• Delivery
Wine clubWine clubWine clubWine club
  • Gift registry
  • Wishlist
  • FAQs
Hubbub in the Hunter»
There were two scrub covered parcels of land, just outside Pokolbin village along McDonalds Road, that local council had long set aside for use as cricket ground and cemetery. Both were ultimately auctioned off to the highest bidders and sown to vine. A third undeveloped site became the subject of a long running feud among the new and old neighbours. Dodgy invoices between the rivals were exchanged and the division of firewood became a further cause of contention. A truce was eventually called by the two protagonists, Brokenwood and Hungerford Hill, for the sake of healthy viticulture. The nascent blocks achieved international renown as the eminent Cricket Pitch and the Langtons Listed Graveyard.. Sociable soils make for healthy vine»
Dalliance With Dalrymple»
Discovered by Dr Bertel Sundstrup in 1987, after a long search for the perfect site, the amphitheatre known as Dalrymple is a mere twelve hectares of sun drenched bucolic idyll, at the very heart of superior viticulture on the beauteous Apple Isle. This is Piper's Brook central, a place of auspicious winegrowing climes, long hours of sunlight and extended ripening seasons, which yield fruit of remarkable succulence, gracious acids and satin tannins. Dalrymple are a small, unincorporated winegrowing concern, whose accord with the elements and devotion to the land, are best articulated by the leisured pursuits of their chief vigneron, whose favourite pastimes are sheep herding, river fishing and making.. The verdant nook on pipers brook»
Marri and the Mann»
Jack Mann reigns eternal as the greatest winemaker in the history of the Australian west. Jack Mann's son Tony grew up amongst the vineyards of Houghton but took a keener interest in things Cricket. He exelled at both pursuits but is best remembered as the legendary leg spinner Tony Rocket Mann. During his off seasons away from the pitch, Tony would plant parcels of vine alongside his illustruious father Jack and his own young son Robert. The fully grown Robert now makes his own wine, from fruit of the very vines sown by Jack and Tony Mann. Robert learned from his grandfather that great winemaking required a spiritual oneness with nature. The birds and the bees play a pivotal role in achieving a.. Whence the west was won»

Majella Musician Cabernet Shiraz CONFIRM VINTAGE

Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Coonawarra South Australia
Majella are one of the most highly awarded small wineries in Australia, the inaugural release of The Musician was met with unprecedented critical acclaim. In the tradition of the most salubrious Coonawarra vineyards, the Majella property was used extensively for grazing before being planted to vine. The enduring Australian accord of Cabernet and Shiraz, previous vintages of Musician have claimed a breathtaking list of gold medals and conspicuous trophies within a very short succession of vintages.
Available by the dozen
Case of 12
$251.00
Years of grazing on the Majella property enriched the soils and prepared the ground for viticulture. The Majella team still run a few thousand Merino wethers and raise a few hundred prime lambs. Re established as a vineyard in 1968, Majella sold their first tonnage of fruit to Wynn's Coonawarra Estate in 1980. Since then, the Majella vineyards have been the source of the most highly prized Coonawarra grapes for many well regarded national brands. The very best of Majella's fruit, the pick of crop, is retained for the estate's own label. A slightly greater proportion of Cabernet to Shiraz, The Musician is a generously complex Coonawarra wine that's approachable and engaging immediately upon release.
Deep scarlet in colour. Vibrant, unmistakably Coonawarra to smell and taste, bursting with flavours of blackcurrant, mulberry and herbs, fine, elegant and juicy in the mouth. Musician is quite low in oak, just a smidge of vanillin showing faintly on the mid palate, the brambly, blackcurrant flavours demand all the attention. Fine silky tannins integrate with the fruit and minimal oak treatment to produce an approachable well rounded wine of extended length.
Majella
1 - 9 of 9
1
1 - 9 of 9
1
Majella
The Lynn family have been residents of the Penola - Coonawarra district for over four generations, starting out as Store-Keepers and then graduating into grazing

The property on which Majella now stands was originally owned by Frank Lynn, and bought by his nephew, George, in 1960. George and Pat Lynn kept Merinos for wool production on their farm about ten miles away, and had always wanted some good Coonawarra country for their up-and-coming prime lamb enterprise. Viticulture, however, was not on their agenda until 1968.

Majella

George had always been great friends with Eric Brand. Eric had just started producing his wines under the Laira label and was selling some wine to the Hardy wine company. Brian was interested in planting a vineyard on the Majella property and in 1968 went ahead and planted 6 acres of Shiraz. Eric offered to buy the grapes to produce wine for Hardy's and the future looked rosy. There wasn't a lot of money in it, but it complemented the sheep enterprise, so eventually some 70 acres were planted - about 60% Shiraz and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon.

However, all good things come to an end, and the Hardy deal fell through just as the vines were maturing. Things were tight in the 70's. Demand for grapes, particularly Shiraz was very low, and there were a couple of years when 30 or more tonnes of premium Shiraz grapes were left to rot.

This was the start of a long relationship between Wynn's and Majella, a relationship that continued for over 20 years. Since 1989 Majella have continued planting new vineyards and at present have about 150 acres under vine. Most of the new plantings have been Cabernet Sauvignon, but there are some small areas of Merlot and Riesling planted as well.

Majella

The Majella winegrowers had always made a bit of wine up from their own select grapes, and knew that the quality was very good. After prompting from many of their peers, in 1991 they made up 600 cases or so of Shiraz.

The wine was vintaged at Brand's "Laira" winery (the link with Brand's won't go away) under the ever watchful eye of their winemaker, Bruce Gregory. This hit the market in 1993 and was received exceptionally well. The wine was good, the packaging looked good and the release sold out in no time.

Majella's production level soon reached the stage where new winemaking facilities were warranted, and high tech winemaking equipment was installed. Bruce Gregory joined as winemaker in January 1999 and produced a crackerjack vintage first up.

What happened to the sheep? They're still there although there's not much money in wool these days. The Majella winemakers still run about 3,500 Merino wethers on their remote farm south-west of Penola and raise about 400 prime lambs at Coonawarra.

Majella