Trading changes in Stage 3 Restrictions
Due to the introduction of Stage 3 restrictions in all of regional Victoria, for the next 6 weeks our Wine Lounge will be open from 12pm to 3pm on Saturday for TAKE AWAY sales only.
Please call ahead to place your order with Michelle on 0457922400.
Trade Customers: Collect your orders directly from us on a Saturday and save 10% or call Michelle for weekly delivery options between Halls Gap, Ararat & Ballarat.
07/08/2020 at 11:13 AM
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From Durif to Petite Sirah | Why we are making the distinction
From Durif to Petite Sirah
Why we are making the distinction
When you think of Durif it might conjure up thoughts of big, deep, dark brooding wines filled with black fruits and robust tannins, more often than not, hailing from Rutherglen.
My Durif is not like that.
When in 2006 I "dared" to plant Durif in the cool climate of Great Western (still the only grower in the Grampians and Pyrenees regions, as far as we can tell), it was evident straight away how different our Hard Hill Road Durif was to many of the big robust Durif wines on the Australian market at the time.
Ever since my first release in 2012, I have spent years explaining how and why our version of Durif was different in approach and style to the “standard” Aussie Durif. So, I decided to separate it; by re-naming the wine as Petite Sirah from the 2018 vintage onwards.
Back in my US winemaking days I spent many years making countless versions of Petite Sirah in California; especially for Concannon Vineyard, who were the first to produce Petite Sirah in the US. My experience there taught me that it’s not just the pursuit of ‘big-ness’ that’s important, but finding balance by allowing the more subtle complexing elements to have a say in the final wine.
From the get-go I set out to craft a wine that was reminiscent of my ideals and experiences, regardless of the Australian “standard”. I wanted to create a Grampians version of the variety that although considers Durif’s boldness, is not dominated by it. Rather the tannins are complex and fine, the fruit is intense but not overly heavy or ripe.
One of the ways I achieve this, is by using 60-80% or more new American oak. This amount of oak is surprisingly easily absorbed into the structure of the wine, softening, and drawing out the floral and vibrant elements of the palate rather than adding a clunky layer of oak flavour.
If you’ve never tried a Petite Sirah, then now is the time to give it a go and do let me know what you think!
Cheers
Adam
26/06/2020 at 4:36 PM
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Temporary Closure of our Cellar Door
Our Cellar Door is temporarily closed - please stay in touch for news on when we will reopen with our new purpose built tasting room.
You can order online for home delivery anytime.
23/03/2020 at 9:00 AM
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Does who grew the grapes influence a wine's character?
ATR Wines in The Australian Financial Review
I recently spoke with Max Allen at The Australian Financial Review about my experiment into terroir and winegrower personalities with The Growers Series.
Check out the full article here.
28/02/2020 at 12:55 PM
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2018 Chockstone Shiraz - The Real Review Cellar Talk
Our 2018 Chockstone Shiraz was featured in this weeks The Real Review Cellar Talk. Here's an excerpt of the comments by Ralph Kyte Powell:
"Jammy blackberry and mulberry fruit mix it with more savoury notes of forest earth and a suggestion of mocha..."
Read more here.
You can experience it for yourself too and purchase a bottle (or two) here.
06/02/2020 at 12:02 PM
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2019 Chockstone Riesling - The Real Review's Buy of the Week
Our 2019 Chockstone Riesling was recently reviewed by Huon Hooke and featured on The Real Review as their Buy of the Week. You can read a small excerpt of the review above; the full tasting note is available here. You can experience it for yourself too and purchase a bottle (or two) here.
23/01/2020 at 12:47 PM
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