Our wines of the year 2020

100 Points - Stuart McCloskey "The perfume is incredibly complex and difficult to pin down. Certainly exotic, super-intense and fills your olfactory senses with one hell of a wave of dark red / blue fruits (black raspberry liqueur) sweet spices and a wild-floral character. The palate is sensual, supremely elegant, and without one single flaw – far too moreish making returning the glass to the tasting table very difficult indeed. The fruit saturates your palate, but and from the very first sip, the level of poise is breathtaking. Less powerhouse and more ethereal brilliance. Deeply impressive and perhaps my favourite out of the collection. Decanted for 3.5 hours and served with Zalto Bordeaux glassware. Drinking window from 2020 to 2050++." Tasted 06.05.2020

  2021 Best Sauvignon Blanc Wines - Wine Companion Awards

98 Points - Stuart McCloskey "The bouquet is ultra-pure and sings with honeyed quince, touches of apple, apricot and warming ginger with more aeration. The palate is confident, unforced and a joy to sample. More complex than most Australian Sauvignon Blancs and full of charisma. I love the youthfulness which provides good bite and pithiness, although the palate offers much depth and breadth. Sumptuous in parts despite its infancy. Very impressive and certainly one of the best examples of Aussie Sauvignon Blanc currently available. Long, incredibly satisfying, juicy, moreish and sophisticated. This will be incredible in 5 years.”

Mike Bennie, The Wine Front "A superb rendition of the oak-rested Sauvignon Blanc sect of wines, here marrying gently nougat-like characters with ripe citrus, a splash of passionfruit and faint but comely green herb characters. It's got superb texture, lots of complexity and feels compelling to drink. Kudos."

97+ - 98+ Points - Stuart McCloskey “It’s taken some time for this beauty to develop and it certainly has a bright future ahead. Do not overchill and allow the wondrous bouquet to unfurl to crisp yellow stone fruits, lemon oil, rich with minerality (wet chalk), buttered citrus, spring flowers and nashi pear. I adore the bouquet which I find so evocative. I could happily spend the day swirling and sniffing without the need to taste (it’s that alluring). The palate is tight knit, finely boned, endlessly long and built with cellaring in mind. The elegant textural element is wonderful. The purity and balance are exceptional. Tensile whilst providing fleshy orchard fruits.  Structured but the flavours amplify with aeration and provide a real sense of volume. The wine is as long as you are willing to travel and finally ends with a lick of salinity. Magical and I absolutely adore it… Currently my favourite Chardonnay in our portfolio. Drink now to 2030. Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware.”

98+ Points - Stuart McCloskey “In the late summer, team Stolpman pull every leaf away from the fruit to allow for full sun penetration.  A month prior to harvest, when the sun exposed side of each cluster tans, but the inside remains green, every grape cluster is gently hand rotated 180 degrees to facilitate an even suntan. The focus, determination and attention to detail provides one of the best new world Roussannes, in my opinion. Spiced pear, apple, buttered citrus, tangerine skin, orange blossom and honey unfold majestically from the glass. There’s theatre, with golden hues whilst the viscous intensity grips the side of my glass with all its life. The palate is concentrated, full bodied with waves of honey and buttered fruits covering every facet. There’s a spiciness (fresh ginger) which gently starts at the tip of my tongue and continues to lay a path of warmth all the way back. Intensity is the core of this wine, with minerality and acidity providing some welcome relief. With time, honeysuckle and peach emerge, but so too does the spiciness, which I love. Emphatically long; never-ending to be perfectly honest and will continue to provide an extraordinary wine experience for many years to come. Do not overchill. Served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware”.

97 Points - Stuart McCloskey “I love the bouquet which is so inviting with a mix of soured red fruits, dried orange peel and an entire pantry full of sweet spices – there’s a little Christmas feel to the aromas which I find wistful. The flavour spectrum is immensely pleasing and follows a similar pattern to that of the nose. Sweet and sour fruit intermixed with a Smörgåsbord of spice cuddled with filigree tannins. Fleshy, ample and mouth-filling with palate drenching satisfaction. Very moreish is an understatement. The best Aussie Pinot Noir you are likely to find at twenty-quid. Simply delicious and faultless for the money. Drink now to 2025, but there is no need to wait.”

