Victoria Archives - Page 3 of 18 - Young Gun of Wine

2021 Sutton Grange Viognier

The distinctive play of apricot blossom is present, but it never spills into opulence, with citrus and sone fruits accenting. Built like a quality chardonnay, this is textural, vibrant and loaded with fine detail.

2022 Billy Button ‘The Honest’ Fiano

Jo Marsh is helping to shed light on the Alpine Valleys and less-common varieties. Case in point is her 2022 fiano, which embraces the coolly fragrant side of the grape, with floral, apple and pear notes, and a pleasing grip closing out.

2022 Ben Haines ‘Red’

A melange of fruit from the Pyrenees, Grampians and Yarra Valley – spicy, crunchy and vibrant, this is a pitch perfect lighter red with savouriness and freshness in equal measure.

2022 Lethbridge Gamay

A classic expression of the grape, with forest berries, cherries and a flash of violets pitched in an elegant and poised frame, an undercurrent of ruggedly regional minerality making its presence felt.

Callie Jemmeson

Pacha Mama Wines was started by Callie Jemmeson’s father over a decade ago, but she has taken what was a retirement project and turned it into a brand that works with ten varieties sourced from as many growers across Victoria. Her mission is to make wines that are “delicious and honest without the ego and pretence”. The structure at the winery was also crafted to be flexible, allowing for both her and female colleagues to juggle the demands of a family and a winemaking career. With no absolute rules in the winemaking process, Jemmeson makes both classic and experimental wines, working with established stars, such as pinot noir, shiraz, chardonnay and pinot gris, along with a raft of Italian varieties, including prosecco, sangiovese and fiano.

Steffi Snook

Yayoi means ‘new life’ and is the traditional Japanese name for the month of March. For Steffi Snook, it symbolises the start of a wine label and a new direction in her life. A New Zealander who came to Australia to study and was so entranced by Melbourne’s rich food and wine culture, Snook worked her way through fine dining and wine distribution to land in Geelong. It was there that a passion for making wine really took hold, launching her label in 2022. Chenin blanc takes the lead – her key obsession – along with a textural vermentino, while a blend of the two grapes find their way into a pét-nat.

Matt Purbrick & Leigh Ritchie

Minimum Wines started as a natural extension of Matt and Lentil Purbrick’s Grown & Gathered project, which was an exploration of living off the land, growing, foraging, hunting, cooking and making. Wine was always part of the picture – and not just because Matt is a Tahbilk Purbrick – with an organic and ultra-lo-fi approach. Scaled up, the processes aren’t quite so rustic anymore, thorough still decidedly lo-fi, with a foundation of organics, sustainability – along the whole production, supply and consumption chain – and environmental and social responsibility. Wines under the Minimum banner encompass the core range of a chardonnay, blended sangiovese and syrah red, and the same varieties in rosé form, while the Short Runs range allows for more creative expression, with skinsy whites, no filtration, low-sulphur offerings and pét-nats the general theme. Today, Leigh Ritchie has joined Matt Purbrick at the winemaking helm.

Emily Kinsman

Emily Kinsman’s ECK Wines is based out of her small vineyard and winery in central Heathcote, where she organically farms less than half a hectare of shiraz. That modest holding is supported by fruit – shiraz, chardonnay, pinot noir, marsanne, cabernet and riesling – sourced from across Heathcote and Mount Alexander, in the Bendigo region, with a greenfield site in Macedon recently purchased, which will soon be planted to vines. A lawyer by trade, the pull of making something with her hands and a simpler, more connected life captivated Kinsman, and her wines follow that attraction, with a traditional approach, incorporating old, larger format oak and amphora, along with low sulphur additions and no fining or filtration.

2021 Sutton Grange Viognier Bendigo
The distinctive play of apricot blossom is present, but it never spills into opulence, with citrus and sone fruits accenting. Built like a quality chardonnay, this is textural, vibrant and loaded with fine detail.