Awards and Accolades

91 Points - Mike Bennie, The Wine Front
"It’s not a Vat wine or a single vineyard wine, though the label states that it is ‘baby brother’ to Vat 9. No RRP on the bottle so a guess that this is $20-odd; hope so, that would be great value. Spends time in large format, older oak, gets made similarly to Vat and Single Vineyards but is a blend across vineyards. Nice wine this – feels like essence of Hunter Valley Shiraz. Medium bodied with savoury tannins drawling through the wine. Offers up red fruits, dustiness but not too much, and light, washy acidity keeps things fresh. It might lack some stuffing but it’s pitch-perfect as an example of Hunter and drinkability with savouriness. Crunch and chew in the finish lends a hand. Better than you think."

90 Points - James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion:
"A mix of hand and machine-picked fruit, fermented in open-top vats, matured in 2700l French casks. All the focus is on the variety and region, the role of the winemaker largely that of a quality control officer. Surely no-one could dislike this."

From the Winery:

The growing season was uninterrupted with dry conditions into the new year which resulted in smaller crop levels. The week before harvest we had rain followed by dry weather and wind. These are favourable weather conditions so all of the fruit was in pristine condition and picking took place 10 days earlier than 2012.

Sourced from a small selection of our favourite Shiraz blocks, the grapes were both hand and machine picked before fermentation in the traditional open top vats. The wine was then matured in older, large format French oak casks. These 2,700 litre casks highlight the fruit purity whilst making sure that oak isn’t the dominant character.