Red

FIELD OF MARS - Single Vineyard Range                            

Field of Mars Shiraz Block 1 2017

Variety:     100% Shiraz

Region:      Pokolbin Hunter Valley

Vineyard:   Keith Tulloch Field of Mars Vineyard

Vine Age:   Vines planted in 1968

Tasting Note

Block 1 is a mature low yielding vineyard delivering outstanding Shiraz, grown in deep clay soils, planted in 1968.

Colour: deep, dense, red and jet-black with a bright crimson rim.

Aroma: rich and complex, filling the glass with decadent black fruit power, dense cassis-like black cherry, lifted with juniper, sweet-currant and fresh quince, then heady hints of black pepper, clove, violet and mocha oak-spice.

Concentrated without being heavy, the palate captures mouth-filling blackberry power and depth, underpinned by gentle tannins which carry the momentum and deliver extra spiced layers of bramble and olive. This solid black fruit commands with terrific length, harmonising with French oak to amplify the volume and build a plush espresso-like crema onto the finish.

Drink: Now- 2035+

Limited Release – only 161 dozen made.

James Halliday 96 points

Technical Data

Alcohol:   14 %

pH:         3.37

TA:          7.2

2017 Forres Blend

Variety:    91% Cabernet Sauvignon 9% Cabernet Franc
Region:     Hilltops and Hunter Valley
Vineyard:  Freeman and Peter Drayton Vineyard

Tasting Notes     

Colour is dense red-crimson with a bright hue of blue-purple.

On the aroma, Cabernet Sauvignon is sovereign, an aromatic cascade of blackberry with cassis-like intensity and depth, brightened with the characteristic Cabernet Franc flair of raspberry and herb-like aromas of lavender and gun-smoke.  

Cabernet Sauvignon dominates the palate too with glossy back fruit richness of significant depth, contributing delicious tannins that deliver gravelly persistence and structure.

Cabernet Franc adds its distinguished flair from start to finish, lifting the palate as it does the aroma, gifting hints of raspberry and pomegranate and then herb fumé with its authentic bright lightness.

The 2017 Forres Bend is all about a perfect Cabernet partnership delivering true fruit harmony and expression, uniting the aristocratic richness of Cabernet Sauvignon with vibrant Cabernet Franc energy.

Drink: Now to 2029.
Food Match: Venison, gamey meats and lamb

Technical Data

Alcohol: 14.5%

The Family Collection

2017 The Doctor Shiraz

I’m proud that we can create a wine that honours my father’s incredible lifetime of work in the Australian wine industry as a renowned viticulturist and PhD. Throughout my life, Harry has been my teacher. 

In exceptional red vintages, I taste through the best barrels of Hunter Valley Shiraz with Harry. His favourite barrels are kept aside, blended and bottled in extremely limited quantities. In a way, this wine is more his taste than mine - a bold, rich expression of Hunter Shiraz more atuned to the old school than the new school, but brimming with quality.

Tasting Note

This Shiraz is the most lavish and concentrated wine that we produce. It’s a wine that explodes out of the glass with descriptors for colour, aroma and palate that are inseparable. .

Simmering and bold, ripe and dense fruit flavours; blackberry, blueberry and liquorice. There are notes of cranberry, orange, spice and dark chocolate, supported by the grainy espresso-like tannins in equal parts from low-yielding fruit and fine French oak. The Doctor 2017 really stamps its authority as the mouthful fades – instead of diminishing or finishing there is a persistent hum of bright fruit flavour, leading one taste into the next in seemingly never-ending waves of cascading and evolving Shiraz fruit complexity.

Drink : Now to 2040

James Halliday 96 points, Huon Hooke 96 points

Technical Data

Alcohol 15%

The Family Collection

2018 The Kester Shiraz

Variety:     Shiraz (99%)  Viognier (1%)
Region:     Lower Hunter Valley

Tasting Notes

Showing all the hallmark signatures from a great Hunter Vintage, The Kester 2018 is a superb release. The colour of this wine is rich and deep, giving an indication of the power you will find in the glass - bright black and purple, with deep scarlet at the rim.

 The Shiraz fruit aromas are latent inky blackberry, immersed in deep perfumes of kirsch with lovely floral sweetness; following this is a lift of blueberry, and delicate Viognier hints of white bloom and jasmine. The classic old-vine elements chime in with grand flourish – aromas of juniper foremost, with hints of thyme, bay leaf, black olive, and espresso in reinforcement. The defining characteristics of this Kester are found on the palate - the wine’s lavish black fruit density and deep tannins are the heart of this complex expression of Hunter Valley terroir. Flavours are rich, concentrated, and intense, with powerful and inky black and blue fruits weaved in flawless union; delicious black cherry, boysenberry, dark chocolate, and liquorice-like characters unite, all bonding with satiny polish yet also a tongue staining flavour persistence. Superb tannin texture meshes fruit and French oak, entwined to delivering lasting momentum and flair. 

 Drink: With decanting you can enjoy this special wine on release, but it will also greatly reward cellaring for 20+ years.

James Halliday 95 points, Huon Hooke 94 points, The Wine front 94 points

Technical Data

Alcohol: 14.3%

The Family Collection Range

2018 The Wife Shiraz 

Varieties:   Shiraz 90 %,  Viognier 10 %

Region:      Fordwich and Pokolbin, Hunter Valley

Vine Age:   Vines planted in 1955 and 2010      
 

This wine is handmade for my wife Amanda, who loves aromatic and gentle reds.          

Tasting Notes  

Showing brilliant bright scarlet red-depth colour with a vibrant purple rim. 

Opulent aromas with layer-upon-layer of floral expression – the fragrances of white-flower / jasmine flow to fuller aromas of honeysuckle, before the bolder perfumes of rose-petal open out, held in check – at this stage – by a wild-raspberry red-fruit energy. Glacé cherry aromas are here too, and oak-spices offer generous hints of vanilla and cinnamon.

