2020 Archives - Young Gun of Wine

Swinney, Frankland River

With the viticulture managed by Lee Haselgrove, the Swinney Vineyard is one of Frankland River’s prime sources of quality grapes, supplying producers as game changing as Brave New Wine to those as established as Penfolds, as well as filling the bottles of the Swinney family’s eponymous label. With about 160 hectares under vine, the site is managed sustainably, with a specialisation in the regional stars – cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and riesling – but they have also planted varieties to balance increasingly erratic weather patterns, including a significant investment in bush vine grenache, a variety and a growing method that is rare in the Great Southern.

Gralyn Estate, Margaret River

Founded by Graham and Merilyn Hutton in 1975, Gralyn Estate – on the prime stretch of Caves Road in Wilyabrup – is one of Margaret River’s oldest vineyards. In what was originally a diversification from their cattle farming operation, the pair have never chased the same path as other Margaret River pioneers, instead opting to remain decidedly compact. There are just 3.5 hectares of shiraz and cabernet sauvignon under vine, with wines made in an array of styles, from profound reserve bottlings to unoaked reds and even a late harvest off-dry cabernet. The vineyard is now managed with organic practices (not certified) by Scott Baxter, who is pushing the boundaries even further with the elimination of copper and sulphur in the vineyard in his sights.

Gorton Drive Estate, Swan Hill

Gorton Drive Estates’ 85-hectare property sits on the banks of Kangaroo Lake in the arid warmth of Victoria’s Swan Hill region. In a zone that is often characterised by yield over character, second-generation owner and viticulturist Chris Dent is changing the script, focusing on soil health and reduced yields to produce high-quality fruit. He employs biological farming methods to build resilience and reduce or eliminate reliance on inputs and chemical control measures for disease and pests, with technology streamlining operations and eliminating an overdependence on irrigation. The grapes are sold to many well-known names, such as Brown Brothers and McPherson Wines, while also filling the bottles of Dent’s new home range, Countertop.

Hayes Family – Stone Well Estate, Barossa Valley

Brett Hayes bought his Stone Well Vineyard to form the basis of Hayes Family Wines, launching the label in 2014. The Stone Well Vineyard is a modest site of 4.5 hectares populated mostly by vines planted over 70 years ago, with the farming now certified organic, along with the onsite winery. The Stone Well Vineyard is the lone source of the organic Hayes Family Wines Estate Range, with varietal shiraz, grenache and mataro bottlings, as well as a blend of the three and varietal single-block wines. Hayes and vineyard manager Amanda Mader oversees the management of the site, with the grapes now all going to Hayes Family wines, though the shiraz was previously sold to Grant Burge to make ‘Meshach’, their flagship wine.

Cirillo Estate, Barossa Valley

Cirillo Estate’s core vineyard is a museum piece, home to the world’s oldest productive grenache and semillon vines. Those vines, along with a smattering of shiraz and a few random mataro vines, were planted in 1848, with Vincent and Marco Cirillo – father and sun – the sole custodians for the last 50 years. Today, with sensitive viticulture that excludes synthetic herbicides and pesticides, and a blend of old-school practices and modern knowledge, Marco Cirillo is bent on preserving those vines in the best health possible for generations to come.

Adelina Vineyard, Clare Valley

The Adelina vineyard, in the Clare Valley, is an old one. The first shiraz vines were planted in the early 1900s and were supplemented with grenache sometime in the ’40s. When Col McBryde and Jennie Gardner took over the management of the site in 2002, their work was cut out for them. With rampant wild olive trees and weeds aplenty, they set about regenerating the landscape, working with organic methods for many years before finally seeking and achieving certification in 2020. Today, those old vines are in fine health, while further plantings have increased the vineyard size a little to now occupy six hectares.

Vinden Wines – Somerset Vineyard, Pokolbin

The Hunter Valley’s Somerset Vineyard has been responsible for some landmark wines, from back in the days of Maurice O’Shea in the first half of the 20th century, then later for Lindeman’s at its peak in the 60s, 70s and 80s, as well as supplying fruit to Len Evans as he reshaped the Australian wine landscape. Today, Angus Vinden tends 22 hectares of vines dedicated to his family’s eponymous label, with the Hunter stalwarts of shiraz and semillon leading the way, though he also makes some more left-field offerings under the Headcase imprint from varieties like tempranillo and gewürztraminer. Vinden has given this historic vineyard a new lease of life through regenerative inspired principles, with organic certification the next goal.

Bar Rochford

Bar Rochford’s location in the historic Melbourne Building, which was built in 1927, is perhaps salient. When owner Nick Smith opened the doors in 2016, he’d taken inspiration both from the classic wine bars of Europe and the small bars that Melbourne is so well known for. And while Bar Rochford would slip into the…

Swinney, Frankland River Lee Haselgrove