Western Australia
Domaine Naturaliste – Margaret River, WA
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Before I tell you that Bruce Dukes’ career has spanned over three decades, and that he’s had years of experience both locally and abroad, it’s likely a good idea to start at the finish: Bruce Dukes is wholly talented, and while he makes high-quality acclaimed wines for his own estate – Domaine Naturaliste – he also does this for a raft of other, smaller producers in Margaret River and Geographe. His winemaking style is one of fresh, pure fruit over obvious or intrusive winemaking artifact, and the wines routinely possess a polish and eminent drinkability. Bruce holds both a degree in agronomy from the University of WA and a master's degree in viticulture and agronomy from the University of California (Davis) and has been in Margaret River since 2000. Exports to the UK, the US and Canada – Erin Larkin
5 ★ winery | domainenaturaliste.com.au | Halliday profile
Victoria
Fowles Wine – Strathbogie Ranges, VIC
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Fowles Wine is the chief flagbearer of the Strathbogie Ranges region. It’s a family-owned winery led by Matt Fowles, its vineyards centred around riesling, chardonnay, shiraz and cabernet sauvignon but with a growing emphasis on pinot noir, sangiovese, arneis, vermentino, sauvignon blanc, mourvèdre, merlot and pinot gris. A great deal of investment has gone into the entire operation over the past decade or more, including the construction of a beautiful new cellar door and restaurant. But at heart, this remains a ground-up operation, soil to table, farm to bottle. – Campbell Mattinson.
5 ★ winery | fowleswine.com | Halliday profile
Mitchelton – Nagambie Lakes, VIC
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Located in the heart of Central Victoria, you will find Mitchelton Wines. Part of central Victoria’s landscape since the 1970s, the sprawling estate is recognised by the iconic Ashton Tower, acting as a beacon to locals and visitors alike. Now home to a luxurious hotel, signature restaurant, cafe, art gallery, day spa and cellar door, Mitchelton celebrates the very best regional Victoria has to offer. Wine quality has remained consistent over the years, particularly of the top-tier shiraz. Led by Chief Winemaker Natalie Cleghorn, Mitchelton has estate vineyards in Nagambie and Heathcote, and also purchases fruit from growers across Victoria.
5 ★ winery | mitchelton.com.au | Halliday profile
Turners Crossing Vineyard – Bendigo, VIC
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Nestled along the banks of the Loddon River, Turners Crossing Vineyard rests among a pristine landscape in the heart of Victorian gold country. Turners Crossing has continued to produce wines of outstanding quality since its first harvest. The Bendigo region's gold bearing soils have consistently proved ideally suited to viticulture. Spread across 42ha, its alluvial composition and Mediterranean climate make it a happy home for warm-climate varieties in particular. The vineyard is virtually pesticide and chemical free and has recently been certified sustainable. Proudly family owned, the Turners Crossing range includes: shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, rosé, viognier and the rare Italian variety, picolit.
4 ★ winery | turnerscrossing.com.au | Halliday profile
Wine x Sam – Central Victoria Zone, VIC
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The Plunkett family helped pioneer grape growing in the Strathbogie Ranges, planting the first vines there in 1968. In the mid-noughties, Plunkett Wines went into partnership with the Fowles family and many wine awards and accolades followed. That business arrangement dissolved in ’11 and Sam Plunkett and his wife, Bronwyn Dunwoodie, began exploring new opportunities including an opening to make wine at Elgo Estate. Online wine retailer, Naked Wines, placed its first order and Wine x Sam took off. These days you will find Sam and Bron in the heart of Seymour at their spacious cellar door and winery. The couple source fruit from 20ha of family vineyards and also work closely with growers in Heathcote (Tait Hamilton) Strathbogie Ranges (Booroola) and Central Victoria (Gentle Annie). Exports to the UK and the US. – Jeni Port.
South Australia
1847 Wines – Barossa Valley, SA
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1847 Wines is named in recognition of the year when Barossa pioneer Johann Gramp planted his first vines in the region. The 1847 Winery is a 100t winery that was built in 2014, which handles the super-premium production of 1847 Wines. In 2014, 1847 Wines purchased Château Yaldara providing a cellar door and promotional outlet and enabling an increase in production facilities that was required due to strong growth. Today, they concentrate on premium Barossa vineyards and selected Adelaide Hills vineyards for sparkling production. Exports to the US, Canada, Germany, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and China.
4 ★ winery | 1847wines.com | Halliday profile
Angove Family – McLaren Vale, SA
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Founded in 1886, Angove Family Winemakers is one of Australia’s most successful wine businesses, a 5th-generation family company with a tradition of excellence and an eye for the future. Angove includes The Medhyk, Warboys Vineyard, Family Crest, Organics and Wild Olive Organic brands. The McLaren Vale cellar door is nestled in the family’s certified organic and biodynamic Warboys vineyard on Chalk Hill Road, and the Renmark cellar door on Bookmark Avenue. In early ’19, Angove acquired Primo Estate's 12.7ha Angel Gully vineyard and renamed the site Angels Rise, the first single vineyard Shiraz from this unique site is set to be released later this year. Angove is committed to remaining privately owned. – James Halliday.