Flavours are rich with velvety black fruits, showing luxurious texture and elegant softness from the high co-ferment proportion of Viognier. The black-fruit Shiraz core is deliciously long, lavishly coated with a gentle chocolatey smoothness, delivering subtle power with understated yet undeniable quality. Gentle silken tannins give the perfect degree of spicy lift and style to the finish.

Irresistible – obviously!

Drink : 2019 to 2030 

James Halliday - 97 points

Technical Data

Alcohol  13.7% 

pH 3.34

2019 Hunter Valley Shiraz Viognier

Variety:  Shiraz (95%) | Viognier (5%)
Region:  Hunter Valley
Vine Age:  40+ years old

Tasting Notes

Brilliant scarlet-red in colour with crimson rim.

The 2019 Shiraz Viognier shows wonderful black fruit perfumes of super-ripe black-cherry with background hints of pretty white-flower jasmine. Fine French oak contributes with gentle vanilla and cinnamon spice. The palate is plush and velvety –  the shiraz 95% shows as blackcurrant with dark berry richness and cassis adding a dense yet satiny gloss. Viognier  5% is about opulence with luxuriant polished softness with extra elements of flower and spice. Co-fermenting has gifted an extra degree of lift and length to the palate, combining the flavours for a great young drinking style.

Drink: Now to 2030 

Food Match: Slow cooked meats, pizza, or risotto.

Technical Data

Alcohol: 13.5%

Single Vineyard Range

2019 Tawarri Vineyard Shiraz

Variety:  100% Shiraz
Region:  Upper Hunter Valley

Tasting Notes

Sited at the top reaches of the Hunter Valley, high on the slopes of the Great Dividing Range at an altitude of 460m. This isolated site benefits from rich basalt soils and a cool, dry continental climate; the result is a Shiraz showcasing such wonderful depth of colour, fully saturated core of crimson and dark scarlet, plus vibrant purple and deep blue at the rim.

Florals of violet and jasmine float above deeper aromas of briar and eucalypt, ripe black cherry and raspberry fruits. Cool-climate accents are present too, adding spicy wisps of white pepper and sage – all building extra dimensions of vigour and freshness 

The palate shows the essence of its terroir – ripe black cherry and raspberry delivering beautifully concentrated fruits over velvet-soft tannins. Savoury flavours of red cherry and aniseed provide lift and vigour, combining with the subtle textural notes of oak-spice.

Wines like these have the structure to age for 10 years or more, yet the fine tannins are seductive already, and 5 years in bottle should be enough reward.

Drink: Now to 2030. 160 dozen made. 

Technical Data

Alcohol: 14.5%

The Family Collection

2019 The Kester Shiraz

Variety:     Shiraz (99%)  Viognier (1%)
Region:     Hunter Valley, single heritage listed vineyard
Vine Age:  Planted on own roots in 1923

Tasting Notes

This Vintage can flex its muscles – it has power and polish, depth and grip with terrific focus.

Colour is vivid red / black with a deep scarlet hue.

Heady aromas of jaffa and orange blossom over deeper concentrated blackcurrant, cola, anise and blackberry. Lifted hints of juniper and crushed herb build as the wine breathes.

Black-fruits dominate the palate with lashings of inky dense, muscular black-currant and black-cherry, over a liquorice-like sweetness balancing rich black-chocolate dryness and a black-olivine savouriness. This foundation is firmly bonded and taut, lasting, with all parts contributing an iron-clad assertion. Exotic expression with luxuriant waves of fine oak delivering fume` spices and subtle roast-coffee-like extract.
The 2019 Vintage Kester shows the result of 3 year of continual drought: it is inky and firm, latent, intense, and deep with terrific promise and pedigree.

Drink: Now to 2040+

Technical Data

Alcohol: 14.3%
pH: 3.5

The Family Collection Range

2019 The Wife Shiraz 

Varieties:   Shiraz 92 %,  Viognier 8 %

Region:      Hunter Valley

Vine Age:   Vines planted in 1978      
 

This wine is handmade for my wife Amanda, who loves aromatic and gentle reds.          

Tasting Notes  

Bright crimson-red with deep inky density, plus fresh purple and indigo-blue at the rim

Signature aromas reveal layer-upon-layer of floral expression –jasmine and honeysuckle, with deeper damask perfumes of rose-musk and pink rose-petal, black and red fruits twine together in a mix of sweet Kirsch black-cherry and briar-raspberry. Black berry shiraz flavours are super ripe, rich and satiny, deliciously long and lavishly coated with a black-chocolatey smoothness.

Deluxe oak-spices are generous on both the bouquet and palate: cinnamon and fine sandalwood contribute gentle silken tannins with spicy lift. The palate has luxurious texture and elegant softness, a refined power that delivers undeniable quality with sophisticated grace and finesse.

Drink : Now to 2030+ 

Technical Data

Alcohol  14% 

pH 3.48

2021 PERDIEM 'Recolo' Rose

Variety:   Shiraz, Viognier, Semillon
Region:   Hunter Valley

Tasting Notes

Recolo ( Verb - latin) : 'I remember'

This fresh, inviting Rosé is worth remembering. First, there are the aromas, like crushed raspberries and rosewater; the flavours that follow are racy blood orange zest, cherry, pomegranate and watermelon. To finish there's a bead of red-grape texture and crunchy pink lady apple, enough to remind you that you're drinking a crisp, dry Rosé. 

Pop in the fridge or ice bucket immediately and serve chilled. Drink tonight with good food and company.

Drink: Now.
Food Match: Chicken, pork belly, and salads.

Technical Data

Alcohol: 12.5%
pH: 3.3