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Customer Reviews
I have been looking to join a wine club and I am finally glad I found this one. Every single wine was exceptional and even turned me on to chardonnays.
I was truly unable to pick a favorite wine, but I have to say the sparkling Riesling from Moorilla in Tasmania was pretty amazing- and a little different than what I am used to. Every single wine was delicious. I can’t wait for my next shipment. In addition, I found that this is a great value.
As a recovering sommelier with 40+ years in the wine business, I was very pleased with the seasonal six pack. Each wine represented an interesting aspect of the great wines of Australia, and each wine was also, well, legend. Sadly, Australian wines are still somewhat underappreciated, but Jane and Jon will change that. They represent stunning, artisan (I hate that word), individualistic, and brilliant wineries. The level of quality in the wines was stunning. It is pure pleasure to open each bottle and realize once again that Australia is producing not just interesting wines, but wines that rival the best wines from anywhere on the planet. I'm looking at you, California! I gush, but it's true. Can't wait for the next six.
As an Aussie living in the US access to a variety of great Australian wine is something I miss! My husband and I have enjoyed sampling some familiar labels and some new ones too. Our palates are rejoicing!
Can’t wait to enjoy all of these wines. What an easy way to include Australian wine in my entertaining. It makes every dining experience special and friends are excited to try something new.
About this Wine
Swan Valley is one of the most exciting regions in Australia right now, combining ancient vines with modern energy. It is Western Australia’s oldest wine region, and one of the oldest in all of Australia, first planted in 1829. The region has had a long time to figure out the grapes that work in its warm climate – so climate-appropriate, old-vine plantings are plentiful – but historically wines were often made in a ripe and robust, commercially-oriented, old-school way. ‘[I have] seen a lot of grapes from around the region not reaching their full potential,’ says Vino Volta owner and winemaker Garth Cliff. ‘I have always wanted to focus in on these vineyards, work with the growers and play around with the winemaking to make an array of expressive wines that speak about where they are from.’
Though it’s a young winery, Vino Volta has already made waves in the wine industry, garnering praise from the new wave and traditionalists alike. The focus here is old-vine grenache and chenin blanc, the latter being a grape that, though originally from a cool-climate region, retains its acidity and develops dynamic flavors in warm climates as well. ‘Nothing Wrong with Old Skool’ pays tribute to ‘old-school’ Australian white-winemaking: early picked grapes, stainless steel aging, and an overall lean style. Cliff deviates from tradition in his adoption of native-yeast fermentation and lack of fining and filtration. The quality of the fruit here is also paramount: from a single vineyard in Gingin, in northern Swan. 50 year-old vines, east-west row orientation on a south-facing slope, at around 90 meters altitude on sand and loam.
Though this wine may fool you into thinking it's a zippy, easy, patio-pounder sort of style--look deeper. Let this wine warm up a touch in the glass (or maybe even toss it in a decanter), to really experience the vibrancy and complexity. 94 points from Robert Parker attests to the fact that this wine isn’t only fresh and pleasing, it’s a serious specimen.
Food Pairings
This wine craves an acid-forward pairing: think a lemony fish preparation, a salad with a tangy vinaigrette, or lime-squeezed-over fish tacos.
Tech Notes
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About this Wine
It’s not an overstatement to say that Ngeringa (nerr-ING-gah) is one of the most important vineyards in Australia. Husband and wife Erinn and Janet Klein met at Adelaide University, both pursuing studies in wine (Erinn in oenology and Janet in viticulture). They purchased their biodynamic farm on Mount Barker in southern Adelaide Hills in 2001, the year in which they planted the first vines on the site. The farm, previously part of the world-renowned Jurlique herb garden, has been certified biodynamic by the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia for over twenty years. Erinn and Janet turned it into the first certified biodynamic vineyard in the Adelaide Hills, and proved to their neighbors that regenerative agriculture was possible anywhere. The farm today is a bucolic paradise of Scottish Highland cows, sheep and chickens, an abundant paddock of veggies and extensive revegetation plantings.
The name Ngeringa means “place of she-oak” in the Aboriginal language of the original nation of their region (the Peramangk), and refers to their native needle tree. Ngeringa bases all its branding and imagery on its relationship to the land: the logo makes the shape of Mount Barker summit and their icon is a circle representing the full moon, making reference to the biodynamic practice and the working with the rhythms of nature, with the she-oak inside of it.
