Australian Wine

Sean O?Riada is one of the heroes of modern Ireland. A talented musician and composer, he is credited with taking traditional Irish music out of the kitchens and pubs of Ireland and putting it on the concert stages of the world. He died, prematurely, in 1971, the year Clonakilla was established by John Kirk. He was John?s cousin.

2022 was a cool vintage with gentle ripening progressing well into autumn. The O?Riada is made from fruit picked from our estate vineyard and other fine sites in Murrumbateman and Hall. It?s a quintessential Canberra Shiraz, medium bodied with red berry and floral themes and plenty of cool-climate spice.

Nero d'Avola is Sicily's most popular red grape (and the island's most planted one) and is characterised by flavours of ripe black plums, intense blue fruit and licorice like aromas. It is rare to find good Nero d’Avola elsewhere but this new Australian rendition is convincingly Mediterranean like in style. Full bodied, black in colour and beautifully complex in taste.

The blending of Viognier with Shiraz (aka Syrah) is a traditional French winemaking method from the Northern Rhone Valley appellation of Cote Rotie and some other areas. South Australian winemaker Johnny Quarisa takes his cue from that great wine region and blends a dash of Viognier with this Shiraz to enhance its dark fruit flavours and robust tannic style. The softness and rich fruity flavours that a little Viognier brings adds approachable drinkability to this full bodied dry red. It drinks well now and can further age for three to four years, even at this modest price.

Eden Valley born, Barossa winemaker Corey Ryan cut his teeth at Henschke before moving to Villa Maria in Auckland, New Zealand, and then returning home to create the Sons of Eden brand with an old buddy. This outstanding wine is the result of their partnership and is one of the pinnacle reds in the Sons of Eden range - a wine that will surprise with not only its power and intensity but also its balance and elegance. 

Zephyrus Shiraz is named after the Greek God of the West Wind, who is depicted as a majestic horse, which makes the artwork extremely apt on the label of this outstanding Shiraz. IT?s made from grapes grown in both the Eden Valley (45%) and the Barossa Valley (55%), which combine their, respectively, cooler and warmer climate attributes, which gives this wine its lively acidity and full bodied power. The wine was fermented using varying proportions of whole bunch clusters from 10% to 60% with 20 to 25 days on skins followed by pressing into French oak barrels, 45% new and 55% seasoned. It spent 15 months in oak and was bottled without fining or filtration so it ticks the vegan friendly box

This deep purple, dry, full bodied Shiraz has powerful ripe black fruit flavours and spicy notes that give this varietal its distinctive appeal.

A top shelf wine that you don't have to dig too deep to afford. 

This is Yalumba's premium Viognier offering from their Rare & Fine Collection and shows all the hallmarks of classic Viognier; peach and citrus flavours bundled in an aromatic mouthful with that silky texture that the variety is so well known for. This wine is recognised as a benchmark for new world Viognier due to its stunning quality. 

Sandpiper is classic Shiraz from South Australia; the headquarters of the country's wine industry - and world HQ of Shiraz, thanks to dry, super fruity and full bodied drops like this tasty, spicy, consistently good quality dry red wine. It's great value for money.

Pirramimma is a family run winery with a history dating back to1892 and today comprises over 100 hectares of prime McLaren Vale fruit.

The 2019 Cabernet Merlot displays a bouquet of red cherry, blackberry and violets with hints of spicy oak. On the palate there are ripe blackcurrant, plum, quince and chocolate notes which are complemented by hints of pomegranate and subtle toasty oak. 

Drink now and over the next three years with rich meaty fare, stews and hard cheeses.

The Shotfire Quartage is sourced from the older Thorn-Clarke owned plantings in the Barossa, with 'Kabininge' and 'St Kitts' vineyards being the main contributors.

 This wine is primarily a blend of traditional Bordeaux varietals (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec) with Cabernet Sauvignon always being dominant. Whilst the Barossa is famous for Shiraz, Thorn-Clarke is renowned for its Quartage which has collected Trophies for best wine of show and / or class at most major wine shows in Australia over the last 10 years.

Jim Barry's Clare Valley Assyrtiko (pronounced 'As-err-teek-oh') comes from 15 kilometres south of Clare township in the village of Watervale on the Florita Vineyard, best known for fino sherry prior to 1962 and great Riesling ever since. A small block of this elevated vineyard is devoted to the Assyrtiko grape, which originally comes from the volcanic island of Santorini where hot days and cool nights allow it to retain freshness derived from the grape's naturally high acidity. The result is an outstandingly succulent, refreshing dry white. This wine will take you by surprise, in the best possible way. It was Australia's first Assyrtiko, made by Peter Barry, who fell for the grape and wine after a trip to Greece. 

A blend of grapes more typically found in the Southern Rhone but this wine hails from the Yarra Valley in Victoria. 

The grapes come from the Sexton and Tarraford Vineyards,  and each variety and parcel is fermented separately in small open vats with varying degrees of whole bunch and whole berry fermentation, before being matured in large and small oak for 18 months.

The result is a sumptuous easy drinking wine with plenty of aromatic and flavour interest; sweet cherry and red fruit flavours combining with savoury spice in perfect harmony.

 

A fantastic value wine made by John Quarisa of Johhny Q wines. 

This is rich and savoury and certainly punches above its weight for the price. Deep red with hints of purple in the glass, the nose is fresh yet decadent, with notes of black cherry, blackberry, chocolate and spice. The palate offers warm spice and ripe berry flavours, complemented by smoke, spice and coffee notes. The finish is soft and smooth

Petite Sirah is a cross of Peloursin and Syrah and also goes by the name of Duriff.

Fruit for this wine was sourced from mature vines in the Isolation Ridge vineyard at Frankland Estate. The vineyard sits on an undulating northern and eastern facing slope on ancient duplex soils of gravel and loam over a clay sub-soil. It is farmed using organic viticultural practices and this is reflected in the depth and concentration of fruit flavours. The vines are trained on a Scott Henry trellis system to enhance sunlight penetration of the canopy and optimize ripening conditions. 

This wine was fermented as long and slowly as possible, at temperatures not exceeding 26?C in open pot fermentation tanks that allowed the cap to be worked by plunging and an extended maceration period allowed optimal colour, flavour and tannin extraction. It was aged in 500 litre French oak puncheons, this contributing textural complexity without compromising the opulent natural fruit flavours of the wine

Certified Organic, Vegan Friendly

Rockford Shiraz Cabernet is one of the icons of Australia and of the Barossa Valley with its bold deep ruby colour and powerful tannins adding layers of complex texture and taste to a wine that drinks well now with dark berry flavours and will evolve into a wine with smoothness, spicy notes and black olive depths over time in the bottle.

Rockford Wines' legacy

Rockford Wines is an icon itself and a relatively new one, established in 1971 by Robert O'Callaghan, who has forged a reputation for preserving winemaking tradition and saving many of the world's oldest grape vines from being pulled up in the Australian Government's vine pull schemes of the 1970s and 1980s.

The Rockford vintage shed houses equipment from 50 to 100 years ago, which was discarded by other wineries as modernisation took over.