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| The Daisy Hill district thrived throughout the 1850s, due to its location along the main route to and from gold fields. The Amherst property sits atop old alluvial tailings, ancient diggings can still be seen around the property dressed in rich quartz soils. Amherst» |
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| The highly opportune Pinot Noir vines at Bird In Hand are planted on the site of an ancient gold mine, a godsend of fortuitously fertile soils, magnificent growing conditions for stellar quality Adelaide Hill wines. Fermented in own bottle and aged five years on lees in true Méthode champenoise, the term of extended maturation imparts luxurious biscuit notes, chantilly crème and frais de bois. Bird In Hand» |
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| Streicker's Bridgeland property yields harvests of the finest Shiraz. Crafted to traditional winemaking techniques, a regimen of old fashioned plungings and open ferments, into a pure, single vineyard Rhone style Syrah. Streicker» |
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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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| Pietro D’orsa found work in Australia as a winegrower circa 1868, quenching the thirst of miners during the Victorian gold rush. Several generations later, Pietro's progeny returned to viticulture. Sanguine» |
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| Stephen Pannell is one of Australia's most decorated winemakers, Jimmy Watson and twice Max Schubert Trophy winner, London International Winemaker of Year and Chairman National Wine Show. He found time in between tours of duty at Wirra Wirra, Tintara and BRL Hardy, to do vintage in Burgundy, at the illustrious Mouton Rothschild and amongst the grand old vines of Barolo. SC Pannell» |
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| Campbell's Topaque is the most wickedly intense, lusciously rich elixir, laden with candied peel flavours, honeycombed fruit and amber complexities. Painstakingly crafted to the old world Solera system, a bespoke tradition of fractional blending and elevage, achieving the most indulgent concentration of flavour through a laborious racking of barrels as the angels take their share. Campbells» |
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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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| David O'Leary really knows about things Cabernet Sauvignon, having claimed a Jimmy Watson Trophy and twice International Red Wine Maker of the Year. From low yielding vines up to fifty years of age, grown to superior sites within the Armagh Valley and Polish Hill River districts, the O'Leary Walker team create a powerful and complex, exquisitely perfumed and seamlessly layered Cabernet Sauvignon, framed by judicious oak and supported by graceful tannins, reflecting the idyllic growing climes of Valley Clare. OLeary Walker» |
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| The term Terra rossa means red earth, a rich, free draining soil that is considered by many as the viticultural equivalent of discovering gold. Beneath the strata of red earth at Wrattonbully sits a layer of ancient limestone, a winegrower's dream as it allows free drainage of water, yet ensures vine roots stay close to the surface, putting natural stress on the vine and limiting its vigor and yield. Smith Hooper» |
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| There are two superb high altitude sites in Carey Gully and Piccadilly Valley, which yield an extraordinary quality of Sauvignon Blanc. Knappstein take the top cut of each harvest, crushing the fruit for a long cool vinification, treating a batch to the added richness of oak barrel ferments for texture, complexity and weight. Riposte» |
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| The uncompromising pursuit of excellence brings the Yealands team to the extreme viticultural climes of Gibbston Valley in Central Otago. It is here under the frigid cloudless night skies that Pinot Noir vines, planted to undulating granite schist soils, struggle to yield harvests of parched grapes, redolent with cherry berry perfumes, bursting with an intensity of flavour and wrapped in a muslin of seamless, velvet tannins. Yealands Estate» |
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Johns Blend
About Johns Blend - the Winery
Johns Blend
The constant pursuit of excellence in every aspect of production is the key to the success of John's Blend
John and Margarete saw their vision come to fruition when the 1974 John's Blend was released in 1977. This classic Australian red wine continues the award winning success story of John Glaetzer which has unfolded over many years of wine making for some of Australia's top wine producers. Over 30 years experience has established John Glaetzer as a master of hand crafted, flagship red wines. Small parcels of Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz from the alluvial soils of Langhorne Creek and McLaren Vale are crushed, fermented, pressed and blended into oak hogsheads for maturation. These small batches of grapes become John's Blend, a select, super premium label with limited production.
John and Margarete Glaetzer had a vision of creating their own unique premium wine label. First vintaged in 1974, the Cabernet Sauvignon was created under this new label. John’s Blend was an instant success when it was released in 1977. The then youthful John had already worked with some of the greats of Australian wine, including John Vickery and starting work with Wolf Blass after graduating from the Oenology course in 1970. In 1995 a rich and intense Margarete Shiraz was added to the label, a perfect companion to the Cabernet Sauvignon - both wines offer a unique experience to red wine connoiseurs all over the world.
John’s Blend developed side-by-side with numerous Wine Show honours and John’s own prominent role in Wolf Blass Wines as the senior red winemaker. The result was hardly surprising, for John’s part in the story of Wolf Blass Wines, resulted in winning an unrivalled four of the prestigious Jimmy Watson Trophies for Australia’s top red wine 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1999. Also winning eleven Montgomery Trophies for the finest red wines at the Royal Adelaide Wine Show, to name just a few of the awards.
It would be fair to say that in Australia’s fine wine making fraternity there are few others who can share alongside John Glaetzer, the extent and depth of contribution to super premium red wine. John’s Blends are as friendly and rewarding as the winemaker himself, reflecting the rich traditions of Australian finest winegrowing regions and the people who make the wines.
To find out how well John's Blends travel, John Glaetzer decided to put his wine to the ultimate test. He sent one of his daughters on a mission, "..take these bottles to all corners of the world and do not return until they have gone to the extremes." So off his daughter went, the wine was taken (and survived) treks through mosquito infested jungles and packed on top of buses across freezing salt plains.
John's Blend travelled for days down rivers in a dugout canoe, was inspected by a bobby at Windsor Castle and approved by monkeys in the amazon rainforest. They experienced temperature extremes from minus 22 degrees celcius in an igloo in the Swiss Alps to plus 40 degrees while trekking through the Sahara desert on the back of a camel. It lay in the lap of Denmark's famous Little Mermaid and went on a pilgrimage to The Vatican's St Peter's Square. It was exposed to the elements on the rough Atlantic Coast of Ireland and held by a big cigar-smoking, cuban mama in Havana. It reached the extremes of 20 meters below sea level when scuba diving among the corals in the Red Sea off Egypt to an altitude of over 5000 meters in the highlands of the Bolivian Andes.
Most bottles were sacrificed and enjoyed by people of all cultures along the way. The comment by Alpheus, the great creole man from Belize, says it all after he had tasted John's Blend, "Long life to your father!" One bottle made it all the way back to Australia. By this time it had travelled more than 60,000 km across 3 continents and had crossed the equator 6 times. It was a real challenge to taste this bottle which had spent 10 years overseas, against one of the same vintage from Glaetzer's own cellar. Slightly crusted but still fresh and silky smooth, the travelled wine had a soft, silky smooth palate, a delightful red.
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