Page 3 - Wineries

Single Italian star becomes a compelling trilogy. Matt stumbled across Conte di Campiano during his visit to Prowein last year and found their amazing Susumaniello - a wonderfully decadent, full bodied, plush and complex red wine made from one of the world’s rarest varieties – Susumaniello. The word itself comes from Susu meaning “Go” and Maniello, meaning “Donkey” perhaps because in their youth, Susumaniello vines produce massive yields. As the vines age the yield reduced dramatically, increasing the concentration and depth of flavour in the finished wines. The Susumaniello is a big, black wine, bordering on massive. The nose offers a tremendously complex blend of blueberries, flowers, chocolate, spice, dried herbs and cedar and woodsmoke. These can also be tasted along with sour cherries, blackberries and darker stuff. It is voluptuously textured and deep. It struts the line beautifully between fresh zippy fruit and aching decadence. This year we’ve added two superb stablemates for the

Spinifex make bloody good wines and we are massive fans of their newest wine, the Spinifex Garcon Grenache. The Grenache fruit is sourced from 40-80 year old vines across the Western Barossa, from Ebenezer, Moppa, Kalimna and Greenock with fruit yield averaging a tiny 1.5 tonne to the acre. It was picked early in the ripening cycle to promote brightness and 40% whole bunch was included in the ferment. Half the wine was then transferred into French oak for 12 months, with the rest retained in tank. The stunning result is like two quite different Grenaches knitted together into a seamless whole. First there’s the ethereal, fruit-pure and mineral Grenache with mouthwatering acidity and depth of flavour. Next up, the black, angry and intense beast packed with powerful tannins. The interplay between these two, beautiful in their own right, creates excellent complexity and interest. We’re not alone in our love for Spinifex wines, here’s what wine writers have to say about Spinifex: “The wine

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.

Hesketh produce exceptional wines and their alternate varietals have caused quite a stir around WDHQ, leaving many a Tasting Panel member weak at the knees. They also co-own Vickery wines with John Vickery, the master and godfather of Australian Riesling. There aren’t too many staff orders that don’t feature a bottle or 3 of one of these wines.

A bit more on Hesketh...

The Hesketh family have a long association with the Lehmann dynasty. Robert Hesketh originally formed Masterson wines with Peter Lehmann in the late 70’s – which became Peter Lehmann Wines in 1982. [caption id="attachment_1886" align="aligncenter" width="200"] Hesketh Small Parcels Bonvedro[/caption] This company saved plenty of Barossa growers from going under during the vine pull scheme in the 80s. This work also saved a lot of priceless old Barossa vines from being pulled. Today, Robert and Peter’s sons, Jonathon Hesketh and Phil Lehmann are Hesketh wines; Jonathon as owner, Phil as chief winemaker. They have Barossa

Doing vintage, you can’t help but have permanently purple hands. The red colouring and tannins seep into your pores and as your hands crack and glaze, become a temporary and changing tattoo, a memento of working with your hands in wine. It takes a few weeks after vintage has finished for the purple stain to fade… Our favourite pairs of purple hands belong to Craig Stansborough, chief winemaker for Grant Burge, and Mark Slade who own a tiny Barossa winery called Purple Hands. Quality of the wines is utterly exceptional; made by purple hands and guaranteed to stain your tongue black. We have the ‘15 reds and while reviews are still pending, we can tell you that given their 2012, 2013 and 2014s averaged a staggering 96 points from James Halliday, we are quietly confident these will end up in that same territory. Craig and Mark buy in some fruit however they grow the bulk of their own fruit in the cooler, southern end of the Barossa, allowing them to produce powerful and fruit intense wines

