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Husbanded On Hilltops»
Just three kilometres from Young along Murringo Road, planted to a brisk 500 metres above sea level, Grove Estate was originally sown to vines in 1886, by Croatian settlers who brought cuttings from their farms on the Dalmatian coast. Some of these ancient plantings, emigrated at a time when much of Europe was ruled by Hapsburg emperors, remain productive to this day. Newer blocks were gradually established around these priceless parcels, ostensibly with a view to supplying leading national brands. The quality of fruit became so conspicuous that Grove Estate sanctioned industry celebrities from Ravensworth and Clonakilla to begin bottling under their own.. Quiet consummations of grove estate»
The Legendary Mr Barry»
Jim Barry was a pioneer of the Australian wine industry, the first academically qualified winemaker to take up Clare Valley viticulture in 1949. He had an uncanny intuition for good land and established some of the most illustrious vineyards on the continent. Jim Barry is also a patriarch of the Coonawarra, in pursuit of the perfect terroir for Cabernet Sauvignon, he planted vines on the ancient Penola Cricket Oval, preserving the original pavilion for posterity. Jim Barry endures as one of the nation's most distinguished brands, renowned throughout the world of wine for decades of the most remarkable vintages, an evolving range of superior vineyard editions,.. Salient statements from superior sites»
Nabobs & The Nursery»
Tim and Simon and all the Wicks, nurse the rootstock and foster the clones which are in highest demand by the Adelaide Hills most accomplished vignerons. The Wicks are Adelaide Hills born and bred, they called upon an old mate named Tim Knappstein to assist in the establishment of a vineyard and wineworks, set amongst the ancient eucalypts on the scenic slopes of Woodside. Each and every planting was determined according to a viticultural algorithm, based on clonal selections and terroir, aspect, soils and clime. The shrubs reached maturity and the wines that flowed are claiming a conspicuous tally of triumphs at significant national wine shows. Representing.. The wonderful wines of wicks»
Princely Parcels of Portsea»
Dr Frederick Kiel would take the trek by paddle steamer from Melbourne every summer during the late 1800s to spend his summers at Sorrento. His children established a grazing station nearby, on a property acquired from the Baillieu family along Portsea Ocean Beach, ultimately planted to vineyards in 2000. These are the most extreme western longitudes of Mornington, the undulating paddocks and sweeping views of tempestuous Bass Strait are a magical place for growing Burgundesque styles of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, well protected north facing parcels of propitious free draining limestone and calcareous sands. The windswept maritime vineyards of little Portsea.. Mornington's westernmost vineyards»

Pepper Tree Merlot CONFIRM VINTAGE

Merlot Wrattonbully South Australia
Wrattonbully makes Merlot of exceptional character and flavour, arguably the finest and most consistent annual yields in Australia. The wines are distinctive for their blueberry, plum and mint character, sound structure and velvet tannins. Pepper Tree's Merlot vines are fortuitously planted to heavier clay soils at the toe of the main Wrattonbully dune, as heavy clays have proved to be the best soils for Merlot in its traditional home of Bordeaux. A soft and rich, profoundly fruit driven Merlot wine with more power and weight of varietal flavour than most.
Available by the dozen
Case of 12
$275.00
The prominent viticultural feature of Wrattonbully is a series of ancient beach ridges and dunes which run north/ south, made of soft crumbly limestone which weather to produce the red and brown Terra rossa clay loam soils that are so highly prized for growing outstanding quality wine grapes. The higher elevation brings the advantage cold air drainage which reduces the risk of frost throughout the colder months of the growing season. Harvests of Merlot from choice Wrattonbully vineyards are treated to a fortnight on skins in static fermenters, pressed off skins and racked to a selection of fine French oak barrels for eighteen months before assembling into the final wine.
Deep purple red colour. An aromatic Merlot nose of black and red fruits with spicy lift and subtle oak. A fully ripe, classically medium bodied palate, packed with sweet berry fruits and spice, balanced by subtle French oak and fine, long velvet tannins, before a lingering complex finish. Enjoy with polpette e papardelle or coq au vin.
Pepper Tree
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Pepper Tree
Although Pepper Tree winery is sited in the Hunter Valley and founded as a Hunter Valley winery, the winemakers believe that grapes grown in other regions exhibited characters that should be explored

