A prestigious Champagne name greets the Friday spotlight for a bubbly kick-off to the weekend, before exploring a perennial Yarra Valley favourite when Saturday rolls around!
Between 4-7pm tomorrow (Friday 25th), or until bottles run dry, the spotlight will be on Champagne Henriot, with corks popped on five distinct choices - Brut Souverain NV, Souverain Blanc de Blancs NV, Rosé NV, L'inattendue Grand Cru 2018, and their very special Cuvée Hemera from the 2013 vintage! Aromatically generous, granting a beautiful sense of their place in the village of Reims, this has been estate of passion and purpose since the early 19th-century, and we can say without hesitation that their current team (led by cellarmaster Alice Tétienne) is producing the most characterful wines we've seen since our first days of stocking them. Stop on by tomorrow, and end the week off on a high!
Giant Steps will then be waiting in the wings for Saturday's (26th) tasting, presenting a handful of the brand new single vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir releases, as well as vibrant entry labels like the Rosé and Light Dry Red (both brightened by a blend of Pinot and Syrah). Vineyards like the Applejack, Bastard Hill, Primavera and Sexton have become some of the Yarra Valley's most celebrated sites, particularly these past five years, where both critics and collectors agree the individual aromatic identities have been further defined and refined, all graced with their own microclimates and altitudes, speckled by unique soils and slope aspects. Our personal picks this year? The Bastard Hill Chardonnay is effortlessly tasty and lengthy - the best we've seen from that particular site - and the Primavera Pinot oozes with memorable elegance. These are always as cheerful as they are cellarable, and we're excited to hear the thoughts among all of you!
Brut Souverain NV
$95 on special this week ($109 RRP)
// // 50% Pinot Noir, 41% Chardonnay and 9% Pinot Meunier (2021 base vintage)
"A superprecise, reductive style due to bright lime-peel aromas enhanced by chalky minerality with linden tree and yellow plums. Light-bodied, it has zesty acidity with pinprick bubbles, a tight-knit structure and a chewy yet very polished finish. Mineral-laden aftertaste." - 95 Points, Aldo Fiordelli, JamesSuckling.com
Souverain Blanc de Blancs NV
$119 on special this week ($135 RRP)
// 100% Chardonnay (2018 base vintage)
"Light straw colour, toasty developed bouquet, very Champagne-like, creamy, slightly honeyed. But it's also very complex for its station, revealing a big proportion of aged reserve wines. Quite high acidity, which refreshes the palate and balances out the dosage liqueur. Clean, dry finish. Very good length and balance. A very smart wine." - 96 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
Brut Rosé NV
$119 on special this week ($135 RRP)
// 57% Pinot Noir, 42% Chardonnay and 1% Pinot Meunier (2018 base vintage)
"Full, smoked salmon colour; showing some age in the tinting; the bouquet is dusty and savoury, with dry autumn leaves and truffly, smoked-meaty pinot noir characters, complex and arresting. The wine is fluffy textured and rich, with wonderful depth of very detailed flavour, aged touches combining seamlessly with the fruit, then cresendoing in a dry and silky, beautifuly dry-balanced finish that lingers long. Superb rosé champagne." - 95 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
L'inattendue Grand Cru 2018
$215 on special this week ($245 RRP)
// 100% Grand Cru Chardonnay (Chouilly)
"Expressive yellow plums, apples, white peaches and brioche adorn the attack with a tightly wound tension of mineral texture and lemon peel acidity. Stylish and long." -
95 Points + Gold Award, Decanter World Wine Awards 2025
Cuvée Hemera 2013
$500 pre-arrival offer ($559 RRP)
(Pouring on the night - available to order on the night
or via email here)
// 50% Grand Cru Chardonnay and 50% Grand Cru Pinot Noir
"A wonderfully expressive nose of sourdough, acacia, citrus peel, apricots and honeycomb. Some pineapple and grapefruit. It’s explosive on the palate, with mouthwatering acidity and so much tension. Tight bubbles. Drives forward with energy." - 96 Points, James Suckling
Rosé 2026
$30 on special this week ($35 RRP)
"Hand-picked, whole bunch pressed taking only the fresh free run. The clear juice was then racked to a stainless-steel tank for a long cool ferment before being matured on ferment lees until bottling in June. We make a dry fragrant Rosé, inspired by what we are seeing out of Provence in Southern France, but we are also intrigued by the perfume and beauty of early picked Yarra Valley Pinot Noir and Syrah. When it is hand-picked and gently pressed, it has to be one of the great combinations for a dry Rosé - fresh and refreshing." - Winemaker Notes
LDR Pinot/Syrah 2026
$30 on special this week ($35 RRP)
// 68% Pinot Noir and 32% Syrah
With a very pretty bright ruby crimson hue, this latest Light Dry Red from Giant Steps is a testament to what Pinot and Syrah can achieve together, when the right balance is found. Trust this great team to achieve that balance - there's plenty of raspberry and strawberry confectionary brightness, rose petal and baking spice, fine-knit tannins and supple potpourri flicks through the finish. A great companion to sip on with ease over the long summer - Our Notes
Estate Chardonnay 2025
$35 on special this week ($39 RRP)
"An even split of Upper and lower Yarra fruit; both estate grown and from growers. 20% new oak. Brightly coloured. An immediate and attractive bouquet of white nectarine, lemon verbena, a little flint and salted almonds. Brightly fruited, with vibrant acidity that gives the wine freshness and energy. Drink now and over the next three to four years." - 95 Points, Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Estate Pinot Noir 2025
