Victoria

An intriguing blend of Chardonnay and Viognier that has a lovely aromatic quality and real texture on the palate, aided by a brief sojourn in oak casks. Perfect for a summer picnic. Summery aromas of delicate white peach and pear leap out of the glass of this Viognier/Chardonnay blend  with a hint of hay adding warmth. The palate has lovely texture from the Viognier whilst an attractive saline note adds a refreshing touch to the finish. Fresh as a daisy, this would be perfect with Quiche Lorraine and homemade potato salad.
Catriona Felstead MW - Buyer

Crittenden's “homage” to the classic Catalonian blend of Tempranillo (50 percent), Mataro (Mourvèdre, 30 percent) and Grenache (20 percent) was inspired by winemaker Rollo Crittenden's love of this part of Spain. The grapes come from a vineyard just outside the Mornington Peninsula region and Rollo uses old oak and wild fermentation to retain freshness in the style.

The wine is indeed fresh, lean and pure. Bright, juicy red and black fruit comes through from the Tempranillo whilst the Mataro adds a dense feel to the wine with a meaty element; and the Grenache brings elegant spice and white pepper to the long finish. This is a really impressive wine with a clear Catalonian feel to it, ¡salut!
Catriona Felstead - Australia Buyer, January 2017

Not the Pythonesque antithesis of Kangeright, Kangerong is actually a zone of Mornington Peninsula.  This is a fruity, understated Chardonnay, with its character from extended lees’ contact rather than oak. The fruit comes from two selected Chardonnay blocks, a stone’s throw apart.
100% chardonnay.
Cool & discreet.

Craiglee is an incredible site of Australian history, with the first vines at this property having been planted in 1863. Wines were made here until the 1920s before the economic situation and Victoria's attitude towards wine forced it to close its doors. In 1976 the Carmody family took over the property. Patrick Carmody planted the first vines in 1976 and these vines are the backbone of the flagships Chardonnay and Shiraz. Though there may not be much of them about, these very special, restrained and elegant cooler climate Aussie wines are well worth the hunt.

The Craiglee Chardonnay is barrel fermented in around 25% new oak and does not undergo malo-lactic, though spends considerable time on its lees. For the last couple of vintages Patrick has been whole bunch pressing the Chardonnays. This technique seems to result in more purity of fruit while the vintages themselves have produce wonderfully concentrated yet complex and elegant wines.
Lisa Perrotti-Brown eRobertParker.com #195

The Zumma has been crafted with Burgundy in mind and, as such, it is elegant and restrained in style. Ripe, macerated red cherry fruit is clearly evident and the age of this wine comes across in its maturing, savoury notes of smoked meats complemented by just a hint of leather. Drink now to 2019.  
Garry Crittenden planted his first vines in 1982 at Dromana on the Mornington Peninsula, a then unknown wine region. His five-acre planting took the region’s total area under vine to 10 acres; today there are in excess of 2,500 acres. The Crittendens became pioneers of cool climate viticulture in Australia.

Located in Australia’s Yarra Valley, Pimpernel Vineyards is an exciting family-run producer of top quality Australian wines. Winemaker Mark Horrigan’s wine experience began in youth. Wine was so much part of the family routine the garage was occasionally transformed into a bottling line, the unit for which is now on display in the Pimpernel Vineyards Wine Room.

The use of Syrah as grape descriptor is the clue to this wine's restrained and elegant character, more reminiscent of the Rhône than the Barossa. Fragrant, lifted black cherries mingle with a touch of graphite minerality on the nose, while the palate is delicate yet fine with very well managed tannins. In 2010, two percent Viognier was co-fermented with the main cuvée, adding a subtle, exotic top-note to the wine but overall it feels very European in style. This is a delicious and sophisticated Syrah from the Yarra Valley.

This is exceptionally elegant Pinot Noir from boutique Mornington producer, Circe. Ripe, yet fresh, red cherries come to the fore on the concentrated, yet very elegant palate. The wine has excellent freshness and is a truly impressive Australian Pinot Noir.
Catriona Felstead MW - Australia Buyer, January 2017

Gembrook Hill is a small estate comprising five hectares of vineyards and the yields are low at 700hl/ha. The first wine was produced in 1989 and the winery constructed in 2000. Winemaker Andrew Marks’s philosophy is to make “smashable” wines, as he puts it. By this he means wines that are light and elegant and easy to drink. Despite being smashable, the Gembrook wines offer some of the finest expressions of Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc from this part of Australia.

