It's that time of the year where James Halliday and his esteemed Wine Companion team announce their picks for the top wines emerging out of the Australian scene! For any Aussie wine lover, it goes without saying that these awards from Halliday & Co. hold some of the highest weight in the industry nationwide, so we thought a small celebration was in order for three prestigious picks!
On special for the next week will be the Wine of the Year/Red Wine of the Year/Grenache of the Year winner, the Yangarra Old Vine Grenache, the Pinot Noir of the Year with Giant Step's Applejack Vineyard, and the new inductee into the Halliday Hall of Fame, the 100-point, century old Seppeltsfield Para from 1923! Take a look below for all the acclaim, and see if any take your fancy!
2021 Yangarra Old Vine Grenache - $40 on special this week ; $46 RRP
// Winner of Wine of the Year, Red Wine of the Year & Grenache of the Year (99 Points) - James Halliday Wine Companion 2024
"Ex 1946 Blewitt Springs bush vines planted in a deep sandy dune that Yangarra call The Beach; dry-grown, bunch-sorted, wild yeast, open fermented and basket pressed. Bright clear though deep crimson hue; scented/perfumed, and I'm gone for all money without even tasting it. And I haven't fooled myself. Except why on earth is it only $45? Its red fruit sundae glistens with dew drops on a spider's web, yet also has a savoury echo towards the finish." - 99 Points, James Halliday Wine Companion 2024
"Juicy raspberry and cherry, aniseed, with a stony ferrous edge, dried flowers and chamomile. Medium-bodied, red fruits with a sappy and savoury edge, tannin is firm and stony, plenty of red berry flavour, though keeps itself pretty neat, with supple grip on a very long and bright finish. Tannin is a highlight. Kind of jubey as at now, though its future feels assured. Excellent." - 95 Points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
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2022 Giant Steps Applejack Vineyard Pinot Noir - $80 on special this week ; $85 RRP
// Winner of Best Pinot Noir of the Year (98 Points) - James Halliday Wine Companion 2024
"2022 was a high quality but low yielding season in the Yarra Valley. A very cool, wet and stormy spring resulted in some challenging conditions around flowering and hence very poor fruit set. The season proceeded to dry out into December, with a dry and warm Christmas period. This exacerbated the already small bunch weights, leading to bunches that weighed up to 40% lower than average. The mild summer meant long, slow ripening and flavour concentration throughout summer, with some well-placed rain in January refreshing the vineyards at just the right time. The strong canopies and low fruit load meant we sailed neatly into picking with very little disease or weather pressure affecting our picking decisions. The grapes from 2022 came off the vine with lovely concentration and flavour with great natural acidity and tannin. This vineyard is a special location for Pinot Noir in the Yarra Valley – its eastern aspect means the sun rises to warm and dry out the vineyard in the morning, but the vines are sheltered from the afternoon heat from the temperate rainforest that surrounds it. The earthen flavours combined with fine tannins, intense flavour and texture on the palate shows us the quality of the site for world class Pinot Noir." - Winemaker Notes
"What a wine this is. It’s a bloom of fruit, it’s wild with herbs, there are sweet-sour nuances and there’s a controlled run to the finish. Winemaker Mel Chester says: ‘everything you love about pinot noir, is in this wine.’ A reductive savouriness, particularly noticeable on the finish, is the icing. This is a stunning wine. Stunning fruit, and stunning structure, and stunning length." - 97 Points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
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1923 Seppeltsfield Para 100 Year 100ml - $1,350 on special this week ; $1,550 RRP
*Very Limited Stock*
// James Halliday Hall of Fame Wine Inductee (100 Points)
"The wine is every bit as awesome as its predecessors, the intensity, the flavours, and the flavours lingering in the mouth for a seemingly endless time. The acidity has none of the edgy cuts that can sometimes need a spice-laden biscuit or chocolate to tame the acidity, tho don’t feel embarrassed if you have either one or both any way. 100 points? Of course. It is the one and only wine whose history, past, and future demands it. But that’s not all. The design people have risen to create a stunning upgrade of the box and the print on the 100ml bottle in which this nectar of the gods is sold." - 100 Points, James Halliday
"The dark amber/tawny colour thickly coats the glass and leaves a lingering residue; the bouquet is sensationally concentrated and powerful, with a lift of volatile acidity that is such an integral part of the wine as to not be a fault, and the concentration of flavour has to be tasted to be believed. The flavours are espresso coffee, very dark chocolate, molasses, treacle, Christmas pudding and a high note of nutty oak. The closest comparison I can make is with very, very old balsamic vinegar from Modena. It's tremendously viscous, sweet and unctuous in the mouth, with an almost endless aftertaste. A breath-taking old tawny." - 99 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
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If you wish to purchase 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
Prices valid until Friday the 11th of August