Crozes Hermitage legend Alain Graillot and his Australian importer Robert Walters have come together to produce a special Syrah from a single vineyard in Heathcote, Victoria (Australia).
In France, Alain Graillot has become famous for producing Syrah wines that have the perfume and finesse of Pinot Noir. Could he achieve the same in Australia?
When Alain’s importer Robert discussed with him a site he was working with, interest quickly spiralled and the Graillot Australia project was born. With an unconditional focus on quality, the second release continues the vision to create wines of intense fruit and site expression, which emphasize elegance, purity and precision.
In May 2004 Andrew Pattison sold his established Lancefield Winery to move 15 kms. north onto the Burke & Wills Track and into the slightly warmer Heathcote wine region. The new Burke & Wills Winery, on rich red volcanic soil, continues the Lancefield Winery tradition of quality boutique wine at affordable prices with the Burke & Wills, Dig Tree and Pattison labels.
The Chalmers Families vineyards are based on the rich rocky soils of Red Cambrian Earth in Heathcote along the Mount Camel Ridge, and their home-based vineyard and winery in Merbein on the red sand and limestone soils of the Murray. All wines are estate grown, made inhouse by the family with Bart Van Olphen, farmed sustainably with minimal additions and respect to the land. These days the number of varieties planted add up to more than 25, with the majority being alternative Italian varieties that were imported and introduced to Australia by the Chalmers family and push the envelope in hot dry climate viticulture.
Ellis Wines is a family owned business situated on the rich red Cambrian soil in Colbinabbin. This region continues to develop an incredible reputation for its wine production. With elegance and style we have harnessed the amazing regional abilities to produce our outstanding range of wines.
[This winery may no longer be operating.] Eppalock Ridge is a quality driven red wine brand, producing remarkable wines in Australia’s premier shiraz region, Heathcote.
After starting his winemaking apprenticeship at D’Arenburg Winery, Rod Hourigan worked vintages at Pirramimma and Coriole, gaining invaluable hands on experience.The first wines were produced under the Romany Rye label in the late 1970’s and 80’s. In 1988 the first Eppalock Ridge wines were released. These were made from grapes drawn from Heathcote and Bendigo districts, and won high praise.
Over time, Rod and Sue recognized the fruit from Colbinabbin on the 500 million year old Cambrian soils produced superior wine grapes, to their original vineyards in Redesdale. They progressively sourced more and more fruit from these northern vineyards.
From the beginning, Rod and Sue planned to pursue the ultra-premium path. Today, the Hourigan’s are reaping the rewards from their vision.
[This winery may no longer be operating.] Natala & Greg Flynn established Flynns Wines with a focus to make individual & premium wines. The wines reflect our vineyard, the vintage season and Heathcote regionality.
It all begins in the vineyard. Quality wine comes from exceptional fruit grown in the vineyard. Our vineyard produces low yielding quality fruit due to site selection, soil management, canopy management, hand pruning to specific bud counts and hand picking at vintage. Our winemaking is very traditional with old world methods employed. Small parcels of fruit are hand picked, de stemmed and fermented with natural fermentation. Hand plunged for extraction of colour and flavour and gentle basket pressing.Maturation in oak barriques which have been selected over a period of times to suit our individual wine styles.
Since the mid 1970's, the original vineyard now called Red Edge has been producing Shiraz and Cabernet wines which helped to forge the pedigree of Heathcote as an area of exceptional quality for full bodied yet elegant red wines. Peter Dredge took over the stewardship of those lovely old vines in 1994, and has built upon that reputation making his own mark with winemaking style, new varieties and unique blending.
[This winery may no longer be operating.] Rupert’s Ridge Estate Vineyard is a boutique winery in the picturesque winegrowing region of Heathcote, Victoria and was established John and Chris Gillies Williams in 2003.
Named after their longtime canine companion, Rupert’s Ridge is a 100 acres of heaven which sits atop the rolling hills at Redesdale. Approximately 100kms from Melbourne where you can walk out the door and see forever no houses, just peace and quiet.
That something special was rich undulating fields in the shadows of Mt Ida, Heathcote, Central Victoria. Tony and Linda Hunter’s vision was to create a family-run boutique vineyard where quality, passion and energy were reflected in the wine.
Embraced by children Mark and Jodi and their respective partners Melissa and Brett, Sanguine Estate expanded from 16 acres to 55 in just five years.
The family’s desire to produce great wine flows through every glass. Through natural winemaking techniques combined with small batch processing and hand plunging, the purity and integrity of the wine is enhanced.
