Curtis have been making wine in McLaren Vale since 1973. The family history in winemaking stretches back to Italy, where in 1499 Paolo Curtis was charged by the Cardinal de Medici with looking after the papal lands around Cervaro, including the establishment of vineyards and olive groves. The family still farms in the area today. Part of the family moved to Australia and began making wine in McLaren Vale in the 1970’s. They draw on some serious old vine resources, with Shiraz plantings 60 years of age and Grenache vines a century old in the mix and forming the backbone of the wines we stock from them.
We’re definitely overdue a feature on Curtis Family Vineyards as we’ve been stocking their wines for the last 5 years and have been seeing quality improve year on year. We started with the 2010 Curtis Cavaliere Shiraz – a very good Shiraz but we really started to take notice when the 2013 was released. Dark chocolate melted through intense black fruits, cedary oak and fine tannins in a beautifully balanced setting, intense, polished and super tasty. Drinkable on release but with the promise of being cellarable for up to 20 years. Not that Curtis are a one trick pony. We also love their Cavaliere Cabernet, super intense, complex and deep, their Limited Release Shiraz and Limited Release Grenache. These are superb wines from a winery clearly on an upward trajectory with regards to quality of production and depth of flavour.
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