Tasting Notes

This vibrant Chardonnay exhibits lifted fruit character, bright tangerine fleshiness, textural mouthfeel, a bright palate and a long and foodie finish. The judicious blend of oaked Chardonnay adds palate weight and texture without overwhelming the fruit.

Production

Long-standing working relationships with some key growers enable us to source premium fruit, with the ultimate aim of making excellent quality Australian house wines with true style and character. Grapes are picked earlier than usual to ensure balance and freshness in the final wine. Harvesting took place in the early dawn hours when it’s still cool and calm which helps retain the rich characters within these grapes. Once in the cellar, they are gently crushed to maintain the bright, fresh flavours crucial to the clonal tang. Around 15% of the grapes are sourced from the cooler, sea breeze-influenced Langhorne Creek area. This portion is barrel-aged in French medium toast casks to obtain a more complex, textural and weighty style of wine. It is then added to the greater part of the blend which is fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel to retain the fresh fruit characters.

Alan's Personal Tasting Notes

"Soldiers block is a new (affordable) range to us – and the Chardonnay certainly under promises and over-delivers. I say underpromises as the label is pretty underwhelming and gives nothing away about the beauty of the wine within.

This is made from rich, ripe fruit from Victoria with a percentage matured in French oak which gives a creamy, more textural mouthful. Add to that incredible balance and juicy acidity and you have an overall great wine – a real crowd pleaser and one of our most popular whites which tells me our customers have great palates!" Jan 2022

Specifications

Warm, soft and lusciously lush this is juicy, crunchy and bright.

Tasting Notes

Black aromatic Malbec, with notes of black cherry fruit and flavours of summer pudding. Charming, soft, sumptuous but with a core grip and power that gives it length and the muscles for food.

Production

All the Malbec fruit comes from an estate in the Swan Hill region where there are 5 hectares of Malbec (approximately 12.5 acres which produces 90 tonnes of fruit per vintage). The Malbec are on their own roots and were planted in 2000. With the age of the vines and the harsh growing conditions, the Malbec vines are less vigorous which leads to a more intense colour and flavour. The vines are trained on a two wire vertical trellis, drip irrigation and minimum fertilisation. All the vines are machine harvested at night between mid to late March and grown on red sandy loam soil with limestone clay base. Climate is Mediterranean with summer temperatures between 30 and 40°C. Total vineyard area is 1250 acres. Once the grapes have been crushed pressed and sent to the fermenter, the winery then pumps over 4 times a day. Vinification takes place in stainless steel tanks at 25°C for three weeks. Malolactic fermentation takes place over 4 weeks. 50% of the blend is aged in French and American oak barriques for 3 months.

Specifications

 Soft supple Victorian Shiraz, dangerously moreish by the glass.

Tasting Notes

Bright, aromatic and juicy on the nose with just a touch of naughty bacon fat. True to the varietal, the tiny proportion of Malbec in this blend gives a flowery perfume. This vintage is our brightest, most dangerously drinkable Shiraz to date due to its fine, bright fruit and soft silky elegance.

Production

Our Shiraz is sourced from ancient Victorian soils in order to achieve a wine with greater finesse, purity and structure as well as typical eucalypt flavours and saline finish associated with the area. Picked at night and crushed within an hour of picking before being sent to the fermentation tanks. The Shiraz grapes were fermented in temperature-controlled tanks maintained at 22 - 25ºC to avoid extracting any harsh tannins, with the fermentations pumped over to extract good colour. 20% of the final blend is barrel aged. The winemaker also added 5% Malbec at the end of the whole process - a sneaky technique that gives a mulberry fruit twist on the finish.

Specifications

Vibrantly-labelled skinsy combo of Sauvignon Blanc and a blob of Pinot Grigio, this is hazy, natty fun but deliciously drinkable and clean.

Tasting Notes

A wonderfully perfumed orange wine, awash with jasmine, candied mandarin peel and sea spray. The palate transcends fruit and herbal components, with a lime cordial freshness, incorporating subtle spiced oak across a well textured tannin profile.

Producer

Brothers Brian and Kevyn Joy planted Pyren Vineyard in 1999, surrounded by state forest and farmland. Basking in the sunshine of the glorious Warrenmang valley in the Victorian Pyrenees the vineyard is now under the expert care of Brian’s son, winemaker Leighton Joy alongside viticulturist Graeme Miles. The vines, approaching 25 years in the ground, are producing better fruit than ever before, through a combination of maturity and evolving best practise in the vineyard and winery. The use of organic farming methods (though uncertified) and minimal intervention winemaking techniques underscores their dedication to preserving the natural integrity of the wines. The surrounding mountains play their part and Pyren is planted in an east-west orientation, providing invaluable shade to both fruit and the ground in the warmest part of the day. In winemaking terms, there is a staunch commitment to spontaneous, wild yeast fermentation. Subsequently, pressed wines are encouraged to talk, to generate character, and to evolve in the cellar.

According to Leighton “The intention is to meld the expression of high-quality fruit with integrity and artistic freedom, and the endeavour to fine tune the best style for the fruit is a continuous one”. This philosophy has led to the creation of several unique wine ranges The Earthscape range seeks to express single grape varieties grown on quartz soils, in terroir-driven ways, while their “Little Ra Ra” wines have allowed Leighton to develop a more playful expressions of the Pyrenees. They also produce a Reserve, of their best fruit, traditionally crafted, and designed for aging. All in all Pyren are an ideal blend of innovative spirit and traditional reverence.

Production

Estate grown Sauvignon Blanc, farmed organically and hand harvested. 100% whole bunch carbonic fermentation is undertaken for a duration of 13 to 16 days, after which the wine is transferred to 500L French oak and Acacia barrels and left on lees or 3-4 months.

Sustainability

Composting and under vine mulch underpin an organic approach in the vineyard, where synthetic fertiliser and herbicide has long been abandoned. Although not certified organic yet the vines are organically farmed. The focus at Pyren is on soil health and biological diversity. Water use is managed thoughtfully as the property relies on its own catchment.

Specifications