Smalltown Vineyards Latest Packs

A fabulous selection of alt reds with plenty of new stuff. The trophy winning Clare Grenache from Kilikanoon and the superb 95 point Durif from Curtis have been in our stable for a while. The new stuff? Magical old vine Grenache from Songlines and a superb old vine Mataro Grenache blend, both from the Barossa, both made by Tom White of Lone Palm fame! They are both superb. Also a couple of new to us Barossa beauties from White Gate. White Gate are low-fi, or perhaps more accurately, light touch. They work primarily with organic and biodynamic producers, pick early and make minimal additions to the wine during ferment and prior to bottling. They figure that starting with A-grade fruit and picking a bit earlier than the norm allows them to bypass a lot of the corrective work that has to be otherwise undertaken to ensure wine stability and longevity. As a bonus, this allows the fruit to really shine. The proof is in the pudding and we can heartily attest that the pud is good!

A Chardonnay baker's dozen here, probably the first one we've ever put together! Quality kit too, with a $75 RRP Adelaide Hills Chardy from Solaris, a gold medal winner from Curtis, creamy goodness from Smalltown and a lovely Coonawarra Chardy from Katnook. So far, $462 worth for $265.

The kicker? a 13th bottle from Jean Loron... taking the total value to $582. This is an excellent white Burgundy offering layers of flavour and complexity. JL have been cranking out wine since 1711 and this premium bottling offers stone fruits, creaminess, minerality and that special creamy-meets-cheesy continuum you get when high quality fruit spends time on yeast solids in barrel. Yum!