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A solid Cabernet Sauvignon with profound structure and vigorous fruit, the essential Coonawarra style, exuding rich bramble, berries and cassis aromas characters over soft, elegant tannins. Extended maturation in the finest French oak contributes to the wine's overall balance and drinkability. Hollick» |
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Pinot Meunier like no other, certainly the most distinguished bottling of its kind anywhere in the new world. Mostly old vine Concongella Pinot Meuniere, from grapes picked off parcels established 1970, with the inclusion of a priceless component of ancient vines 1868 Pinot Noir. Bests» |
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Born at Guildford, very near the Houghton Swan Valley wineworks, Dr John Gladstones was an internationally acclaimed scientist who identified the Margaret River in 1965 as being world class for planting vines and growing grapes. Dr Gladstones also played a role in the development of the Frankland River region, Pemberton and Manjimup. Houghton» |
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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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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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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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Enthused by a consuming desire to make great wine, Andrew Nugent honed his craft as viticulturalist and winemaker amongst the vines of McLaren Vale before returning to the Adelaide Hills, where he established his very own wineworks at Woodside. Hand crafted from fruit grown to mineral rich soils above the historic Bird in Hand gold mine, a pure Pinot Noir with superb effervescence, dominated by red berry characters, adorned by a lift of stonefruits and floral.. Bird In Hand» |
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Tio Pepe is the world's leading Fino, a very pale and dry style of wine made in the southwest of Spain. Produced since 1844 by the Gonzalez family of Jerez, Tio Pepe has a distinctive aroma and a unique taste. Tio Pepe» |
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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 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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A collation of superior vineyard parcels, crafted by a boutique estate which has been recognized as one of Australia's leading wineries. Clonakilla are dedicated to making distinctive, handcrafted wines, only ever released in limited quantities, anything by Clonakilla can be hard to find, but they are worth the search. Clonakilla» |
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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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About John Duval - the Winery
John Duval
John Duval is one of the world's best known winemakers, the poud heir of a family tradition that boasts four generations of South Australian vignerons
He has been saluted many times on the world stage, notably International Winemaker of the Year 1989 and twice Red Winemaker of the Year in 1991 and 2000. After 29 years as a winemaker with Penfolds, one of the world's most famous wineries, John Duval embarked on his own wine label in 2003. John believes he has indeed been fortunate throughout his career, graduating in agriculture and winemaking in 1973 at Adelaide University. John has followed in the footsteps of some of the greats of Australian winemaking such as Max Schubert, the creator of Penfolds Grange and Don Ditter, another famous Penfolds winemaker of the 1970s and early '80s.
There was of course a family precedent to all of this - the Duval family had for many years run a world famous sheep stud and quality vineyards south of Adelaide, coincidentally supplying Shiraz grapes and vine cuttings to Penfolds. So John Duval was never a newcomer to wine. He was appointed Chief Winemaker at Penfolds in 1986 and was lucky enough to oversee one of the most dynamic periods of change in the Australian wine industry.
With the support of a dynamic winemaking team in the Barossa, John secured a number of awards for the company - Winemaker of the Year at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in London in 1989; Red Winemaker of the Year at the International Wine Challenge in London in 1991 and again in 2000; and seeing the 1990 Penfolds Grange named the Wine of the Year by the prestigious US magazine Wine Spectator in 1995.
Toward the end of 2002, John retired from Southcorp after a distinguished career of 28 years, including 16 years as Chief Winemaker for Penfolds. John embarked on the development of his own label in 2003 using old vine Barossa Valley fruit and has created two stunning wines that reflect the terroir of the Barossa and the hand crafted attention of John Duval.
Since leaving Penfolds John Duval has consulted to a number of international wine companies in Europe, South America and Australia, including vintner partner in the Long Shadows venture at Washington. The inaugural 2003 Sequel Shiraz was released in late 2005. In Chile John has helped to produce Pangea, highlighting the premium Syrah of the Apalta Valley. In Australia John has consulted to a project using old vine McLaren Vale Shiraz to produce Songlines Shiraz (sold in UK and Australia) and Oriel Sygnet (sold in the US).
Today, John rarely gets enough time to spend at home back in the Barossa, but he does insist on securing at least four uninterrupted months around vintage to make his own branded label wines. John clearly loves working with the fruit that comes from the old vines of the region, so he launched his namesake label with 'Plexus', a Rhone style blend of Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvedre, closely followed in 2006 released with his first pure Shiraz, 'Entity'. John also plans to release small quantities of a reserve Shiraz, further highlighting the premium quality fruit from the Barossa.
"John Duval Wines will never be another Penfolds - it is simply my chance to express my 30 odd years of premium winemaking knowledge using some of the best fruit in the world. I hope you enjoy the wines."
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