Château d'Yquem is the indisputable worlds greatest sweet wine. This fact was known when the original 1855 classification of Sauternes was released and saw Château d'Yquem given a category all on its own, premier grand cru, which it still holds. Since 1593, only two families have owned the prestigious Château that sits in a commanding, fortress like, position overlooking most of Sauternes. Only highly skilled and permananent workers tend the vineyards that produce fruit of compelling concentration and intensity. The resulting wines can begin to be enjoyed after seven or eight years, but in good years, like the 2000 vintage, the wine can last much, much longer.
Penfolds Special Bin 111A Shiraz, Clare Valley, Barossa Valley
PENFOLDS Special Bin 111A Shiraz, Clare Valley, Barossa Valley It is a tradition at Penfolds to experiment, research and develop new wines. The large number of mostly one-off, bin-numbered wines produced, beginning in the 1950s, initially shows a company diversifying away from its core business of fortified wines. In the 1960s, the primary aim was to make show wines, but the program also resulted in the development of current-day staples like Bin 707 and Bin 389 and, more recently, of Bin 407, RWT Shiraz and Yattarna Chardonnay. In effect, the first two Special Bin wines were the then-experimental 1951 Grange and the control wine Max Schubert made alongside it so he could see what the wine would be like matured in a single, old 4500 litre cask rather than the new, 300 litre American oak barrels in which he put the real Grange.That wine is now forgotten, but, said Schubert (in 1979): It did... set the guidelines for the production and marketing of a whole range of special red wines which have been sought after, vintage by vintage, to this day. Schuberts successors, the late Don Ditter, John Duval and Peter Gago, continued the tradition, making small-batch wines (1000 dozen or less) for comparison with existing styles, to try out something new in the way of varietal or regional combinations or simply to spotlight a brilliant parcel of fruit. Some may be forgotten in time, but others are considered among the greatest Australian wines of all time.
Penfolds Special Bin 111A Shiraz, Clare Valley, Barossa Valley 2016
Château la Mission Haut-Brion is on uniquely stony soil in the Pessac-Léognan appellation close to the city of Bordeaux. It is a Cru Classé in the Graves Classification of 1953. The 22.5 hectare red wine vineyard is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon (46%), Merlot (44%) and Cabernet Franc (10%). The chateau wine is vinified in large (180hl) temperature-controlled, stainless steel vats and aged in 100% new French oak for an average of 22 months. Annual production is 6000-7000 dozen. The famous white wine of the chateau comes from 3.5 ha planted to Semillon (62%) and Sauvignon Blanc (38%). Overall planting density is 10,000 vines per hectare (red) and 8000 vines per hectare (white). Since 1983, under the ownership of Domaine Clarence Dillon (which also owns the neighbouring Chateau Haut Brion), the entire estate has been renovated vineyards, winemaking facilities and the chateau itself. The property got its name in the 1600s when it was owned by the Catholic Church.
Rockford Basket Press Shiraz has garnered a unique and cult following over its lifetime. With its 'old school' brown glass bottle and traditional label, Rockford Basket Press is one for the traditionalists. Big, bold and upfront fruit with all the lashings of chocolate, coffee bean and Christmas cake all have come to adore.
Elegant and aristocratic kaleidoscope of aromas, an abundance of fruit flavours, blackberry, mulberry and blueberry with supporting complexity of mint, eucalypt, rhubarb, Turkish delight and cinnamon. The palate offers a rich tapestry of enjoyment and fulfilment of flavours of raspberry, strawberry and boysenberry to name a few. Made by Jim Barry.
Australia's most prestigious single vineyard icon, Henschke Hill of Grace's provenance from this small Eden Valley patch makes it the ultimate statement or rare gift. Stephen and Prue Henschke continue the tradition that is their family legacy with utmost class and ingenuity as can be tasted in this remarkable single-vineyard shiraz.
Henschke Mount Edelstone is one of the most important single vineyard sites in Australia. The 90 year old vines has been producing a single vineyard Shiraz since 1952 and is one of Australia's truly great wines. The nose has sweet ripe plum and blueberry aromas and the palate is intense and deeply flavoured. While enjoyable upon release, this is a wine that will enjoy a decade or more in the cellar.
One of the finest and most ethereal of all Burgundies, Domaine-Mugneret Grands-Échézeaux comes from a small 1 hectare plot of old vines averaging in age between 40 and 70 years. Silky and intense with a beguiling perfume of violets, fresh cherries, earth, leather, forest floor and truffle, the wine shows lovely volume and density with the structure to age gracefully over many years.
Unmistakably, Grange, this 2012 vintage is complex, flamboyant and lifted. An aromatic multi-cultural characteristics. The earthiness is well integrated with the aromas of dark fruits, grounded coffee, red liquorice and black olives, which leads to a firmly structured finish.