Tasting Notes

Colour

It is bright, red/amber in colour with a light young sweet raisin nose. 

Palate

The palate shows nutty raisin apricot flavours, very full and sweet but not cloying. The finish is lingering – very smooth and liqueur-like!

Vinification

This fortified wine is made in the same way that tawny port is made. It is a blend of different vintages all made from fruit growing on Skillogalee vineyards.  These separate wines are fermented and fortified and left to age in oak puncheons (500L).  The current blend is made from 1992 and 1993 vintages predominantly, with a little older material to contribute some aged, rancio character and some younger wine to give freshness and lift.

Around 2000 litres are made each year depending on the vintage.

Winery

A family-owned and operated winery located in the heart of the Clare Valley in South Australia, Skillogalee is known for the exceptional quality of their red and white wines and is widely recognised as one of the region’s top estates. They also lead the way in responsible farming, having practised sustainable methodologies in the vineyard and the winery for many years. The original Skillogalee vineyards were planted in the early 1970’s on stony soils and steep, eastern-facing slopes at almost 500 metres above sea level.

The first wines were released in 1976 and quickly gained acclaim: the 1978 Dry Riesling won major trophies at the Adelaide Wine Show and the National Wine Show, putting Skillogalee firmly on the Australian winemaking map. Aware of the exceptional quality of the vineyards and their potential to produce world-class wines, current owners David and Diana Palmer acquired the property in 1989. In 2002 they purchased next-door neighbour Waninga Vineyards, with 30 hectares of 30-year-old vines, bringing the size of the estate to 60 hectares.

While production increased, the Palmers have taken great care to maintain the quality and characteristic style of the wines. Deciding to avoid the bureaucracy of organic or biodynamic certification does not stop a producer from holding soil health and sustainability as a top priority, and this is the case at Skillogalee. Every effort is taken to ensure the best quality grapes are harvested each year, the vines are hand-pruned, and the fruit is mainly hand-picked, with yields kept extremely low. All wines are produced exclusively from estate-owned vineyards.

Specifications

De Bortoli has an extensive collection of aged wine stocks maturing in barrel. Old Boys has been selected from the finest barrels of this aged Tawny and blended to an average age of 21 Years. This Tawny is a luscious wine with complex nut and wood aged flavours making it the perfect accompaniment for fine coffee, rich cheeses or dark chocolate.

HIghly awarded and certified 21 years old.

Tasting Notes

Colour

Classic tawny colour with streaks of amber.

Nose

An array of aromas are on display with dark raisined fruits, mocha, hints of vanillin oak and nutty aged barrel characters.

Palate

Initially luscious, nuances of mocha and coffee have integrated over time, barrel-aged flavours in harmony resulting in a smooth, lingering drying finish.

Winemaking

Producer

The De Bortoli family story is one of determination and triumph that started 90 years ago in war-torn Europe and is now told, generations later, across Australia.

Their heritage encompasses the universal story of immigrants making good in an adopted land, the rise and rise of the Australian wine industry and the tale of a hardworking and innovative family who considers good wine, good food and good friends to be among the true pleasures in life.

Reviews

"Fine aromas brimming with the aged complexity of a mediaeval souk: mahogany, date, walnut, cedar, tamarind, sandalwood and bitter orange. A volatile rancio riff services lift and freshness. This is a compelling wine on many levels. I wish the acidity was not so shrill, but there is plenty of nourishing warmth to placate it." 94 points. Ned Goodwin MW, Halliday Wine Companion 2023, Aug 2022

"Full rancio bouquet with aged, honeyed nuances. Ageing brandy complexity to the dry palate showing nice sweetness and soft spiciness." 97 Points. Winestate Magazine, Aug 2021

"Gold and brown tawny. Dense, rich and complex. The concentration and luscious texture from age evident in the liquored fruit, flavours, dried fig and nutty rancio oak characters. More physical than finessed in style." 95 Points. David Bicknell, Halliday Wine Companion 2020, Aug 2019

"A complex, nicely ageing, drier style with an elegance of lingering dried fruit characters and nutty rancio layered with chocolate/coffee-like elements and finishing quite dry." 5 Stars. Winestate Magazine, Aug 2019

"A very rich and luscious release: toffee, coffee grounds, chocolate, Christmas cake, spirit no issue. The extra age has brought an element of finesse with it." Rating: 95 James Halliday, Wine Companion 2019, Aug 2018

"Tawny or tawny port as it used to be called, is Australia's most popular fortified wine style, and De Bortoli's Old Boys Tawny is a classic. It has an average age of 21 years, which is achieved by drawing on the family's extensive collection of old wines. It is matured in oak casks, deriving vanillin oak and nutty aged barrel characters on the nose and palate." Hannah Sparks and Nick Blair, Drinks Trade, Aug 2017

"Deep, reddish tawny. Nutty, caramelised figs and raisins. Terrific piercing intensity and freshness and an intensely sweet wine. Much more grapey than a port but equal in complexity. Bitter toffee aftertaste and amazing length." Julia Harding MW, Dec 2016

"Utterly superb and moreish port-a-like from Australia" Jonathan Ray, The Field (UK), Jan 2016

Specifications

Vanilla ice cream will never be the same again!

