Dating back over 800 years in the Bordeaux region, Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte is owned today by Daniel and Florence Cathiard. The estate also features a world class spa, which specialises in Vinotherapie - using grape extracts in many of their treatments. Up until the year 2000, the estate was not known for producing top quality wines, however in the capable hands of the Cathiard family and after over a decade of hard work and reinvention, the wines truly began to come into their own. It has been, in the words of Andrew Caillard, an astonishing ascendancy in the past 15 years, and given the sterling reviews the 2016 vintage has received, its trajectory seems set to continue its meteoric rise.
CHATEAU SMITH-HAUT-LAFITTE Rouge Grand cru classe 2024
The 2015 Steading has a fragrancy, purity of fruit, mid-palate concentration and savoury tannin profile that makes it an exemplary wine. Vibrant aromas of violet, star anise hints of violet and spice all unfold to reveal an impressive array of underlying fruit flavours. Silky, succulent dark fruits, black olive, savoury earth, liquorice and Asian spice. These complex yet elegant flavours are all neatly interwoven with a perfect balance of acidity and supple, silky tannins. The 2015 Steading will continue to develop with time in the cellar, and provide those with patience great enjoyment well into the next decade.
Two Hands Ares Shiraz is a wine that showcases the very best parcel selection that Michael Twelftree and Richard Mintz can get their 'Two Hands' on. A wonderfully powerful, rich and dense Shiraz from the Barossa Valley, the Ares Shiraz is matured in 100% French Oak, not a common practice in the Barossa. With the full-bodied nature of the wine, the extra bottle age makes the Ares Shiraz a perfect bottle to open now.
One of Australia's icon wines, this is Cabernet at its very best. This wine is the very definition of power and elegance. Hand crafted by Keith Mugford and his team in the Margaret River, Moss Wood deservedly fits in the Exceptional category of Langton's Classification of Australian Wine.
Bright medium red with purple hue in colour; On the nose: pronounced Blackcurrant, crushed wet leaves and dark plums, bouquet of wild violet and a decent amount of almost wet tobacco oak. A full bodied wine that has great length on the palate with firm but refined tannins. Simply outstanding in its class.
One of the benchmarks of Barossa Shiraz, Peter Lehmann's Stonewell is a classic example of the rich concentrated old vine style. While bold on the palate, there is always an inherent complexity to the Stonewell that enables it to be compared with all of the great Australian wines produced today.
Dark garnet in colour with pronounced dark fruits, mint and oak on the nose. Another classic from the winery that showcase the regions true character. Full bodied mouth-fill with similar quality from the nose, a hint of metallic aftertaste on the palate. Gracefully lengthy finish.
Coonawarra is regarded as Australia's premier region for Cabernet Sauvignon. The Reschke properties are located on the famous strip of 'terra rossa' soil in Coonawarra and has been owned by the family for almost 100 years. The fruit selected for Empyrean is the best on their 10.8 acre site and is only made in exceptional years.
Vasse Felix, Margaret River's founding wine estate, was established by Dr Thomas Brendan Cullity in 1967. Among his first plantings were Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec vines, from which he produced the estate's first red wine. The Tom Cullity descends from these original vines and represents the pinnacle of Vasse Felix. The inaugural release will be in May 2017, coinciding with Vasse Felix's 50th Anniversary.