A big weekend ahead, with three separate palate-tempting tastings! We'll kick things off tomorrow evening (Friday 20th) with a look at rising King Valley stars Foreign Friends and Halliday's Dark Horse Winner for 2025, ChaLou of Orange NSW (awarded to a winery who has ascended to 5-star status for the first time). We couldn't think of a better bunch of whites and reds to see off the work week - the Barbera, Savagnin and new Pinot Blanc from Foreign Friends winemakers Leila and Juliette (both former Wine Emporium staff members!) are so well-rounded and delectable, while the ChaLou's offer four distinctly expressive and precise drops from their vineyards that sit up at 900m elevation. Juliette herself will be in to host and run you through both wineries and what makes them tick; we hope you can make it in and join her!
Saturday then presents two stacked tasting tables throughout the day; in the 12 to 2pm slot, we'll be focusing on Clare Valley legends Jim Barry, with particular mention going towards two Spring Farm cellar release rieslings from 2013, and the incredible Clarevale Cabernet Malbec from 2018. There'll be the crisp chalky texture of their whites, and the full-bodied dark and red fruits of their reds in full view, depending which strikes your interest more on an early Saturday afternoon!
Then shortly after that wraps up, we'll be popping open all the significant winners from the recent Royal Queensland Wine Awards, running from 2:30 to 4pm - our staff member Brent, who was one of the judges at the show, will be giving his thoughts on each, featuring names like Deep Woods, Bream Creek, Yalumba, Turkey Flat and Longview!
We're so stoked with what we have in store over these three events - there'll certainly be plenty of highlights to savour...
Foreign Friends & ChaLou Specials and Tasting
Friday 20th September (5 to 7pm)
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Foreign Friends Barbera 2023 - $33 on special; $37 RRP
Foreign Friends Savagnin 2023 - $33 on special; $37 RRP
+ their new release Pinot Blanc 2024!
ChaLou 'Dreaded Friend' Grenache 2022 - $29 on special; $33 RRP
ChaLou Riesling 2023 - $30 on special; $34 RRP
ChaLou Pinot Noir 2023 - $35 on special; $39 RRP
ChaLou Syrah 2022 - $37 on special; $42 RRP
Jim Barry Specials and Tasting
Saturday 21st September (12 to 2pm)
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Lodge Hill Riesling 2023 - $24 on special this week; $27 RRP
"Pale-ish colour, dried wildflower aromas, talcum powder, slate and lemon, the palate delicate and refined, fresh and dry, subtle and focused, beautifully harmonious and charmingly flavoured." - 94 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
Lodge Hill Cellar Release Riesling 2014 -
$39 on special this week; $45 RRP
"Tasted double blind in a bracket of 14×2014 Clare Riesling. Have tasted before and score is within a point of last tasting, as it was with most of the wines I’d had before, aside two outliers. Always encouraging. Asafoetida, powerful palate, but grubby, pure acidity, mouthwatering and chalky, heaps of length. Flavours are lime and grapefruit. Really good." - 92+ Points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
Spring Farm Block 114 Riesling 2013 -
$92 on special this week; $105 RRP
"The 2013 Spring Farm Block 114 Riesling is sourced from vines planted in 1977, at an elevation of 453 meters above sea level. On the nose, the wine is toasty and spiced, like marmalade on cold buttered toast. In the mouth, the wine is complex and taut, with a flavor spectrum that covers exotic spice, roasted fruits, tatami/straw, cold tea and patisserie things. It is sensational, all focus and precision, with grace and effortlessness. What an incredible wine." - 97 Points, Erin Larkin, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Spring Farm Block 18 Riesling 2013 -
$92 on special this week; $105 RRP
"Lime, lemon zest, honey, quince, mint, a discreet petrol top note, slightly spicy too. It has more flavour and less overt acidity than the Block 114, a lick of spice and dried peel, some toasty complexity, with some Bickford’s lime cordial on a dry finish of excellent length and dusty grip. Very good aged Clare Riesling, and distinctive in that style." - 95 Points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
McRae Wood Shiraz 2021 -
$52 on special this week; $59 RRP
"A supple and soft red of distinct red berry fruitiness measured by choc-mocha wood influence and faint minty highlights. A beautiful flow to this wine, mellowness riding on fine waves of tannin and orange-y acidity. Easy pleasure here, it's a bold and brassy wine but with high polish applied. One for cellaring long, too." - 93 Points, Mike Bennie, Halliday Wine Companion
McRae Wood Shiraz 2016 -
$65 on special this week; $74 RRP
"Dark fruit, walnut and wheatgerm, dried mint, toasty and spicy. It’s medium to full-bodied, nutty and tightly packed with tannin, salted beef and spice, fresh blackberry acidity, and a firm long finish. Good shape and intensity. It could do with a few more years in bottle to let it unfurl." - 92+ Points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front (reviewed Jan 2020)
Clarevale Cabernet Malbec 2018 -
$370 on special this week; $420 RRP
(Limited availability)
"This is an exquisite take on a heavily localized interpretation of luncheon claret. Mid-weighted, gently extracted and dangerously drinkable, effortlessly quenching the thirst without any anodyne stray into the soupy zone of the cool cats. In other words, the fruit is savory and expressive and the tannins are beautifully compressed, caressing notes of red currant, graphite, tea tree, blue gum and violet. The mid-palate, inky-iodine and plump. The finish, sophisticated and sinewy in the best sense. A wine that makes me realize how beautiful things once were before the call of bombast globalism and wines that so often, no matter where one goes, taste the same. Celebrate the difference! This is nigh on a perfect wine, if poise, soul, affordability and drinkability alone were the determining factors. Drinkable now, but best after 2028." - 97 Points, Ned Goodwin MW
Plus a 2018 back vintage release of The Farm Cabernet Sauvignon!
Royal Queensland Awards 'Best Of' Winners on Tasting
Saturday 21st September (2:30 to 4pm)
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Best White Blend Wine of Show -
Xanadu Vineworks Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2023
Best Chardonnay of Show
Deep Woods 'Reserve' Chardonnay 2023
(Note: This limited wine is due to arrive early November - please click here to email us if you would like to secure stock pre-arrival!)
Best White Varietal Wine of Show
Longview Macclesfield Grüner Veltliner
Gold Medal Winner
Turkey Flat Rosé 2024
The Dr Bill Ryan Best Pinot Noir of Show
Bream Creek Pinot Noir 2023
Best Grenache Wine of Show
Yalumba 'Vine Vale' Grenache 2023
Best Grenache Blend of Show
Millbrook 'Regional' GSM 2023
Best Small Batch Wine of Show*
Hidden Creek Syrah Viognier 2023
*Open to all table wines of which not more than 1,350 litres was produced
Best Cabernet Sauvignon Wine of Show
Devil's Lair Margaret River Cabernet 2022
Best Cabernet Sauvignon Blend of Show
Jim Barry 'The Farm' Cabernet Malbec 2022
If you wish to buy any of these wines, please use the links above ?
Alternatively, if you have any queries, please email us at sales@thewineemporium.com.au, or contact us on (07)32521117 if you have any questions.
// Prices valid until Thursday the 26th of September