Tasting Notes

Colour

Ebony in colour with iodine highlights.  

Nose

The aromas are reminiscent of figs, raisins and dates.

Palate

Enormously sweet, velvety and soft on the palate, well balanced, with a very long finish.

Producers

During the early years, Bodegas Lustau operated as an ‘Almacenista'. The Lustau family began bottling their own sherries and exporting by 1950. In the 1980s they expanded their range and introduced the Almacenista range concept of buying and maturing casks from small bodegas to share excellent quality names and styles with enthusiasts around the world.

In 1990 the winery was bought by the family-owned Louis Caballero group. Bodegas Lustau is considered a world-class benchmark for top-quality wines. Lustau produces all styles of sherry, from Manzanilla through to Pedro Ximénez, as well as special bottlings, single cask, VOS and VORS sherries. The En Rama range, produced from select barrels from each of the three towns, is a highly anticipated release each spring.

Lustau has, over the years, won multiple medals and trophies, including ‘Best Spanish Winery' and ‘Best Sherry Producer' at the IWSC and the Len Evans Trophy for consistency (won in 2011 and 2016) at the IWC. Current cellar master Sergio Martínez took charge of the winery's oenological team in 2016, after more than 14 years' worth of experience with Lustau. Sergio has been awarded the ‘Best Fortified Winemaker' Trophy by the International Wine Challenge three years in a row, following in the footsteps of the late Manuel Lozano who had won this award seven times. In 2022, Lustau celebrated its 125th birthday with a special release of three sherries in their Anniversary Collection, including a Manzanilla Pasada Papirusa, Amontillado Solera del Castillo, and a Vintage Sherry Añada 1996.

Production

Pedro Ximénez grapes are laid out in the sun after picking until they are practically raisins. After that, the fermentation starts slowly and its halted to maintain all the natural sugars.

The resulting wine ages for 12 years in contact with the air in Jerez de la Frontera. 

This Manzanilla Pasada of Sanlúcar is aged for 7 years in a solera of 80 barrels and the butts used for this are over 80 years old!

Tasting Notes 

Pale straw in colour, this Pastured Chamomile is deliciously aromatic, with almond and aniseed hints and the characteristic nuance of the sea breeze. Dry, fresh and light, still with the essence and body of a Chamomile and with a refreshing acidity. 

Producers

• 2019 IWSC Silver Award Winner

Specifications

This 10 year old is a classic Tawny with the typical appealing aromas and flavours of wood-aged Ports, particularly nuts and caramel.

Tasting Notes

Colour

Lovely tawny colour with golden hues.

Nose

Complex aromas of ripe red fruits, damson jam, raisins and toasted nuts.

Palate

Smooth and rounded on the palate, with notes of caramel balanced by fresh acidity to give great length. A very well balanced, elegant and harmonious port wine.

Production

Made from selected red ports produced from the best vineyards of the Douro Valley, and varieties including: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cão and Tinta Roriz. Aged in small oak casks, typically of around 630 litres. As the wine ages it gradually loses the ruby red colour of its youth, becoming tawny in colour, more smooth and mellow on the palate, and aromas gaining richness and complexity.

Producers

Wiese & Krohn was founded in 1865 by two Norwegians - Theodor Wiese and Dankert Krohn - shipping initially to Scandinavia and Germany. In the century and a half since its foundation, Krohn has built up an outstanding reputation. Long renowned for the quality of their sublime Colheitas (single vintage tawnies), they produce a remarkably complete range for a small house, and each wine excels in its category. Much of the secret lies in the high quality of their vineyards - the magical combination of terroir, locality, aspect, incline and low-yielding vines. Their Quinta do Retiro Novo estate in Sarzedinho, in the Rio Torto valley (where vinification takes place), is all A grade vineyard. Indeed Krohn only work with grapes from A-graded vineyards across all of their ports, and their top wines are still trodden by foot. Since 2013 Krohn has been part of the Fladgate Partnership - alongside Taylor's, Fonseca and Croft.

Reviews

• Wine Enthusiast Magazine
  “Elegant and balanced, with a good acidity. Fresh and delicious, exactly as it should be a 10 year old.”

Specifications

Tasting Notes

Accolades

• Chardonnay BA 2016
  • IWC London: Bronze medal (86 Points)
  Chardonnay BA 2015
  • IWC London: Silver medal (92 Points)
  Chardonnay BA 2010
  • IWC London: Gold medal (95 Points)

Specifications

This exclusive solera of Amontillado consists of 38 casks. It is aged for an average period of 18 years, in the cellars of the Castle of San Marcos in the coastal town of El Puerto de Santa María. 

Tasting Notes 

Colour

Beautiful bright amber colour with coppery reflections.

Nose

This wine shows aromas of hazelnut praline and candied orange zest with nuances of furniture polish and smoked wood in the background.