Chateau Tanunda was built in the late 1880’s, and has plantings dating back to the 1840’s. As Europe was ravaged by phylloxera which destroyed vineyards, an opportunity arose for very profitable winemaking in Australia. At one stage the growers were getting the equivalent of about seventy bucks a litre for bulk wine... or somewhere between ten and seventy times what they‘d be getting for it today. On the back of all that cash floating from the old world towards the Barossa, Chateau Tanunda became the largest winemaking facility in the Southern Hemisphere. More than 500 local growers were extremely well paid. An absolutely magnificent series of buildings were erected, which today still form the basis of operations and winemaking at Chateau Tanunda. The cellar door is also there, pouring a significant array of wines that offer staggering value for money. That said, it hasn’t always been plain sailing. The current owners bought the property in a derelict state. Pretty much every window was

Maybe it’s Coriole’s love and pioneering of Italian Varietals, maybe it’s the idea of sitting under the vines outside the homestead overlooking the vale on a summers day or maybe it’s just a romanticised wine lover who can’t help but entwine his wine memories to a sound track. But I think of Coriole and I think of sipping a big glass of Nebiollo or Barbera whilst sitting in my deck chair eating olives and cured meat listening to the crooners and reminiscing about the old days. Est in 1967 and working off vines planted around 1919 the Lloyd family began Coriole vineyards and to this day is still in the hand of the Lloyd family. Always keeping up with the times, Coriole’s first release was a 1970 Claret before moving into unchartered territory in the mid 80’s by planting the Italian varietal Sangiovese. The Lloyds love affair with the Italian Republic has grown to now see the vineyard include varietals Fiano, Grenache, Barbera and

In the South Australian world of wine one such solo venture that is definitely in the successful category with Lionel and Eric as opposed to a really poor 80’s hair metal solo project is Geoff Hardy’s Solo life. Leaving the family business in 1980, Geoff Hardy’s growing  brands now include Pertaringa of McLaren Vale, K1 out of Adelaide HIlls and his Hand Crafted label using vineyards from the Limestone Coast, Langhorne Creek and the Adelaide Hills. Perhaps out of the three the latest incarnation is producing some of the most interesting and curios varietals in Australia. With a raft of upcoming and small grown varietals like Nero d’Avola, Dolcetto, Graciano, Montepulciano, Aglianco, Fiano, Rousanne and Savagnin to name a few the Hand Crafted is nothing if not eclectic and very European

More rock collaboration between David Bowie and well anyone, Andy Coppard and Angela Townsends Lino Ramble 2012 vintage was their debut and it’s definitely more Under Pressure than Kiss and Michael Bolton’s  1989  power-ballad Forever. At just over a year old, Lino Ramble encapsulates all that winemaking should be about - finding good fruit and turning it into beautiful wine with minimal fuss and minimal handling.  As with a number of their contemporaries, Andy and Angela have spent many a year working for someone else until the opportunity came by to take the leap of faith that is putting your money where your mouth is, and boy have they the mouth to back up the money. Currently on the greatest hits list for Lino is the Treadlie GSM and the Ludo

Small batch and hand crafted is the order of the day for these boys building on reputation rather than mass production. With their small plots in Seppeltsfield, Nuriootpa and two in Tanunda producing exceptional fruit the boys then hand craft and basket press the grapes before maturing in 1-4 year French oak. The result is wine that has body, great fruit and dare I say it….. Soul. Meet the Soul Growers guys at winedirect.com.au’s Through the Tasting Glass - Curiouser & Curiouser tasting at the national wine centre on the 10th of May 2014.  [caption id=attachment_1209 align=aligncenter width=950] 130 year old

Eric and Jenny Semmler certainly fit this mould. Take a horticulturalist and a pharmacist and the South Australian Riverland and you’d think you'd be in line for some first rate oranges maybe? But throw in around 40 years of wine industry experience and what you end up with is some first rate vino! Founded in 1999 and first planted in 2001 on a patch of Glossop’s finest soil with a serious intent to bring unique and seldom seen varietals to the fore front. With a selection more in the World Music section of your local record store than the top 20 chart hits the range includes varietals like Tempranillo, Vermintino, Durif, Touriga, Petit Manseng and a Pale Dry Apera. The latter adding to a growing list of accolades for 919 when the Adelaide