5 ★ winery | angove.com.au | Halliday profile
Chateau Yaldara – Barossa Valley, SA
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Tucked away in the southern region of the Barossa, Lyndoch is home to the impressive estate of Chateau Yaldara. The estate dates back to the 1850s, beginning as a flour mill, turned flax mill until the mid-1880s. The building and surrounding land were plunged into disrepair until Hermann Thumm, a German immigrant, purchased the estate in 1946, beginning his winemaking under the Yaldara brand in 1947. 20 years on, in 1967, he completed the build of the infamous grand chateau, which today is used as the cellar door. This historic estate focuses on a range of wines, including traditional classics and fortifieds, to ensure there is a wine for all who visit.
chateauyaldara.com.au | Halliday profile
Clarendon Hills – McLaren Vale, SA
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Clarendon Hills is a vineyard and varietal expressionist striving for purity and perfection. The story began when Roman Bratasiuk purchased a 160ha property high in the hill country of Clarendon at an altitude close to that of the Adelaide Hills. Here he established a vineyard with single-stake trellising similar to that used on the steep slopes of Germany and Austria; it produces the Domaine Clarendon Syrah. He makes up to 20 different wines each year, all consistently very good, a tribute to the old vines. Sons Adam and Alex have joined their father in the business – Adam in the winery and Alex managing the future direction of Clarendon Hills.
5 ★ winery | clarendonhills.com.au | Halliday profile
Claymore Wines – Clare Valley, SA
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Claymore Wines, situated in the beautiful Clare Valley in South Australia, began in 1997 with small volumes of grenache and riesling. The winery has now grown to over 35,000 cases per year across a highly awarded range of 15 wines. Gentle, intuitive winemaking by their winemaker Rebekah Richardson result in wines of elegance and structure, but when it comes to enjoying a glass they don't take themselves too seriously. The songs, albums and artists that have inspired many of their labels are those that resonate beyond their time, across generations and have become something of modern classics. So turn up the volume, crack open a bottle and enjoy with friends.
4.5 ★ winery | claymorewines.com.au | Halliday profile
Dandelion Vineyards – Various, SA
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Elena Brooks crafts full-bodied wines across South Australia’s premium regions: Adelaide Hills, Eden Valley, McLaren Vale, Barossa Valley and the Fleurieu Peninsula. She endeavours to draw upon vineyards untempered by over-management, as much as she strives for a softer impact in the winery. As a result, Dandelion Vineyards wines are increasingly bright, transparent and stamped by a more sensitive oak regime. Grenache, a strong suit. Exports to all major markets. – Ned Goodwin MW
5 ★ winery | dandelionvineyards.com.au | Halliday profile
Heirloom Vineyards – Various, SA
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Another venture for winemaker Elena Brooks and her husband Zar. They met during the 2000 vintage and one thing led to another, as they say. Dandelion Vineyards and Zonte’s Footstep came along first, and continue, but other partners are involved in those ventures. The lofty aims of Heirloom are ‘to preserve the best of tradition, the unique old vineyards of SA, and to champion the best clones of each variety, embracing organic and biodynamic farming’. The quality of the wines has been consistently very good. Exports to all major markets. – James Halliday.
5 ★ winery | heirloomvineyards.com.au | Halliday profile
Pine Drive Vineyards – Barossa Valley, SA
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Pine Drive Vineyards is a wine label established by Matthew Grayson and Bernadette Stewart, a Queenslander and a Canadian, who met in Qatar and whose mutual love of wine saw them relocate to the Barossa Valley, purchasing a property in between the northern subregions of Moppa and Ebenezer. Their 9.5ha of shiraz vines, some planted in 1964, lie on the famous rolling Moppa sand dunes that Max Schubert was fond of when he crafted the early vintages of Grange Hermitage. This is a young winery, with several shiraz vintages to date which are impressive wines and a local Grenache which has recently been released. One to watch. – Dave Brookes.
4.5 ★ winery | pinedrivevineyards.com | Halliday profile
Sister's Run – Various, SA
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Sister’s Run is serious fun. Its talented young winemaker, Elena, wears steel-cap work boots every day, but carries a pair of high heels in back of the ute. The stiletto and boot are Sister’s Run: an independently owned and operated winery with a fierce commitment to making the best wines they can from family vineyards. As they say: “We don’t take ourselves as seriously as we take our wines. The best wine is the wine you like.”
4 ★ winery | sistersrun.com.au | Halliday profile
St Hugo – Barossa Valley, SA
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St Hugo is a story of legacy and reinvention; the team honour the traditions of winemaking legend Hugo Gramp, grandson of pioneering vigneron Johann Gramp and founder of Gramp & Sons winery in 1847. St Hugo is synonymous with exceptional quality; they have built a legacy crafting fine wines from two of Australia's critically acclaimed winemaking regions: the Barossa and Coonawarra. Both of these individually unique sites have earned reputations for producing some of the world's finest wines and they are renowned for consistently crafting wines of power and elegance.
5 ★ winery | sthugo.com | Halliday profile
Yangarra Estate Vineyard – McLaren Vale, SA
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Yangarra Estate is an organic and biodynamic vineyard in Blewitt Springs, at the northern edge of McLaren Vale. Yangarra's combination of ancient geology, high altitude and Mediterranean climate provide the ideal growing conditions for the best grape varieties of the southern Rhône. Led by grenache and shiraz, the vineyard is planted with grenache blanc, roussanne, piquepoul blanc and noir, grenache gris, clairette, bourboulenc, muscardin, cinsaut, carignan and counoise. Since 2000, Peter Fraser and Michael Lane have been the driving force behind Yangarra, producing wines through innovative, sustainable practices that reflect an authentic sense of place. Peter was named Halliday Wine Companions Winemaker of the Year in 2016.
5 ★ winery | yangarra.com | Halliday profile