97+ Points - Stuart McCloskey “I love it – it’s as simple as that. The colour is a riot of autumn – fallen Ginkgo biloba leaves and honey. So beautiful. The bouquet reminds me of Paul Lato’s uber-expensive Malvasia which I adore equally. Baked Russet apple filled with sweet spices and honey tincture. A little caramelised pineapple and cinnamon come through with more aeration.  The bunches were de-stemmed and crushed, but the skins were included in the fermentation, creating wonderful mouthfeel and texture. The grip and tang of the Russet being a perfect description. This wine speaks fluently of minimal intervention to express its place of origin. There’s exceptional length and depth – Everything about this wine should be admired, including the fact that these grapes were rescued at the last minute from the Tingha Plateau Bushfire that ravaged their vineyard in February 2019. I love the honesty and I love the skill and dedication. Unfiltered, unfined and a miniscule 516 bottles produced. Served using Zalto Universal glassware. Drinking now to 2023/25. Do not overchill and there’s no need to decant.”

I love the salinity, purity and that same buttery pastry... Supremely sophisticated and yet again, in a class all of its own

97++ to 98 Points - Stuart McCloskey  “Different and rightfully individual, but I can see glimpses of my old friend. The nose is evocative and builds with more aeration. Grilled, creamy nuts, buttery pastry, crème pat, fresh vanilla pod underpinned with confit lemon, crisp orchard fruits and the most striking mineral freshness imaginable. The palate is a little subdued but that’s ok with me as this beauty will last a decade or more. It’s textural, satiny, fleshy and elegant in a muscular sense. I love the salinity, purity and that same buttery pastry. The acidity is racy and the pithy structure chewy and delightful. Supremely sophisticated and yet again, in a class all of its own by an indescribable sense of completeness. One of the highlights of my year and I am pinching three dozen for sure. Do not overchill, decant for 20-30 minutes and ideally serve in Zalto Bordeaux glassware or similar. Drink now to 2030+ (I believe this will be 99 points in 5-8 years)”

97++ Points - Stuart McCloskey “Grenache sourced from vines planted in 1880 and brought back to life through the talented and highly respected hands of Craig Stansborough. Aromatically, the wine is beautiful, filled with orange zest and a wash of red fruits ranging from raspberry through to cranberry. I detect spice and sweetness from cherry too… There’s a dusty, earthy overtone which provides a warming hug to the fruit. Dried, Mediterranean herbs – clearly a complex bouquet which keeps giving. The palate is focused, pure and spiced with sweet fruit which expands across my entire palate. The fruit feels mineral driven (I presume due to the depth of the ancient vine roots) with lavender and liquorice complementing. The tannins are discreet – the feel is seamless, with a snip of acidity providing outstanding definition. A blood orange sorbet-like feel keeps building and does not relinquish for many minutes. Suave and sophisticated. Drinking from 2020 to 2030+. Decanted for 1-2 hours and best served using Zalto Bordeaux glassware.”

97++ Points - Stuart McCloskey “Sourced from old bush vines ageing 150 years in the Angaston Foothills. The bouquet is explosive and perfumed with blueberry, sweet spice, spiced cherry, cola, smoke, warm earth and minerals. The palate delivers a smörgåsbord of dark raspberry, pomegranate and blood orange with glimmers of liquorice in the background. The flavour profile continues along the same line with sweet, black raspberry, cassis, and sorbet-like blood orange. The flavours are deep and the palate wonderfully textured. There’s a spiced black pastille character which builds and builds. The tannins are sappy and fresh. There’s a seriousness but with equal measures of fun and built for those seeking an interplay of power and finesse. Mightily impressive. Drink now to 2027+. Served with Zalto Bordeaux glassware.”

97 Points - Stuart McCloskey “The bouquet is immensely appealing, offering scents of orange and rose blossom, orchard fruit, quince, spring flowers and a little citrus. More classical and missing those petrol aromas found in some Aussie Rieslings. Clearly, the wine is young, incisive but carries itself with much confidence. Bracing acidity is missing which allows the pure fruit flavours of apricot and tangerine peel to shine. Rose petal and jasmine (essence-of-Gewürztraminer) which is fascinating. The profile is pure, spiced and I love the dash of white pepper and phenolic grip on the finish. The finish is very long indeed and will develop for a decade or more in the bottle. I’m detecting some salt after a minute or two and more white pepper. Incredibly charming, thoughtfully produced and one of the most classical renditions of this varietal found in Australia. As ever Owen bottles unfined, unfiltered and untinkered…”