The wines themselves are a pure lens into what is happening in the vineyard: minimal intervention, spontaneous fermentations, no additives (besides a small amount of sulfur), and gentle handling create wines of vitality, depth of flavor, and delicacy. Like most wineries that spend all their time in the vineyard: they take the utmost care to preserve the quality of the grapes in the cellar, neither intervening too much, nor intervening too little. Chewy yet bright, saline yet juicy, long yet moorish (the Aussie descriptor to connote something you, well, want more of)--this wine is a pure expression of pristine fruit.
Food Pairings
This wine gets our culinary juices flowing…think: roast chicken with butter-poached morels, seared scallops with beurre blanc, hazelnut-crusted halibut.
Tech Notes
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About this Wine
It’s springtime, so rosé is in the air. Let’s be honest: some rosé is insipid. Lifeless plonk that is often an afterthought to (and byproduct of) red wine production. But when rosé is good, it can be some of the best wine on the planet, combining the appealing aspects of both red and white wine. Fresh, chillable, and soft-tannined, but with red fruits and a slight grip that adds versatility and seriousness.
And when the winery is doing good, as well as making good wine, it’s all the better. It’s hard to imagine a winery more committed to environmentalism and social impact than Minimum. That’s not to discount the quality of their wines, which manage to be fresh, alive, complex, and drinkable, all at the same time. But it is the impact commitment and sustainability manifesto that are setting a new standard for best practices in Australia.
Matt Purbrick grew up with wine: his family owns Tahbilk, one of Australia’s most historic wineries. Though he explored other pursuits, he eventually returned to the vine, finding his reentrance point through organic farming. Matt and his wife took over what is now their estate vineyard in 2017, and immediately set about converting it to organics and regenerative farming techniques. He observes that “in an incredibly short period of time we are seeing measurable increases in soil life and massive increases in natural resistance to pests and disease.”
The vineyard was certified organic by ACO (Australian Certified Organic) in 2020. Minimum has also become a certified B-Corp, which holistically measures a business’s social and environmental impact through a rigorous certification process. But they haven’t stopped there: Minimum has committed to always contribute at least 5% of revenue to positive social and environmental impact, including 1% to paying the rent (giving money back to Indigenous custodians) and 1% to the planet – they’ve planted 10,000 trees so far among other environmental dedications.
Doing good in the world is not independent from making good wine. In fact, as their dedication to their land and to the world increases, so does the quality of the wine. “Every year the flavors are getting more layered and nuanced, says Matt. “Joyful, herbal, floral subtleties that didn’t manifest in the early years. Trusting in the natural processes and just allowing things to be, has revealed a whole new landscape of depth in the wines year on year.”
Food Pairings
Good rosé goes with almost anything. Want to pair it with the lightest, lemon-marinated shrimp salad. Go for it. Feeling like steak and rosé? Yes please. Rosé is also one of our favorite charcuterie plate pairings, going with everything from briny cornichons to salty prosciutto.
Tech Notes
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About this Wine
Good, affordable pinot noir can be hard to find. It’s a fininky grape that requires low yields, careful winemaking, and - often - expensive new oak. So when you package the know-how of two wine industry veterans who are determined to make a side-label that is accessible to all, you get one of the best-for-the-money pinot noirs we’ve ever tasted.
Silent Way is a plot of land 550 meters above sea level in the icy-cool Macedon Ranges region of Victoria, purchased in 2007 by Matt Harrop and Tamara Grischy with their three children, Jai, Ivy and Sofia. Matt and Tamara have established themselves as wine royalty in Australia. Tamara is the Head of Auctions at Langton’s, Australia’s most prestigious fine wine marketplace. Matt, a New Zealand native, studied winemaking at Roseworthy College, Australia’s first and most notable viticulture school. He cut his teeth at Grosset and Brokenwood, two of Australia’s most renowned wineries, before finding his affinity for the Macedon Ranges as the founding winemaker at Shadowfax, where he worked for nearly 20 years.
In all their free time (sarcasm!), this husband and wife team have nurtured their own vines to produce the wines of Silent Way, as well as working with the renowned Quarry Ridge Vineyard in Kilmore (just outside the boundaries of Macedon Ranges). All fruit is hand harvested and sorted. In 2021, they destemmed but didn’t crush the fruit, aiming for a high percentage of whole berries to amplify fragrance. After natural fermentation and extended maceration, the new wine was transferred to used French hogsheads and puncheons for maturation. Pure pinot character: bright red berry fruit, black truffles, anise myrtle, and a light couching of spice. Palate is soft and consummately drinkable, but with a persistent and structuring acid line.
