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Bringing you the fruit of old Barossa vineyards, which have been handed down from generation to generation, crafted in the traditional old world way, by a commune of family growers who have delivered the most memorable vintages since early settlement. The label says Soul Growers but the harvests were historically bottled by the nation's most illustrious brands. Today, these veteran families of Australian viticulture can bring their princely harvests to market under a moniker that defines a tradition of village winemaking and a culture of reverence for the land. Ancient rootstock Grenache and Mourvedre, bespoke clones of Cabernet and Shiraz, prodigal plots of.. Views of venerable old vines»
William James Maxwell was an architectural sculptor who migrated from Scotland to Australia in 1875. He built a mock castle and established a family vineyard just outside Adelaide, which he named Woodlands Park. His son planted vines in nearby McLaren Vale and his grandson served a term as winemaker for Hardy Wines at the historic Tintara wineworks. William Maxwell's progeny remain in McLaren Vale, producing the southern hemisphere's most successful brands of Honey Mead, as well as vintages of the most extraordinary value in McLaren Vale Shiraz. But what does Maxwell taste like? Gentleman James Halliday describes Maxwell as robust, picking the eyes out of.. Made of mature vine mclaren vale »
There are four tiny patches of vine at Scotchman's Hill, which have been mollycoddled by Robin Brockett, since the start of his tenure as chief winemaker in the 1980s. Excruciatingly limited after a strict pruning and rigorous sorting of fruit, they each yield a mere hundred cases of wine. Brockett has set aside the precious harvests of these superior blocks for his own label, a personal project to hand craft the finest of vintage, an exclusive range of the Bellarine's most elite single vineyard efforts. So besotted is Brockett by the spectacular quality of fruit from these four regal parcels, he has imported two 800 Litre Tuscan vinification Amphora from the.. Brockett begets the best of bellarine»
Returned servicemen from the Great War could look forward to government grants of pastoral freehold. West Australia's Willyabrup Valley was such a place, just a short walk from the balmy beaches of Indian Ocean, it offered the veterans excellent potential for agriculture. The fertile lands of Sussex Vale were originally established to animal husbandry by the discharged troopers, generations of livestock enriched the soils and it was astutely sown to vines in 1973. Fortuitously placed at the very heart of the Australian west's most illustrious estates, it continued to occupy the thoughts of neighbouring Howard Park's chief winemaker, until he acquired the.. A better block on hay shed hill»

Giant Steps Sexton Vineyard Chardonnay CONFIRM VINTAGE

Chardonnay Yarra Valley Victoria
The Giant Steps team pointedly sourced several conspicuous clones of Chardonnay from California, Burgundy and Champagne, to be established on the coolest, lowest slopes of the superlative Sexton property. Vine vigor and yields are naturally low, encouraging a low intervention approach to hand managed viticulture. The crisp, cool ripening conditions and flinty, almost mean soils of Yarra Valley's temperate slopes yield a vibrant style of Chardonnay in the nectarine, citrus, melon and white peach range of flavours.
Available in cases of 6
Case of 6
$389.50
Chardonnay clones Mendoza and 227, 96 and 78 and 85 are all hand picked, sorted and chilled, parcels of whole bunches and destemmed fruit are treated to three days of cold soak at 10C. Batches are sulphured before a wild indigenous yeast vinification in oak vats and small, square open fermenters for a fortnight. A course of minimal drain returns and light plunges are employed for optimal extraction. Upon completion, ferments are gravity transferred through an airbag press, racked off gross lees to a selection of French Burgundy coopered 500L oak puncheons and 225L oak barriques for a term of age, followed by assemblage into the finished wine and bottling without filtration.
Pale golden hue. Fresh cream bouquet, white peaches and nectarine, river stones and spearmint, curry leaf and muesli. Lush with beautiful chalkiness, great approach, crisp and punchy acidity. Granny Smith skins, green mango and arrowroot biscuit. A very good balance of fruit within a rich, complex wine of great linearity and driving length, drinking brilliantly on release.
Giant Steps
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Giant Steps
The Giant Steps winemakers are directing their winemaking towards single vineyards in locations that can support varietals of distinction

Great wine is made in the vineyard. At its best it is like a fingerprint, inextricably linking the personality and mood of the land from which it has sprung.

Giant Steps

The Giant Steps vineyard is on 115 acres of rocky gravel over clay, 50 km east of Melbourne, on the north facing slopes of the Warramate ranges overlooking the Yarra Valley. The vineyard covers two ridges that rise from 400 to 1100 feet above the valley floor.

Giant Steps seek to grow fruit and ultimately make wine that is less overt and obvious than is encouraged in Australia. The winemakers look for structure and length rather than breadth; finesse rather than largesse and above all, fruit rather than artefact.

Giant Steps is owned and operated by a small team - Phil, Allison and Harry Sexton.

The story starts 2600 km and 23 years ago when Phil established the Devils Lair vineyard in Margaret River. He was joined there in 1990 by Allison, an American biochemist. 1995 proved an excellent year; son Harry was born.

Giant Steps

In life, not many people get the chance to do something again; differently, with the benefit of hindsight. While they loved the wines they were producing, they dreamed of creating a small, specialised cool climate vineyard together, as a family. From scratch.

And, in 1997 they took the giant step; sold Devils Lair and crossed Australia to a dream site on the slopes of Victoria's Yarra Valley, alongside several benchmark cool climate vineyards that they had long admired.

After an immense amount of work and many years they have turned a horse stud into a vineyard. The winemakers wanted hands on and they got it.

The Sexton family winemakers are quietly confident that the Yarra Valley can produce Bordeaux varietals with savoury structure, finesse, clarity and textbook fruit purity; without the cedary, geranium/capsicum characters we so often see in this country out of cooler or fast ripening regions.

Giant Steps