Their 2012 Pinot Noir is no exception, a wine with the distinct cherry, gamey fruit of the New World, yet balanced like an Old World Burgundy. The nose is full of spice, cherry and redcurrant with gamey spice in the background. The palate is light- to medium-bodied, with a good depth of fruit, yet it is also elegant and poised. Lovely length. A great match to a light lunch, or a plate of charcuterie.  Drink 2018 to 2020.

Craiglee is owned and operated by the Carmody family; Pat Carmody farms sheep and cattle as well as grapes on his property which was a successful 19th century vineyard site. He is about as far removed from the typical New World winemaker as you could imagine, and has a healthy contempt for a fair number of his competitors in the industry. Pat planted vines on the site of the original vineyard in 1976 and processed the first wine in 1979. Today he continues to make wine from estate-grown fruit, hand-picked and pruned by himself, his wife Dianne and sons David and Tom.

The 2012 Shiraz offers an intense nose of red cherry, cinnamon, overlaid by hints of spice and cigar box. Medium-bodied with a firm structure and grainy tannins, it delivers plush fruit and a lingering, pepper-laden finish.

Circe is a boutique label from Dan Buckle and Aaron Drummond (both of whom work at Mount Langi). The fruit is drawn from the Hillcrest Road single vineyard, in the Mornington Peninsula. Their considered winemaking delivers wines of true sophistication.

I couldn’t wait to taste this wine, but I was nonetheless taken aback by the sheer grace of the ’14 Hillcrest Road. Its pallid colour belies tremendous concentration of fruit on the nose and palate. Its beguiling, savoury, smoky aromas are due in part to 100 percent whole-bunch fermentation, perfectly executed by winemakers Dan Buckle and Aaron Drummond. In fact, every aspect of the creation of this wine seems immaculately judged, from the selection of a 1.2-acre parcel of top quality Pinot (the MV6 clone which traces its ancestry to the Clos de Vougeot) on volcanic basalt soils, to bottling without fining or filtration.

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.

"Just a barrel or two are made in truly exceptional years, that's only when the Merlot in the original vineyard  has achieved perfect ripeness. Always a densely structured wine when young, that gives nothing away. It comes spectacularly to life after around 8-10 years in bottle and continues to open out with time. I recently sampled the 1992 vintage and it was stunning, revealing mulberry and plum notes with an exotic, spicy edge. New World's answer to Le Pin?!"
Hong Kong Fine Wine Team

This has the typical Yarra Yering `Old World' crushed leaf Cabernet Sauvignon character along with sleek cassis fruit and generous plumpness derived from the Merlot and Malbec. This will drink well for at least 20 years and will make for an interesting comparison to top 2005 Clarets in the future.

Purple-colored, it emits an alluring fragrance of smoky oak, toast, vanilla, pencil lead, olives, black currant, and blackberry liqueur....Impressively balanced, all components are well-integrated, and the finish lasts for 60 seconds.
Jay Miller - Wine Advocate - Oct-2007

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.

2013 was the best vintage yet for Circe, with consistently warm temperatures ensuring even ripening and healthy fruit. It is hardly surprising therefore that winemaker Dan Buckle has made a standout single vineyard wine from the Hillcrest Road vineyard this year. Extremely restrained and very Burgundian in style, this wine is defined by its savoury complexity. It is vastly different from what you might expect from an Australian Pinot Noir in almost every sense. The wine is pale in colour and delicate, almost pretty in style (typical for Mornington) yet it is also structured and conceals a power and a concentration that comes through on the mid-palate and remains evident on the extremely long and beautifully fresh finish. The nose and palate display subtle notes of hedgerow, smoke and bacon fat which complement the macerated ripe red berry notes, and the tannins are exceptionally fine. This is a must-try for Pinot-philes.
Catriona Felstead MW - Wine Buyer

These vines were amongst the first planted by Gary & Julie Hounsell, so were 15 years old when this wine was made. The grapes were picked at a level of ripeness that achieves a remarkable balance between elegance and ripeness.

Yarra valley is acknowledged as being great cool climate Chardonnay terroir but this wine really excels with its mineral notes, lively acidity, in part through lack of malolactic fermentation, beautifully integrated oak (25% new, 500litre barrels), rich texture from lees contact and long, lively finish. A worthy competitor to a Puligny-Montrachet for partnering salmon or scallops.
Martin Hudson MW, Wine Buying

A Northern Rhône blend of predominantly Shiraz with a hint of Viognier and an even smaller hint of Marsanne. This is the most seductive and graceful wine in the Yarra Yering range. There is an underlying power to this wine, with the Viognier offering some lift and aromatics to the nose, whilst the core of pure, silky black fruit on the palate is downright sexy! Although this is a joy to drink in its youth, it will certainly benefit from 5 years or so cellaring and will drink superbly for decades.