Beechworth

Warner Vineyard is so-called because it belongs to Rick Kintzbrunner’s business partner, Graham Warner. Fruit from this plot is co-fermented with a tiny percentage of Roussanne to impart a little floral lift to the wine. At 500 metres of altitude this is a decidedly cool location by Australian standards and in style the wine leans more towards Cote Rotie than to the Barossa Valley.

Aromas of black olive, violets, blackberries and black pepper suggest a Northern Rhone origin, and the wine also has the supreme elegance of the finest examples from that prestigious appellation. Rick Kintzbrunner unashamedly admits that he is seeking to make a wine of structure with fine tannins, acidity and subtlety rather than one dominated by sweet fruit.

Giaconda Vineyard was established by Rick Kinzbrunner, a mechanical engineer who became interested in wine in the early 1970s and spent the next 10 years traveling to wine-growing areas overseas learning as much as possible. Rick was the first to establish a vineyard of any consequence in Beechworth when he planted in 1982. Now there is a real buzz for the region while his wines are counted among Australia’s very finest. The wines are hand-crafted and only top quality French oak is employed.

Rick named the winery after the Mona Lisa (“La Giaconda”), and much like their namesake, his wines are enigmatic. The Warner Shiraz offers plum, sour cherry and ripe blueberry alongside a comforting spice that envelops the mouth. But, it manages to balance these with restraint and a honed finish that belies expectations. Delectable.