We won't let the rain won't get us down this week, and we hope to bring you the same energy with these two exciting lineups of goodies for our Friday and Saturday tastings!
Ravensworth, based in Murrumbateman within the Canberra District, is the loving project of Bryan Martin, who after honing his skills as a winemaker at close neighbours Clonakilla, made the big step out on his own alongside wife Jocelyn at the turn of the century. Dedicating themselves to entirely organic viticulture, his plots comprise 26 individual varietals, ranging from Shiraz, Riesling and Sangiovese, through to Viognier, Gamay and Savagnin. Tomorrow afternoon (Friday 12th), we're keen to highlight that eclectic nature with three crispy whites and three juicy reds pouring at the tasting table between 4:30 and 6:30pm! Each of these drops offer superb quality and depth at their respective prices, with particular mention always going to their textural Fiano, the pink-tinged Pinot Gris (blended with a splash of Gewürztraminer), and the Shiraz Viognier blend their region has now become famous for.
Saturday (13th) will follow with yet more organic charm, as the ever briliant crew at Cullen have been busy this past week with their brand new vintage release! Put simply, no Australian estate can claim the same commitment and consistency for biodynamic winemaking as Vanya Cullen has. Since appointed chief winemaker in 1989, following in the footsteps of her mother Diana and father Kevin, her transition to organic methods in 1998 and biodynamic farming in 2003 has allowed for a covetable catalogue of whites and reds that the coastal climate of Margaret River provides with ample poise and personality. Between 12 and 2pm, we'll have their two beloved premium labels in the Diana MadelineCabernet blend and Kevin John Chardonnay (2024 and 2025 respectively), next to a handful of their entry-points, such as the Chablis-esque MetricupChardonnay, Grace Madeline Sauv/Semillon, and Red Moon Malbec/Grenache/Mourvedre blend. All down on special for the next week!
Hilltops Fiano 2025 -
$27 on special this week ($30 RRP)
"From Hilltops. Something extra here. Ripper drink. Settles into a savoury hum yet has the tonic water and pear needed to make it fresh and fruity, a touch pleasingly bitter, balanced in its elements. Scents of hay and lightly salted cashew, lemon blossom, nashi pear, lemon thyme and ginger. Flavours more in that pear/tonic water zone, as said before, though the finish rolls into a pleasing haze of texture and a saline-nutty undertow. Great weight to flood the senses, a huge sense of charm. This gets the motors running." - 93 Points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front
Pinot Gris 2025 -
$27 on special this week ($30 RRP)
// 90% Pinot Gris, 10% Gewurztraminer
"In a similar story to the last few years, fruit for this year’s Pinot Gris is an equal split from two vineyards: Long Rail Gully and Ravensworth. The Long Rail Gully vineyard in Murrumbateman sits on granite soils at a slightly lower elevation of 600 metres. Bryan Martin treats his Pinot Gris like a red wine. The fruit is destemmed to a one-tonne open-top vessel where it ferments on skins for four weeks. Once the cap sinks, the wine is pressed to tank to settle before bottling. The '25 vintage was a "perfect year" according to Bryan: a little rain, a little warmth and a lot of delicious fruit. " - Bibendum, Distributor
Riesling 2025 -
$27 on special this week ($30 RRP)
"This is a savoury-leaning yet scintillating riesling. It doesn’t scrimp on pickled lime, preserved lemon, ginger, lemongrass and green apple scents and then relays the same in concentrated flavours. Green almond calls in, a little jalapeno and white balsamic lift too. Intense, vibrant, exceptional persistence and heaps of character. At the price, this is ludicrously interesting and good, and willingly steps out of rote winemaking to do so. Kudos." - 94 Points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front
Charlie-Foxtrot Gamay 2024 -
$32 on special this week ($36 RRP)
"Flying high above Canberra, the Johansen Vineyards sits at 710 meters. In this soaring vineyard, mature Gamay vines flourish on rich basalt, iron-magnesium, and feldspar soils. The vineyard is planted with some of the oldest Gamay Noir vines in the country. “This is an old and very dark clone” Martin explains, “it goes back to the first in the country.” In the winery, Bryan uses both carbonic and whole-berry maceration, with around 4 weeks on skins. The big difference this year is the extended maturation in Italian concrete. The wine spends 15 months in Nico Velo cement pyramids before bottling." - Bibendum, Distributor
Sangiovese 2024 -
$27 on special this week ($30 RRP)
"Sourced from sites across Hilltops and Canberra District. This has morphed into an excellent, composed and highly appealing drink; thankfully a Margherita pizza turned up while tasting this and, as a food pairing, worked a treat. This balances out the red cherries and pips, fresh herbs and pomegranate/cranberry tang to a savouriness, with warm spices. It's a touch ferrous, too. It comes across as just medium bodied, invigorating and enlivened by bright acidity and lithe, textural tannins." - 94 Points, Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion
Shiraz Viognier 2023 -
$37 on special this week ($42 RRP)
"Medium purple-ruby in appearance, with white pepper spice on the nose for days... Fruit too: red cherry, redcurrant, blueberry, violet florals, herbal notes, hints of menthol. It's medium-bodied in a classical cool-climate way, with juicy weight and grip and a juniper spice thread. Layers and layers of texture and interest. It's light on its feet and an excellent choice for the Australian summer." - 95 Points, Melissa Moore, The Real Review
All wines certified organic & biodynamic
Dancing in the Moonlight Rosé 2025 -
$25 on special this week ($28 RRP)
"Created using the saignée method from a multi varietal selection of different blocks. Wild berries and rosehip lead into creamy strawberry and delicate rose petal florals, followed by Pink Lady apple and a gentle hint of mandarin. Unctuous wild berries and ripe cherries are framed by juicy, crisp pink apple and pear, flowing into an elegant, complex and long finish, with attractive phenolics that linger and inspire." - Winemaker Notes
