined by the very wet winter conditions that preceded it and by the cool, unpredictable and sporadically wet vintage conditions. Careful viticulture with restricted yields and open canopies were essential to healthy development. A late season, up to 6 weeks later than 2015, resulted in wines of purity and tension

Viticulture
From grower Sue Trott’s Home Block in the Blewitt Springs sub-region of McLaren Vale. It’s beautiful aspect, raised elevation and free-draining deep sandy soils are the perfect spot for old dry-grown bush-vine Grenache.
Winemaking
Hand-picked, on the way up, we vinify naturally in concrete and place whole bunches alternately with de-stemmed fruit to create a layer cake. A very gentle, slow fermentation is followed by maturation in oak and concrete before a careful selection is done, which is then bottled unfined and unfiltered 10 months later. A faithful expression of the site.
Tasting
Sourced from our favourite vineyard in the world renowned Blewitt Springs subregion of McLaren Vale, this is a delightfully mid-weight wine whose subtle layers of fruit lend it a persistence that belies its appearance. Hand-picking and a very gentle winemaker process produce a wine that is a faithful expression of the site – beautiful, haunting aromatics, fine sandy tannins and wonderful, memorable length on the palate.
Alcohol: 14.5%
Total Acidity: 5.9 g/l
pH: 3.62
Residual Sugar: <1 g/l
SO2: 67 mg/l
Fining: None
Vegan: Yes
Vegetarian: Yes

To find out more about the winery go to  https://www.thistledownwines.com/the-story

To see our full range of Thistledown product go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/thistledown-wines/

Sands of Time Grenache by Thistledown – great Grenache from an afficianado producer

Shaw & Smith Balhannah Vineyard Shiraz

This is the first release of this wine. Fruit was sourced from close-planted low yielding vines at Shaw + Smith’s Balhannah Vineyard in the central Adelaide Hills, planted in 2005. The distinctive site has always shown potential for a single site wine, and in this particular year the fruit was outstanding. It has a north-facing aspect and the soils are loam over clay, ironstone, quartzite and shale. Low yields are achieved by aggressive pruning and pre-harvest bunch thinning. 2013 was a fine growing season, with some warm days balanced by consistently cool nights. It was relatively dry and grapes ripened a touch earlier than usual. The weather leading up to harvest was also mostly dry, ensuring perfectly healthy fruit. The Shiraz was hand picked and fermented as predominantly whole bunches (70%) and the remainder whole berries, in open fermenters, with gentle plunging and minimal intervention. No berries were harmed during the making of this wine! It was aged in 500 litre French oak puncheons for fourteen months, followed by a further fourteen months in bottle. Crimson in colour with purple at the rim. The nose is very perfumed – rose petals, dried herbs, and red berries. Initially it’s generous on the palate, with boysenberry, mulberry, and blueberry notes. Then more layers of flavour and texture reveal themselves. Some cinnamon, some fennel seed, some rhubarb; fine but firm tannins that extend the palate, accompanied throughout by fresh acidity and intense perfume.

To see our full range of Shaw and Smith product go to https://www.auswinesonline.co.uk/product-category/shaw-smith/

For more information on the Shaw and Smith winery go to https://www.shawandsmith.com/

Shaw & Smith Balhannah Vineyard Shiraz – a great wine from a top class winery

Grosset Alea Riesling

After fourteen vintages, the ‘European’ approach adopted for this individual-site wine is more subtle. Mild seasonal conditions have resulted in a bright and expressive Alea – the aromatics are pronounced with suggestions of preserved lemon and while almost bone-dry, is complex and perfectly balanced. It has freshness, mid-palate intensity, purity and finesse, finishing at full throttle with lime juice at its core.

Ageing Potential: Drink now – 20 years

Produced from riesling grown at the Grosset Rockwood Vineyard, an A-Grade Certified Organic and Biodynamic (ACO) vineyard.

Unfined- vegan and vegetarian friendly

For more information on the winery go to https://www.grosset.com.au/

Grosset Wines is a small family-run operation entering its fifth decade. The unwavering vision is to create pure expressions of variety and place.  Our four estate-owned vineyards, A-Grade Certified Organic and Biodynamic (ACO), are located in high altitude country of the Clare Valley, each site selected for its potential to produce great wine and planted by Grosset. Each is handpicked and hand pruned; each bunch of grapes harvested at optimum ripeness.

Production is tiny. Single vineyard wines are the focus. The winemaking process is gentle and uncomplicated. Custodianship remains with Grosset Wines from grape growing to in-house bottling; authenticity is assured.

To see our great range of Grosset wines go to the website by clicking here

Grosset Alea Riesling – A great Aussie Riesling

Philip Shaw No 11 Chardonnay

The No11 Chardonnay is pale straw in colour with a green hue. There are expressive white florals and stone fruits on the nose with bright citrus lift. The palate is powerful yet elegant with savoury layers of toasty oak and cashew nut that give the wine depth and complexity.

No11 Chardonnay is named in reference to the original block that the grapes used to make this wine came from, block 11. More recently blocks 6 and 12, have been dominate in this wine.

Grapes for this wine have been hand harvested with coarse settling at ambient temperatures overnight. Indigenous yeasts were used for fermentation within French oak barriques, of which 30% were new oak. The wine went through partial malolactic fermentation in spring and battonage occurred during maturation. The wine spent ten months on fermentation solids

They say it normally floods following a drought and in this case the old saying was proven correct. It was a wet winter and spring, and the start of summer was still full of hope. It was the earlier varieties such as Chardonnay that really stood out. It was a return to memories of the cooler vintages like 2012 where the wines are shy to begin with but hide a depth and elegance that will age for a considerable period of time. Not a great vintage for our bigger reds but classic for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

A cool climate region can be defined as an area with heat degree days of 1600 or less. Cool nights in the growing season, large diurnal variation, long cool autumns and distinct seasons are also key factors in defining a cool climate region. Orange is one of a handful of regions in Australia that fall into this category. Orange is unique among these regions due to the cool climate being the result
of continental conditions rather than latitude.

Koomooloo is volcanic in nature, something that the mountain continually reminds you of. There is a divide on the vineyard between
younger and older basalt soils. The majority of the vineyard is 12 million year old olivine basalt, overlaying deep limestone. 400 million year old Fairbridge basalt border the property adding to the complex character of the vineyard.

To see our full range of Philip Shaw product go to the website

To find out more about the Philip Shaw winery go to their website

Philip Shaw No 11 Chardonnay