Food Pairings
Anything with mushrooms. Crispy duck with a cherry sauce. Truffle-studded salami. Any proteins in that mid-weight: chicken, pork, salmon. Use your imagination with this one. It’s going to provide a luxurious yet not overpowering foundation for a lot of meals.
Tech Notes
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About this Wine
Double Shiraz in this box, let’s go! These two wines represent just a little bit of the diversity you can expect to see from Shiraz in Australia. Shiraz is planted in every single wine region of Australia, from the coldest to the warmest, the coastal shores to the alpine inland, and everywhere in between. So you get a great variety of expressions that are just a joy to explore.
Sparkling Shiraz is an inherently Aussie style. Fully red sparkling wine with a hint of sweetness that flushes out the pallet. The best ones (like this!) also combine savory notes that scream SYRAH like black pepper, green olive, and cured meat.
Brothers Brian and Kevyn Joy planted Pyren Vineyard in 1999, surrounded by state forest and farmland in Western Victoria’s Pyrenees GI. Their site is in the Warrenmang Valley, offering rolling hills and a cooler-climate pocket, allowing for the successful planting of shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, sauvignon blanc, cabernet franc, malbec, and petit verdot.
Now Brian and Kevyn’s sons, cousins Leighton and Andrew Joy, run the estate. Leighton attended viticulture school and worked harvest elsewhere, but knew that back at Pyren was where he wanted to end up. In 2012 he took the reins from his father and uncle, becoming Pyren’s general manager and chief winemaker. The house style of Pyren “is to meld the expression of very high quality fruit with integrity and artistic freedom.”
Pyren Vineyard is a lesson in contradictions. It’s a winery that is traditional in all the best ways – a flock of 600 sheep help manage weeds, vineyard inputs are minimal, and fermentations are wild. But Pyren has also proved willing to experiment to best express the fruit that they so meticulously grow. As they say, “the endeavor to fine tune the best style for Pyren’s fruit is a continuous one that knows no bounds.”
Only 125 dozen made of this wine, and less than 30 cases came into the country. A unique opportunity to taste a rare and special wine.
Food Pairings
Oh boy, this is a fun one. GO WILD. Is this a good dark chocolate pairing? Absolutely. Does this go well with a bowl of spicy Szechuan food? You bet. A stinky blue cheese? Perfect. Sticky barbecue ribs? That too. This wine likes just about everything you can throw at it.
Tech Notes
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About this Wine
Ohhhh, Barossa Shiraz. A much celebrated (as well as much abused) character in the Australian wine story. These wines can sometimes get a bit…over the top. Though American oak and overly-perfumed eucalyptus are a thing of the past, high alcohol, dense purple fruit and added sugar are not. Some younger producers have swung the pendulum in the opposite direction, picking super early and making crunchy, lean styles, even in Barossa’s warm climate. These wines can be a fun deviation, but they rarely capture the true complexity that the historic region has to offer.
Enter: Mother Tongue. Mother Tongue is the brainchild of Dennis and Debra Scholl, whose careers have spanned continents and just about every genre of the visual and vinous arts. Debra and Dennis met in law school, and since then, have worked as entrepreneurs, philanthropists, filmmakers, arts collectors, and winemakers. When an opportunity arose in 2014 to work with the historic Kraft vineyard, Dennis and Debra jumped at the chance. They leased a 2.5 acre plot of 85 shiraz bushvines, on sandy loam and clay soils in the heart of Tanunda. They enlisted Christian Canute, the proprietor and winemaker at Barossa’s Rusden, to carry out their vision: a wine that represents classic Barossa, but with a modern sensibility to it as well.
A wine of depth and body, but with an energetic transparency of fruit that belies its heft. On the nose, liquored and dried fruits of raspberry, boysenberry, quandong (a red native peach), and black currant. An herbal undercurrent of eucalyptus, cinnamon myrtle, and river mint. This wine tastes like Australia. Australia without the caricature that has tainted too many Barossa shiraz in the last several decades.
The label of Mother Tongue is a painting from Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri, who the Scholls consider the greatest living painter in Australia. “We feel fortunate to be able to present a bottle with such a perfect expression of Australia’s greatest cultural achievement.”
Food Pairings
Go big with this guy, it can stand up to almost anything. Sticky, glazed Korean fried chicken; a ribeye with a red-wine reduction; barbecued ribs. All of it.
Tech Notes
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