Sophie Melton

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Sophie Melton is, in the most literal sense, a product of the Barossa. The daughter of Charlie Melton – whose Nine Popes helped define what Barossa GSM could be – she was in the winery before she was in high school, and has never really left. Now winemaker at Charles Melton Wines, she makes the classic Barossa reds her father built his reputation on – grenache, shiraz, mataro and their blends – with the same conviction that the region’s old vines are worth defending, not reinventing. Alongside that, her own Domaine Sophie Claire label gives her room to move: a small, intentional range in deliberately contemporary packaging – a world away from the traditional Charles Melton aesthetic – anchored by a riesling she is most passionate about, and orbiting outward from there into a GSM riff that swaps mataro for riesling in the blend, a rosé, and a Méthode Traditionnelle sparkling rosé – the traditional method used to make champagne, where a second fermentation occurs in the bottle to create bubbles. Two labels, one region, one winemaker finding her own voice within a lineage she’s proud to carry.

Melton’s first proper exposure to the wine industry, beyond the family shed, came during a gap year at Peter Lehmann Wines – which she describes as her “first real taste of the wine game, outside of the family business.” That experience pointed her toward a Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology, which she completed with the Gramp Hardy Smith Award (presented each year to the most outstanding student), before taking on an assistant winemaker role at Thorn-Clarke Wines in Angaston under Pete Kelly. It was Kelly – himself schooled by Andrew Wigan – who most shaped her approach to riesling. After six years at Thorn-Clarke, Melton joined her father at Charles Melton, where she has been winemaker for four years. The flagship Nine Popes is now, as she puts it, “a team effort between Charlie and I” – picking decisions, time on skins, oak regime, final blend proportions all made together.

“The Barossa has the oldest vines in the world and that is something very special and something that needs to be championed and guarded.”

It’s a shared stewardship of an icon, and one that Melton takes seriously. The estate’s reds are predominantly old vine and dry grown, sourced from sites including the Liebich Vineyard at Rowland Flat, Woodlands at Altona and the home Kirche block at Krondorf – some approaching a century in age. Recent dry seasons have tested the vines, but Melton is firm that good management, including under-vine mulching, can sustain what the Barossa has always done best. “I do believe that with good management, the traditional varieties like grenache and shiraz can continue to provide wines which are world class,” she says. “The Barossa has the oldest vines in the world and that is something very special and something that needs to be championed and guarded.”

The Charles Melton range is built around that guardianship: wines that are technically precise, aged sur lie – meaning they rest on the spent yeast cells left after fermentation, which adds texture and complexity – for a minimum of 18 months, and built for the long haul. The range spans the Nine Popes GSM, La Belle Mere grenache, Father in Law shiraz, The Kirche single-vineyard shiraz, Grains of Paradise old vine grenache, Voices of Angels and cabernet sauvignon, alongside the Rose of Virginia.

“When making riesling, I think there is one golden rule: get it right from the beginning.” That instinct runs through her handling of the variety – approached in the most reductive way possible, meaning every step is taken to limit the wine’s exposure to oxygen, preserving its freshness and delicate aromatics. Fruit is hand-picked to minimise oxidation during harvest and transport; whole-bunch pressing limits the extraction of phenolics into the juice; fermentation runs low and slow to retain perfume; and the wine spends around four weeks on its lees post-ferment for added texture and protection. The DSC riesling and GSR sit under the Domaine Sophie Claire label, with notably more contemporary label design than the classic Charles Melton range.

Domaine Sophie Claire began in 2016, when Melton was still studying. “It helped build my confidence as a winemaker and was a safe place to explore different ideas and techniques,” she says. Her father pushed her toward it. The range has always been small and intentional – it has included a rosé and a Méthode Traditionnelle sparkling rosé along the way – but the riesling and the red remain her true focus. She has no plans to scale it up. “It’s not a commercial range with large production quantities, it’s small, crafted and intentional.”

What drives her, at the core, is less about innovation than inheritance – and the particular weight of that. “To be a part of a family business, and to get the opportunity to carry on the legacy of Charles Melton and the wines, is something very special,” she says. “I have always been a part of the winemaking team.” The smell of ferments, the buzz of tractors at vintage, the quiet satisfaction of another year in the bottle and in the glass – it’s what she grew up with, and it’s what she’s making her own.

Sophie Melton

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