Translation missing: en.Barossan Banger - Spinifex Special + Giuseppe Mascarello + Traviarti + Domaine Marcoux + BK Wines Tasting Saturday 9th 3pm-6pm: Barossan Banger - Spinifex Special + Giuseppe Mascarello + Traviarti + Domaine Marcoux + BK Wines Tasting Saturday 9th 3pm-6pm
WEEKLY SPECIAL!
Spinifex Bete Noir Shiraz
$34 per bottle*
We have another incredible special for you this week!
This week's special is on the complex and brooding Spinifex Bete Noir Shiraz 2022 from Barossa Valley. Usually gracing our shelves for the fair price of $45.
OFFER: BUY 6 BOTTLES OF SPINIFEX BETE NOIR SHIRAZ 2022 FOR $34 PER BOTTLE
This is a saving of 25% or $66!
Spinifex is a producer based in Australia's classic region of Barossa Valley, where winemaker Peter Schell crafts thoughtful wines that express their sense of place. Working with some sensational plots and old vines, Peter's take on the classic grapes on the region are wines with more balance and intrigue than what Barossa has historically been known for. These wines are still undoubtedly Barossan in the best sense of the word, but are far more savoury, less extracted and alcoholic than most - even those that don't like "bigger wines" usually like these as an exception in Barossa.
This is not a 'bin-ends' or 'clearance items' special, they are wines we love to range in our store.
*price per bottle when ordering 6 bottles of Spinifex Bete Noir Shiraz 2022 in-store or online. Offer available while stocks last or until the end of the week - finishing at 11:59pm on Sunday 10th August.
Get in quick!
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Giuseppe Mascarello
Giuseppe Mascarello stands at the top of Piemonte's iconic Barolo region as one of the most important producers in the region historically and presently. With the passing of Giovanni Conterno, Bartolo Mascarello, and Beppe Rinaldi, Giuseppe's son - Mauro Mascarello is one of the last remaining winemakers of the old masters. Mauro has been the head winemaker since 1967 and has worked for the winery long before that alongside his father. After a period of experimenting with different maceration lengths and ageing vessels in the 70's, Mauro has perfected his "traditionalist" approach to making Nebbiolo and paved the way for single-vineyard wines in Barolo.
While much has been written about Mauro and Monprivato, that acclaim often overshadows the demanding viticulture that is the bedrock of the estate’s success. From the beginning, Mauro recognised that his fascination with terroir would be meaningless if the vineyards weren’t farmed in a way to capture their fullest potential. He shunned the artificial fertilisers being pushed on 1970s farmer and he pruned his vines sharply to limit yields and concentrate fruit. This is still practiced today with strict winter pruning, green harvesting and summer thinning to ensure that the vines are able to ripen the best bunches successfully.
The estate is equally diligent in the cellar, carefully sorting its fruit and employing time-honored long macerations with the ancient cappello sommerso (submerged cap) method for its Barolos. Decades-old botti are still carefully maintained and used for long, traditional aging.
The most recent release of the Giuseppe Mascarello wines has just hit our store and we have some past releases of the classic Monprivato as well. The '23 'Santo Stefano di Perno Dolcetto d'Alba' comes from a single vineyard in Monforte d'Alba from vines planted in 1994 on clay/sand soils with a west-southwest aspect. This is a serious Dolcetto that can be paired with a range of dishes and could also be aged as desired. The '21 'Scudetto Barbera d'Alba' is sourced from a particular parcel of this same vineyard and is also a very complex and ageworthy expression of the grape. One of the best Barberas out there. The '22 'Langhe Nebbiolo' also comes from this same great vineyard as well as from some other vineyards in Castiglione Falletto. This is created with a floating cap fermentation for 15-20 days and then spends 6-8 months in medium sized Slavonian oak barrels. This is a good option for those wanting to try some Nebbiolo crafted by Mauro without committing to the monolithic Monprivato. We have the legendary 'Monprivato Barolo' in a suite of vintages: 2018, 2019 and 2020. This vineyard sits at 280m above sea level with a southwest aspect on silty, calcareous soils packed with limestone and blue-grey marl. This is considered by many to be one of the best vineyards in Barolo. The wine is fermented with a floating cap for 20-25 days and then spends 30 months in medium-sized Slavonian barrels for 30 months. Finally, we have the '16 'Ca' d'Morissio Monprivato Barolo Riserva' which is made of the specific Michét clone that his grandfather planted in Monprivato in 1921. Mauro believed that this clone had become uniquely adapted to the Monprivato terroir and believed he could produced an exceptional Riserva with it. After some trials in the 90s he was able to fully harness its potential and it now stands as one of the legends of the region alongside Conterno's Monfortino and the Giacosa red labels. This is one of the world's greatest wines for a reason - pick up some of these and find out why for yourself!