'Red Moon' Mangan Vineyard Blend 2024 -
$28 on special this week ($32 RRP)
// 33% Malbec, 23% Grenache, 22% Mourvedre, 17% Petit Verdot and 5% Merlot
"The wine is intensely concentrated in fruit flavor and tannin, with pomegranate, mulberry, violets, licorice, fennel, blood plum and cherry. There are pink peppercorns and pressed roses, with ozone and tarmac in profusion. There's a slinkiness to this wine that I appreciate; it is cleansing like summer rain, and it is inky and just a little bit chewy. The purity of expression here is so impressive. Fermented without additions, it matured in older oak for eight months." - 95 Points, Erin Larkin, Robert Parker Wine Advocate
'Grace Madeline' Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon 2025 -
$37 on special this week ($42 RRP)
// 76% Sauvignon Blanc & 24% Semillon
"As is the way with this classy wine, it’s textural, complex and layered. Smoky, waxy, with a hint of lanolin, some quince paste and preserved lemon. And so savoury. The palate is refined with talc-like acidity and neat phenolics, so it’s moreish to the last drop. Youthful and lovely today but will garner more complexity in time." - 95 Points, Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion
"A juicy yet waxy offering here, a textural white wine of interest and deliciousness. Almost a skinsy grip to texture, pleasingly so, as an additional comment. Very fragrant with green pear, lime, ginger, sea spray, faint cedar and some cut grass and alpine herb notes in the mix. It drives well and yet knows how to be drinkable and kind of laid back for a young wine. More of the profile of the bouquet to taste, a little brown skin pear through the finish lingering. Classy wine." - 94 Points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front
Cabernet Merlot 2024 -
$45 on special this week ($50 RRP)
// 85% Cabernet Sauvignon & 15% Merlot
"A very purple tasting wine here with a mix of blue and black fruits, pimento/capsicum, baking spice, dried roses, and something a bit ferrous. It’s medium-bodied, but quite thick and chewy, not polished up too much, and also has some bitter dark chocolate in the mix, blackcurrant, dried herbs, balanced acidity, and a finishes with some roast red capsicum and a fair bit of perfume. Lots of Cullen in your glass at pretty fair price, if you take my meaning." - 94 Points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front
'Metricup' Chardonnay 2025 -
$46 on special this week ($52 RRP)
"The wine has been made in the Chablis style using little oak and cool fermentations in stainless steel to retain the fruit. It is completely different in concept to the Kevin John’s in place and style but made without additions of yeast acidity and anything else. Attractive and expressive aromas of ripe Mediterranean fruits fig, dates, and stone fruits reveal a consistent and complex backbone that evolves into subtle herbal glances of lemongrass and ginger, gracefully laced with delicate touches of fresh vanilla bean. Ripe fruit welcomes the palate with rich notes of peach, green apple, and pear. The mid-palate shows beautiful integration, driven by bright layers of kumquat and lemon curd, delivering vibrant freshness and refined acidity that merge seamlessly with a delicate mineral elegance." - Winemaker Notes
'Diana Madeline' Cabernet Sauvignon 2024 -
$150 on special this week ($169 RRP)
// 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec, and 2% Merlot
"2024 was always facing a tough task following on from the truly sensational 2023 vintage. In Margaret River however, wonderful vintages seem the norm rather than the exception. 2024 broke records as the earliest, driest and hottest vintage experienced by the region, but the team found that biodynamic practices enabled the vineyards to come through and offer yet another superb DM Cab. Near black/maroon with a dark magenta rim, the nose reveals aromas of black fruits, tobacco leaves, cloves, a touch of axle grease, chocolate, cassis, aniseed and blackberries. Brilliantly structured, the texture is sleek and seductive with succulent fruit throughout. The wine is very, very long and finishes with the silkiest of tannins. A wonderful Margaret River Cabernet which will sail through the next twenty years. Over that period, there is room for further improvement." - 98 Points, Ken Gargett, Wine Pilot
"Very deep red-purple colour, with a beautifully fragrant nose of cedar, tobacco leaf, crushed mulberry and blackberry, the full-bodied and muscular palate sporting masses of tannins which are ripe and supple without astringency or bitterness. This is very concentrated and power-packed, and begs to be left alone for several years before broaching, and will pay off big time if cellared. Hide it away to get your full money's worth. A glorious cabernet blend of outstanding potential." - 97 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
'Kevin John' Chardonnay 2025 -
$170 on special this week ($189 RRP)
"Bright light to mid yellow colour; creamy sur-lie aromas, cashewnut, pie crust and cream filled pastries, lemon and grapefruit emerging later. The wine is full and precise, ample bodied with softly drying phenolics completing the picture. More citrus and stone fruit flavours appear with time in the glass. Acidity is soft and seamless: the structure is about phenolics as well as acidity. A beautiful wine that will reward cellaring." - 98 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
"Pale colour. Fresh grapefruit, nougat, vanilla, roasted almond aromas with hints of limes. Beautifully balanced and classical in structure with ample grapefruit, lemon curd, lime flavours, fine slinky textures, lovely mid-palate creaminess, underlying marzipan, roasted cashew notes and fresh long saline/supple acidity. Builds up chalky/ al dente at the finish with persistent minerally notes. Delicious to drink with superb purity and flow." - 97 Points, Andrew Caillard MW, The Vintage Journal
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 18th of June