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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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| Meshach William Burge 1843-1942, was Grant's great grandfather, a central figure in establishing the Burge vineyards and estate. He was eleven years of age when his family moved from Wiltshire to the Barossa, where he toiled to develop what has grown into a thriving viticultural, wheat and sheep property near Lyndoch. Grant Burge» |
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| Given the scarcity of Best's prestige, limited release, old vineyard icons, Bin #1 affords enthusiasts their first taste of the Great Western Shiraz style and leaves them eager to discover more. A classic, cool climate, aromatic wine, floral and spicy, peppery and elegant, retaining vital Great Western fruit character. Bests» |
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| So popular are the wines of Pepperjack, that the label hosts its own society of dedicated enthusiasts. This devout cohort of zealots, converges at bespoke venues to discuss matters Pepperjack, they dine on prime beef and imbibe in their cherished libation. Pepperjack» |
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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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| White Label is a McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon of the highest eminence, having been nominated for the George Mackey Memorial Trophy, awarded to the most outstanding Australian export. Crafted from fruit grown to some of the oldest vines at Pirramimma and McLaren Vale, it has twice claimed Gold in San Francisco and competed well against a formidable host of distinguished growths at the prestigious London International. Pirramimma» |
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| Brookland Valley Estate made a conspiuous impression through their stirling efforts at Cabernet Merlot when they claimed several significant trophies, including the hotly contested Qantas Best Wine of Show. Expressing fully the generous palate structure and aromatic richness of the stylish Margaret River Cab Merlot accord, beautifully perfumed, bramble flavoured wine, brimming with the quality and elegance which has earned Brookland Valley Estate a five star reputation. Brookland Valley» |
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| Of particular importance to Shadowfax are the very close relationships with a select group of growers who provide harvests of the most intensely flavoured fruit. A prolific trophy winner, Shadowfax are a refreshing new wave, vigorously fruit driven, livelier than her Victorian siblings, characterised by slatey, flavoursome acidity, a touch of lees complexity and judicious dryness. Shadowfax» |
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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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| A Shiraz of power and elegance, Heathcote Estate claimed a significant gold medal at the prestigious London International. Inspired by the amazing depth and character of Terra Rosa Shiraz, the Bialkower and Kirby families determined the most idyllic location to propogate vines for an ultra premium Shiraz to rival Australia's finest. Heathcote Estate» |
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| Considered an undistinguished vintage, it won a trophy, five Gold, four Silver and six Bronze medals between 1974 and 1982.. . Penfolds» |
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| The High Trellis paddock has been yielding the most splendid vintages of wine since the late 19th century, so nicknamed as the vines were the first to be trained above knee height following acquisition of the property by dArenberg. For decades, High Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon has been released to unanimous critical acclaim by the wine industry press and international cognoscente. dArenberg» |
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Thistledown
About Thistledown - the Winery
Thistledown
Best known as an inspirational leader of the contemporary Grenache movement, Thistledown make small batch wines from the fruit of wonderful South Australian vineyards
It's no secret that Thistledown are obsessed with Grenache, particularly the old vine, dry grown stuff of Barossa and McLaren Vale. Maybe it's the result of years travelling around the vineyards of Spain. Grenache, in all its guises, flows through the veins of Thistledown's devoted team. They have begun assembling a collection of some of the best Grenache vineyards, with the intention of becoming the authority on Australian Grenache. Thistledown's approach to winemaking is simple. They work with remarkable sites, so the job is simply to capture and coax the extraordinary richness of that fruit into bottle, retaining as much of the personality and vitality as possible. Low yielding sites, hand picked a little earlier into the vintage, yielding vines of outstanding power and singular excellence.
Thistledown started with a vision to produce wines that are definitively of their place. Though that sounds a bit pretentious, it's just about making wines that reflect the personality of the place, the dedication of growers and passion of the winemaker. Thistledown’s unique blend of magnificent quality fruit, inspired by the experiences of winemaking amongst grand vineyards in the new world and old, as driven by two Masters of Wine, achieves wine of unsurpassable balance and subtlety, texture and detail. Wines which are already a long way down the path to perfection. Experimenting and trialling from within their base of operations in the beautiful Adelaide Hills, working to the philosophy that if they haven't made the best wines possible of each vintage, that they haven’t been trying hard enough!
The folks at Thistledown love wines with life, vibrancy of fruit, texture, tension and drinking appeal. In order to achieve this, they only work with very high quality grapes, from growers who share a vision and are prepared to deliver the most pristine fruit to the winery.
In the winery, the small batches are allowed to spontaneously ferment, using minimal extraction, concrete fermenters and the detail that oak can bring, without dominating the flavour, such that they need do as little as possible to make the best wine.
Thistledown are perfectly set up to deal with the multitude of small batches which arrive at the winery. They source fruit from many of the best sites across the iconic regions of South Australia. Thistledown work closely with growers who, like themselves, want to see the character of their vineyard as faithfully portrayed in bottle as possible. It's become the norm in some regions to give the grapes extended hang time, to encourage fruit sweetness and ripe flavours in the vineyard. Thistledown prefer to work with fruit that still has great balance of sweetness, acidity and tannin, fruit that's picked on the way up rather than on the way down. They are well along the journey of slowly gathering the very best selection of Grenache sites throughout Australia.
Over a period of time, Thistledown have succeeded in gaining access to sites that they could only have dreamed of in the early days of their quest. Privileged and grateful to the god of wine for being able to craft wines from a tally of the finest vineyards in Australia’s distinguished viticultural history.
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