Over the years Pepper Tree have acquired vineyards in the Orange, Wrattonbully and Coonawarra growing areas to enable the winemaker production of varietal wines that either did not grow as well in the Hunter Valley, or are different expressions of a particular varietal that are of interest to connoisseurs of fine wines. The character and complexity reflected in the Appellation wines are an expression of diverse vineyard resources. A second is the balance and elegance in the Multi-Regional range of varietals. These are blends of a varietal wine made from grapes grown at two or more of vineyards that vary from year to year. All Pepper Tree wines are produced, aged and bottled at the winery.

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The Hunter Valley is one of Australia's best white wine areas and consistently wins a disproportionate number of awards in National Wine Shows. Pepper Tree's Hunter Valley vineyard is in the Mount View area of the Lower Hunter Valley in the sheltered foothills of the Brokenback Range and covers 38.5 ha of plantings made up of 16.5 ha Chardonnay, 2.5 ha Verdelho, 3.7 ha Semillon, 7.5 ha Shiraz, 1 ha Viognier, 1 ha Sauvignon blanc, 3 ha Merlot, 2.4 ha Cabernet, 0.5 ha Grenache and 0.5 ha Pinot Noir.

The Mount View area produces highly distinctive Chardonnay with flavours of melon, passionfruit and pineapple. Verdelho also performs well in the area with soft tropical fruit characters balanced by good natural acidity. Semillon has the usual lime-citrus characters with flavours being at the higher end for the variety. Shiraz from the area is typically soft, spicy and elegant with a perfumed bouquet.

The Orange region of New South Wales is one of Australia's newest premium regions being favoured for its high altitude cool climate. Situated approximately 270 km west of Sydney the topography and soils of the Orange region are dominated by the extinct volcano Mt Canobolas. Pepper Tree's Orange vineyard sits in a small subvalley protected on 3 sides with a sunny northerly aspect. Elevations vary from 740m to 800m and the site is capable of ripening all the main red varieties as well as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Cabernet, Merlot & Shiraz all produce wines with deep red colours and intense palate complexity.

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The wines from Pepper Tree's Orange vineyard typically have a lighter more elegant structure than those of warmer areas with light lifted fruit acids lengthening the palate. In addition to the main red varieties, small blocks of Pinot Noir (for sparkling base) & Zinfandel have been planted. Zinfandel produces rich spice and berry characters with crimson red colours. This variety seems well suited to the Orange region and the wines show great promise.

Coonawarra is Australia's top red wine area specialising in Cabernet Sauvignon of great complexity and elegance. Pepper Tree's Coonawarra vineyard comprises 8 ha of Cabernet and 4 ha of Merlot and is located midway between the town of Penola & Coonawarra. Soils consist of thin dark brown to dark grey clays interspersed with broken limestone fragments. The shallow soils restrict vigour and this, coupled with rigorous canopy management, allows the vignerons to control berry size and bunch numbers and thus eventual crop load. This control of crop level and berry size gives the winemakers the best possible starting material with which to create premium red wines.

Pepper Tree's Wrattonbully vineyard covers 100ha of plantings, mainly Cabernet (48 ha) Merlot (23 ha) and Shiraz (20 ha). Cabernet is planted on the highest dune areas where Terra Rossa soils overlie shallow limestone. Individual blocks are given separate canopy management, cropping structure and moisture control according to soil depth which can vary from a few centimetres to over 1 metre.

Flavour maps constructed for the vineyard have shown considerable variability for both Cabernet and Shiraz, and have allowed the winemakers to isolate individual sections of the vineyard to produce parcels of outstanding quality. Merlot is planted on heavier clay soils at the toe of the main dune as heavy clays have proved best for Merlot in its traditional homeland.

Pepper Tree