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Traviarti
Traviarti is something of a legend in the Beechworth wine scene, known for his main love of Nebbiolo but also producing some other great wines as well. Founded in 2011 after a career on the sales side of the wine industry, Simon Grant established Traviarti after finding a high altitude site sitting at 600m above sea level in Beechworth. This site was planted to multiple clones of Nebbiolo with sprinklings of other grapes too. A lot of Australian Nebbiolo falls short of the mark but there is an exception with Simon's, these are actually unique and complex expressions of the grape that actually look like Nebbiolo (unlike a lot of Aussie Neb). Simon has done a lot a research into the grape and understands that the iconic Neb tannin is produced in the skin as a defense mechanism in response to the high humidity of the hills of Langhe. Consequently, Simon has put in work into canopy management to draw the most out of the beautiful Nebbiolo tannins to create structured wines with character. Unfortunately, due to a work place incident, Simon has been unable to continue pursuing his love of Nebbiolo (at least in the winegrowing/making department) and has had to call a stop to Traviarti, making this 2023 release his last ever under the Traviarti label.
We've just picked up some special wines from the last ever Traviarti release. The '23 'Chardonnay' represents insane value within the context of Beechworth Chardonnay - powerful but elegant. There are two Nebbiolo bottlings on offer. The '23 'Black Springs Nebbiolo' is a site with a lot of potential that Simon was able to unlock (now Sentio and Catlow & Company source fruit from this vineyard). The '23 'Nebbiolo' comes from the main vineyard and is arguably the best Nebbiolo in the country. It is also the last of its kind to be made and we are honoured to be ranging the last vintage of these fantastic wines - snap these up!
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Domaine de Marcoux
Domaine de Marcoux is to some extent, a hidden treasure in Châteauneuf, producing only 2000-4000 cases for the whole world. They were one of the first to convert to biodynamics in the region roughly 30 years ago and are considered pioneers for biodynamics in France. In a region that can be known to produce jammy, oaky and overly alcoholic wines, Marcoux are a breath of fresh air with their more tasteful elegance.
Since Sophie's son - Vincent Estevenin has joined the estate in 2015, he has reinvigorated their work in all areas, particularly in the vineyard. Vincent aims to increase the biodiversity of the vineyards which he has helped by planting lots of trees and working the soil less to encourage life to grow between the vines. A seasonal flock of sheep assist with trimming the grass and Vincent has also planted some of the lesser appreciated grapes of the region such as Muscardin, Counoise and Vaccarèse. Their cellar hand is delicate to maintain the purity of their grapes' expression: natural fermentation in concrete, gentle extraction and absolutely no new oak are all vital for creating these wines of immense purity, elegance and character.
We were lucky enough to taste through these wines last week with Vincent himself and picked up some for the store. The 'Raisin de Loup' is sourced from 2 sites on the outskirts of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, composed of mainly Grenache and Syrah and aged in concrete to produce a fresh and jubilant style. The '22 'Cotes-du-Rhone' is sourced from a few sites and is a classic GSM blend of the region but with a marked freshness and elegance that's rarely seen at this level. Finally, the '22 'Châteauneuf du Pape' is sourced from a few choice plots within the region but primarily from the famous Crau Plateau and ferments and ages in up to 90% concrete with some larger oak (no new) in the mix. This is a benchmark wine in the region and a breath of fresh air for those of you who have drunk too many overly ripe and oaky Rhône reds. These wines are iconic and perfect for these freezing winter months - pick some of these up and you won't be disappointed!
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BK Wines Tasting
Saturday 9th
3pm-6pm
Join us this Saturday as we taste through the fantastic BK Wines from Adelaide Hills!
BK Wines was established in 2007 by Brendon and Kirstyn Keys with the goal of creating fabulous art. After learning from some great winemakers across NZ, Argentina and California, the couple started working with their site in the Adelaide Hills, tucked away surrounded by native bush land, koalas and an abundant birdlife. When it comes to the process of winemaking, Brendon’s goal, first and foremost, is to source exceptional small sustainable vineyards producing grapes that reflect the individuality of a particular site. As a winemaker he uses a minimalist approach to gently guide well-chosen fruit to a beautiful final result in the bottle. This combination of an artistic soul and unyielding quality standards makes Brendon a recognised master of his craft. These are the wines that we'll be pouring on the day:
BK Pet Nat Pinot Gris
Carte Blanche Chardonnay 2024
Saignee Pinot Noir
Carte Blanch Rouge 2022
Skin n Bones Pinot Noir 2024
Skin n Bones Gamay 2023
Come down to the store this Saturday and try these thoughtful wines for yourself!
Wishing you a great week from the team: Chris, Pete and Aaron.