Palate

Dry, pungent and flavoursome, with refreshing acidity. Enormously nutty with a delicious salty spiced touch and an extremely long aftertaste.

Producers

Specifications

A complex, rewarding dry style of sherry with an old gold colour.

Tasting Notes 

Palo Cortado is one of the lesser-known sherry styles and its characters lies somewhere between Amontillado and Oloroso. This is from Lustau's Almacenista range and made at Cayetano del Pino. Finishing with a prodigious length it's a complex and rewarding sherry.

Nose

Dark amber in colour with leather and tobacco aromas.

Palate

Dry and concentrated on the palate there is a multifaceted range of coffee, spice and dark chocolate flavours.

Producers

Specifications

Alta No. 10 is an elegant, luscious, complex Tawny Port,

Tasting Notes

Colour

Tawny

Nose

Very complex aroma, showing lots of dried fruits, toffee, caramel and cask notes 
 
Palate

Luscious, complex tawny with a velvety texture and a refreshing finish 

Production

he grapes are handpicked, hand sorted and destemmed into granite lagars, where 
they are foot-stomped for up to four hours. The must is then fermented by wild yeasts 
at temperatures ranging from 20-25°C, and spirit is then added at the appropriate time 
to stop fermentation. At the end of the maceration the ferments are drained, 
pressed, and transferred to old port  casks to undergo maturation, before eventual blending and bottling. As with all ports, blending is the key and we use a variety of aged parcels, with different levels of sweetness and acidity including a small proportion of some really old barrels (at least 40 years old). The aim is to deliver an elegant, complex Ten-Year-Old Tawny style where the sweetness takes a back seat and the Pedra Alta acidity provides the focus. This is the first Ten-Year-Old produced on the estate and is a fitting tribute to the positive impact João has had on the estate since he started in 2009.  

Tasting Notes

Wine

Specifications

Tasting Notes 

This wine is 100% Semillon, and has the tell-tale notes of honey, dried apricots, butterscotch and ripe mango. Make sure to serve it well chilled.

Vineyards

Vine age: 19 years.
Density: 2,800 vines per hectare.
Normal vineyard yield: 8-9 tons per hectare.
Soils are well-drained compromised lightly structured Clovelly and Avalon.
Vines are planted 1.4 m apart to avoid density as Semillon can be vigorous in growth. Intensive leaf and shoot management in October allow for even ripeness and provided shade to achieve maximum fruit concentration.

Vinification

An intensive, 4-stage, harvest selection in which only noble rot berries were selected containing sugar of between 34 and 36°B. Prior to pressing the berries went through another selection process to ensure that only 100% noble rot berries were pressed. Pressing occurred over a three-day period with a minimal 95 Litres per ton of Semillon recovered. Juice was settled and racked to small 225 Litre selected French oak barrels. No yeast inoculation occurred and the juice fermented naturally down to 150 grams residual sugar per litre. The wine has spent 28 months in barrel before stabilisation and bottling.

Winemaker Comments

"This wine has developed into a well-integrated sweet wine with enticing nutty and honey flavours. We are proud to release this wine with delicate similarities to the revered French Sauternes which was one of our main objectives. Enjoy now or age for 10 to 15 years to develop further complexity."

Accolades

Specifications

Delightful dessert wine from one of Sepp Moser's best single vineyards.

Tasting Notes

Aromas of honey and stone fruit. The palate is opulent with exotic fruit characters balanced by fresh, bright acidity and a lengthy finish.

Make no mistake, we are in world class territory. Robert Parker compared the sweet wines of Tirecul as the most notable sweet wines from anywhere in the world.

Tasting Notes

Intense richness and bright acidity. Driven by orange peel marmalade and saffron aromatics.

Production

No one’s really sure why concentration comes from older vines, but here it is in evidence. 175g/l

Producer

Robert Parker compared the sweet wines of Tirecul as the most notable sweet wines from anywhere in the world. A lot is written about terroir, soil and microclimates. You often question how much of it is true, how do people know exactly why the wines work out the way they do? At Tirecul however, you can really see it in front of you. There aren’t many estates where you can see all the vineyard in one block. At the bottom of the hill it is too open, and the top of the hill it is too windy. It’s only in two little pockets that the fog sits to create the conditions for some truly phenomenal botrytis wines. It’s a bit of a Goldilocks site, all the quirks of nature are ‘just right’ (I haven’t tried any Tirecul in my porridge, but I am going to now).

90% of the 9ha vineyard is planted with an even split between Semillon and Muscadelle, the latter is a fascinating variety, often in the background but it can be the real star of the show. The balance is Sauvignon Blanc and the recently allowed Chenin. The exact blend of the sweet wines is unknown because the grapes are picked when they are showing the best elements of botrytis and fermented together. Bruno Bilancini has run the estate since the early 1990s, in the last few years has also produced very good dry white and red which are showing real promise.

Sustainability

Bruno Bilancini took over the estate in 1992, and has treated the environment with utmost respect since then. It was in 2009 that Chateau Tirecul started to convert to organics, with all wines beyond 2012 being certified as well as vegan.

Specifications