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Airline pilots make surprisingly good wine. Their appreciation of the sciences, a respect for the weather and a bird's eye view of the land, all invaluable to the winemaker's art. John Ellis would take every opportune weekend away from his regular New York Paris route, to pursue a passion for viticulture. He planted the first commercial Cabernet Merlot vines in the Hamptons and found time between trans atlantic flights to work vintages amongst the Grand Cru vineyards of La Bourgogne. Ellis ultimately made the great lifelong sea change in favour of our land downunder. He settled on a farmstead outside Leongatha, amongst the slow ripening pastures of Gippsland and established a vineyard called Bellvale... Placing pinot amongst the pastures»
Just outside the Gippsland town of Leongatha, a few minutes down the road from the hallowed grounds at Bass Phillip estate, ten precious acres of exceptional terroir were planted in 1990, to artisanal clones of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. The propitious easterly aspects make the most of morning sun, an auspicious bequeath of fertile Ferrosols oblige the rootstock and infuse the fruit, while reducing the vigor and rationing the harvest. Lucinda Estate was never established as a producer of scale, its scant yields were always destined to be in pursuit of stunning Syrah and the perfect Pinot. Victoria's Gippsland is a place of paradise for vintages in the Burgundy style, a oenological wonderland of.. A glimpse of the gippsland grail»
Medical practitioners are conspicuously over representedas proprietors, within the pantheon of Australia's most artisanal boutique vineyards and baronial winemaking estates.Is it really all about the quest for a healthy mind and healthy body, or rather something more visceral and indulgent that our physicians are practising?The chemists at Claymore have chosen to formulate their range of elixirs according to a taxonomy of remedial refrains.Santana's Black Magic Woman conjures up edifications of a brooding Cabernet Sauvignon. The Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon whets the palate for an opaque, cryptic Shiraz.A canon of unchained melodies, all from the fruit of some spectacular Clare Valley vineyards,.. Completely in concert with clare»

Geoff Merrill Reserve Shiraz CONFIRM VINTAGE

Shiraz McLaren Vale South Australia
A living legend of the Australian wine industry, Merrill Reserve has claimed Australia's most prestigious awards, including Jimmy Watson and Visy Great Australian Shiraz Challenge. Merrill Reserve is a compilation of his best wines, as selected from a vintage of small parcels which have been treated to an extended maturation. Merrill Reserve can be best described as voluptuous and seductive, laden with complex chocolatier flavours and tensile textures, beckoning and beguiling before revealing the stately structure within.
Available in cartons of six
Case of 6
$389.50
Upon completion of a traditional fermentation, the choicest batches of Shiraz are filled to a selection of small French and American oak barrels for an extravagant three years maturation. A rigorous selection of the most spectacular lots are assembled into Merrill Reserve Shiraz, bottle aged under the Mount Hurtle cellars for further development.
Dark red with ruby hues. Complex nose, raspberries and creamyness, pepper and spice, liquorice and plum. The palate displays fresh fruits and a silky texture over very fine tannins. Toasted smoky oak, balanced acid and concentrated fruit flavours provide great structure. One of the nation's most eminent Shiraz wines, all elements in astonishingly fine balance.
Geoff Merrill
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Geoff Merrill
The Geoff Merrill winemaking philosophy has been and always will be, to make wine that allows regional, varietal and vintage expression, without excessive winemaker intervention

The history of the Geoff Merrill Mount Hurtle winemaking operations begins over 100 years ago when the site was built by a young Englishman, Mostyn Owen, who purchased 200 acres of prime Reynella hillside and built a winery in 1897. Set in the Hurtle Vale Ward just behind Reynella (Hurtle Vale was named after Sir James Hurtle Fisher, the first Mayor of Adelaide). Of these 200 acres, 150 were planted with vines. Mostyn Owen ran the winery and vineyards until he passed away in the mid 1940s. Mount Hurtle was innovative for its time, using the principles of gravity to feed wine throughout the cellars. Because of this the building is now state heritage listed.

Geoff Merrill

Geoff Merrill was raised on a sheep station in the far north of South Australia until he was 11 years old. The Merrill family then moved to the Barossa Valley where Geoff's first links with the wine industry were formed. His formal education was gained at local Barossa Valley Schools and the Institute of Technology in Adelaide.

From 1970 to 1973 Geoff undertook a winemaking traineeship at B Seppelt & Son. A position as Experimental Winemaker with Stellenbosch Farmers Winery lured him to South Africa for a year in 1974, after which he travelled through Europe. By the end of 1975 Geoff was back in Australia and had joined Chateau Reynella as Assistant Winemaker. In 1977 he was promoted to Senior Winemaker, a position he held until 1985. Whilst working a Chateau Reynella Geoff also managed to find the time to make wines under his own Geoff Merrill label. These were first released in 1983 with the 1980 Cabernet and 1981 Semillon.

Geoff Merrill established Stratmer Vineyards in 1980. It is under this company that the Geoff Merrill, Owens Estate and Mount Hurtle wines are made. During the company's establishing years the Geoff Merrill Wines were made at various locations, including Chateau Reynella, Pirramimma (McLaren Vale) and Peter Lehmann Wines (Barossa Valley).

Geoff Merrill

Great wine is a matter of balance, Geoff Merrill's passion for subtle, elegant and harmonious flavours in wine, is well documented. The individual growing conditions of each site affords the unique opportunity of being able to blend wines highlighting the best of what each region has to offer. In 1984, Geoff Merrill built a modern processing plant at McLaren Flat in a joint venture with winemaker, Goe DiFabio. In 1992 Alister Purbrick, of Chateau Tahbilk, took on a 50% stake in Stratmer Vineyards which he retained until 2005. Geoff is now the sole owner.

When Thomas Hardy & Sons purchased Chateau Reynella in 1982 Geoff stayed on, continuing to make the Chateau Reynella wines. By 1985 he had become a Consultant Winemaker for Hardy and Chateau Reynella's red wines. At the same time he was on the lookout for a winery where he could base his own operations. He found the beautiful, but run-down, Mount Hurtle Winery in 1985, a derelict building, run down and dilapidated, it had been used as a stable for many years. It required two years of love, hard work and a special vision by Geoff and his supporters to restore the winery to its former glory. Today, Mount Hurtle Winery is an oasis among suburbia. Nestled in four acres of vineyards and landscaped gardens.

Since 1988 Geoff has concentrated on the winery and his wines. He has continued to gain national and international recognition for his distinctive style of winemaking and his zest for life. While retaining an almost Tuscan charm, the original winery and the 1500 square metre barrel maturation cellar, completed in 1998, now perfectly copes with the rigors of modern day winemaking. A large family of geese and ducks also inhabit the winery grounds and dam near the front entrance to the estate.

Having gained a reputation as a maker of innovative and elegant wines Geoff has achieved significant success in both Australian and International wine shows. As a leading personality in the Australian wine industry, Geoff also established a high profile internationally, as a wine judge, and as a consultant in Italy making wines for the UK market.

Geoff Merrill