$35 on special this week ($39 RRP)
"An opulent crimson purple. Explodes from the glass with its aromas of ripe cherries, raspberry coulis, lavender and spice. It's just so brightly fruited and juicy on the palate, too. Balanced acidity and tannins complete a superb and well-priced Yarra pinot to drink now and over the next three to four years. As good a Giant Steps entry point as I have tasted." - 96 Points, Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Sexton Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2022
$79 on special this week ($89 RRP)
"While Giant Steps' enviable reputation was built on the back of its single-vineyard pinots, that didn't stop it from taking out trophies for best shiraz and cabernet at the 2023 Yarra Valley Wine Show. A medium deep, bright crimson-purple, this elegant and concentrated wine has aromas of dark cherries, blackcurrant, ugni, cedar from the impeccably handled oak, and violets. The palate is medium bodied and perfectly pitched. This is another superb Yarra cabernet that dispels the notion that you'll have to cellar it for ages to enjoy." - 97 Points, Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
"Deep red-purple colour with a bouquet of lovely ripe cabernet fruit in the blackberry/cassis spectrum, the palate full bodied and ripely rich, with outstanding depth of fruit backed by stylish and sympathetic oak, the palate flavours profound and sweet-fruited, the fruit swaddled in fine-grained, powdery but appropriately assertive tannins, the whole entity lingering long on ther after-palate. An outstanding cabernet." - 96 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
Bastard Hill Vineyard Chardonnay 2025
$85 on special this week ($95 RRP)
"Planted in '87 in Gladysdale at 400m. This vineyard gets picked a full month after Tarraford and Sexton! This is the third and best wine Giant Steps has made from this cool site. A very bright green gold. Penetrating aromas of crushed rock, nashi pear, ruby grapefruit and orange blossom. It's pure and precise on the palate, with a saline acid line giving the wine structure and length. A special wine that will age effortlessly over the next decade." - 98 Points, Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
"The most complete wine yet released under the Giant Steps Bastard Hill name; which is saying something. Intensity, length, texture and X-factor are all so beautifully realised here. It tastes of grapefruit, nashi pear, almond butter, white peach and citrus, with a gentle run of brine carried throughout. Not only is this the most complete GS Bastard Hill; it’s also the most approachable on release. You could hook in right now and be blissfully happy. There’s a chalky/mineral/talc-like/chamomile aspect to the aftertaste which too is just such a delight to behold." - 97 Points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
Primavera Vineyard Pinot Noir 2025
$94 on special this week ($105 RRP)
"From Lou Primavera's '01-planted vineyard at 300m on red volcanic soils in Woori Yallock. A deep, bright crimson. A more concentrated and brooding Primavera. Aromas of damson plum, dark raspberry, lightly crushed violets and star anise. It's concentrated on the palate, too, with persistent and textured tannins that'll ensure this ages slowly and gracefully over a decade or more. Different from but equally as good as the Bastard Hill, which shares the same soil but is at higher elevation." - 97+ Points, Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
"What a beautiful wine. The word immaculate springs to mind. Plums, spices, florals, red cherries and peppercorns. A general succulence. A velvety veneer. Impeccable freshness. Settled, and balanced, but bright. It’s all positives here, start to finish, but it’s more than that. It’s a top flight producer turning out top flight wine. Every sip oozes confidence, class, climate and site. This is all perfume, brightness and give, within a structure, elongated context." - 95 Points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
Applejack Vineyard Pinot Noir 2025
$94 on special this week ($105 RRP)
"A deep, bright plummy red. The perfume when you put your nose in the glass is off the chain! Aromas of wild strawberry, black raspberry, peony, bergamot and Chinese five-spice. Multi-faceted and layered on the medium-bodied palate, with the tannins perfectly interwoven with the fruit. It's incredibly long and will reward cellaring over the next decade or more. Not sure I've tasted a better Applejack Pinot, which is saying something." - 98+ Points, Philip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
"The Applejack Vineyard at Gladysdale in the Yarra Valley is on an east facing slope. There’s a 100 metre drop from the top of the vineyard to the bottom. There’s also significant clonal diversity in this vineyard. It was planted in 1997 in caramel-clay soils. Stunning pinot noir. Exceptionally fragrant, dramatically well structured and then just so impressively persistent. It tastes of forest berries and pure red cherry, crushed dry and fresh flowers, an assortment of teas and twiggy herb notes, though it’s that push of fruit that really beguiles. This is top tier gear, no doubting it. The frame of tannin, in a balanced and appropriate way, is next level; it just has that extra push." - 96 Points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
If you wish to purchase any of these wines, please use the links above
Otherwise, if you have any questions, please contact us on (07)32521117 or email sales@thewineemporium.com.au
// Special prices valid until Thursday the 1st of October