This love for creating fine wine has its roots over 100 years ago. The Great Grandfather of Tony Hunter, Pietro D’orsa, left Italy in 1868 to make a new life in Australia, becoming a vigneron in the town of Maldon 100 km west of Heathcote.
Today, Mark continues this family tradition as Sanguine Estate’s full time vigneron and winemaker in conjunction with Jodi as General Manager, Melissa as Finance Manager and Brett as International Sales Manager. A true family affair!
Tellurian Wines vineyard is on the western slopes of Mt Camel Range, overlooking the township of Toolleen.
The original Tellurian vineyard was planted in 2003 with 5.6 ha of shiraz vines, with a further 3.6 ha of Shiraz were planted in 2006.
The BRIDGE Vineyard is a small wine-growing property five kilometers North of Heathcote township. Surrounded by millionaires and coveted by many more, the vineyard has begun to produce some of the most specific single vineyard wines in Australia today. The wines are sustainably and organically grown and made without modification.
The inspiration behind Vinea Marson stems from winemaker Mario Marson’s Italian winemaking heritage – stretching back some four generations. Mario’s grandfathers grew and made Friulano, Cabernet and Merlot and his great-grandfather, Giuseppe Zaghet, was chief winemaker for the local landowner, the padrone of Villa Brunetta at Prata di Pordenone, Friuli in the early twentieth century. This was transferred to suburban Melbourne where his migrant father, Giuseppe, planted rows of vines in their backyard to bring wine to the dinner table each night. Mario continued this tradition both as viticulturalist and winemaker for some twenty years in the Yarra Valley – mostly at Mount Mary Estate. In 2000, Mario and his wife Helen established an eight hectare vineyard in the foothills of the Mount Camel Range at Heathcote bringing the traditions of the old world to winemaking in the new. Today they are joined by one of their three daughters, Madeleine who is assistant winemaker, and has overseen recent developments at Vinea Marson, including a new Cellar Door and Tuscan garden.
There’s a Friulano saying that best encapsulates the viticultural and winemaking philosophy embraced at Vinea Marson – sans, onest e lavoradors – strong, honest and hardworking. Mario planted a range of imported and local Italian clones of Sangiovese, Nebbiolo & Barbera which he believed would thrive in the rich, volcanic Cambrian soils and Shiraz, the predominant variety of the region and Viognier were also planted.
This love of wine extends further afield, or closer to home depending on your view, as Mario sources indigenous northern Italian varieties Malvasia d’Istria, Friulano, Picolit and Pinot Bianco from fruit grown at Porepunkah in the Alpine Valleys of north-eastern Victoria. With its cool climate and soil minerality, this area is the perfect site for Mario to explore his north eastern Italian winemaking heritage.
Wanted Man vineyard sits on an elevated, north facing slope in Central Victoria’s Heathcote, a region relatively youthful in wine production, a wise elder in terms of viticulture and winemaking, with soil and rocks as ancient as Mother Nature herself.
Our carefully selected winemakers, some of Australia’s best, are committed to creating hand-made wines reflecting the unique terroir of Heathcote and an appreciation of the rich, spicy wines of the Rhone Valley.
Having grown parcels of shiraz, dolcetto, merlot, marsanne and viognier from 1992, and other European varietals subsequently, the vineyard approaches its third decade supported by a wealth of skill and experience refreshed by some exciting new grape varieties and innovative winemaking. With the inaugural harvest of roussanne and mataro in March 2013, and grenache in 2014, and the recent introduction of the regional Reward label wine, 2013 bristles with opportunity for new wines of elegance, interest and character.
We are a small family-run winery situated 8km west of Heathcote, alongside the Wild Duck Creek.
David (aka ‘Duck’) and Diana planted the first vines in 1979, naming the vineyard Alan’s Cabernet Vineyard, after Duck’s late father Alan. The Original Vineyard was planted in 1988 on land owned by Diana’s parents. Duck and Diana have three children – Liam, Ngaire and Bridie.
Traditional winemaking methods including hand-picking, open fermentation, hand-plunging, basket-pressing, and long-term barrel-ageing are fostered, as is the use biodynamic principles on our own vineyards. Duck remains adamant however, that it’s still the vineyard and site selection especially, that dictate great wines.
Second-generation winemaking has flourished for more than a decade through Liam, whose methodical yet innovative approaches merge fantastically with Duck’s eccentricity – a humorous and brilliant concoction!
Our passion is to produce extraordinary wines of balance and power that enrich and delight the senses.
