Events – Out & About

Doom Juice

The Doom Juice team have been out and about in July! From hitting the decks at The Lord Gladstone Hotel in Chippendale, to pouring up a few cheeky Saturday afternoon bevies at festivals like The Beer Footy & Food Festival in Marrickville and Natty Fest in Petersham, you can always catch these guys serving up a good time.

Eisenstone’s Stephen Cook Tours The Country

Stephen Cook joined SVS team at Moda Restaurant Tapas Braza Bar in the Sunshine State in Brisbane June 26th for a Barossa and Champagne Lunch. Guests were spoiled with Wild Mushroom Arancini, Scallop Ceviche, Beef Cheeks and more while they sipped on Jacquart Champagne and Eisenstone Barossa Valley Shiraz Wines and heard from the highest awarded Decanter winemaker in Australia, Stephen Cook.

In early August, Stephen travelled to Sydney visiting customers with our Sydney-based sales representatives and treating a small handful of customers to a toured tasting with dinner at both Cicerone & Fix Sydney.

Mezzacorona‘s Midweek Mayhem

Mezzacorona’s Asia Pacific and Scandinavia Area Manager, Matteo Apollonio is in Australia for a long-awaited visit and he’s keen for a bit of Midweek Mayhem! Matteo joined Vintage Cellars of Melbourne for dinner and drinks at Botswana Butchery this past Tuesday, August 2. He then travelled up to Sydney to join customers at Cicerone on Wednesday, August 3, and UUSC for a masterclass followed by dinner at Fix Sydney on Thursday, August 4.

In the media

Eisenstone

The goal of Eisenstone Wines is to establish themselves as specialists of Barossa Valley Shiraz, the icon variety recognized worldwide of the Barossa Valley. This year at the Decanter World Wine Awards, they did just that. In it’s 19th year, the Decanter World Wine Awards are one of the most influential and prestigious awards in the world, judging 18,244 wines from 54 countries.

Eisenstone took home a clean sweep- 6 wins from their 6 entries, including 1 Platinum Award and 5 Gold Awards. These medals’ place Eisentone Wines as the highest performing award winning winemaker from Australia. Congratulations to winemaker Stephen Cook and the Eisenstone team!

The award-winning wines include:
2019 Ebenezer SR802 Shiraz | Platinum Award 97 points Decanter World Wine Awards 2022
2019 Roennfeldt Marananga Shiraz SV904 | Gold Award 96 points Decanter World Wine Awards 2022
2019 Hoffmann Vyd Ebenezer Shiraz SV902 | Gold Award 95 points Decanter World Wine Awards 2022
2018 Nitschke Road Greenock Shiraz Sv901 | Gold Award 95 points Decanter World Wine Awards 2022
2018 Dimchurch Vd Ebenezer Shiraz Sv902 | Gold Award 95 points Decanter World Wine Awards 2022
2018 Stockwell Shiraz Sr 805 | Gold Award 96 points Decanter World Wine Awards 2022

Silkwood

2019 Silkwood ‘The Walcott’ Pinot Noir

91 points – Charlie Simpson (Drinks Trade Magazine): “Good, sweet fruits, sexy oak. There’s a fair bit of makeup on this one, but is a pleasurable experience.”

91 points – Michael McIntosh (Drinks Trade Magazine): “Richer intensity of red fruit. Stronger oak influence with licks of vanilla. Brambly and complex. Delicious.”

Mt Bera

2020 Mt Bera ‘Amphitheatre’ Zweigelt

92 points – Patrick Eckel (Wine Reviewer): “A grape native to Austria with few plantings in Australia. A light to medium red in colour, the nose has pepper and graphite to black cherry fruit. The palate is a cool climate Syrah meets Pinot combination with the pepper and earth of Syrah and the bright berry fruit of Pinot. As the wine moves across the palate it becomes more primary and focused on cherry fruit with fine tannins. The finish is fresh and juicy and keeps you coming back for more.”

2018 Mt Bera ‘Boundless Horizons’ Gruner Veltliner

92 points – Patrick Eckel (Wine Reviewer): “Fresh lemon with richer mandarin and sea spray. As is the case with most Mt Bera wines there is a lovely texture to the wine, there is a fullness of citrus fruits and rich creamy texture before a subtle grapefruit like pull on the mid palate. The finish is long and layered with citrus expression. Has all the elements to age.”

Harewood

2019 Harewood Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

90 points – Erin Larkin (Robert Parker Wine Advocate): “This 2019 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon has spent two years in French oak (a combination of new and one year old), and while that does nothing to dumb the layered and spicy fruit on the front of the palate, it weighs down the finish—drying out the tannins and leaving a trail of wood in its wake. While this may assist the wine in the long term, at this stage, it will still benefit from a further year or two in bottle to allow that oak to fully ameliorate into the fruit.”

2021 Harewood Estate Mt Barker Riesling

91 points – Nick Bulleid (Gourmet Wine Traveller): “Also appealed to (David) Murphy, who noted, “A broader aromatic edge, with chamomile, nashi pear and stone fruit taking centre stage. Subtle notes of green mango and wax complete a rich and full palate. The tension and texture of the generous fruit elements are kept in check by some firm acids that keep this wine finishing in the right direction.” I loved the richness of its sweet fruits, rounded by a touch of sweetness and balanced by acidity.”

2021 Harewood Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon

90 points – Erin Larkin (Halliday Wine Companion): “There is a pungency to the nose here, that’s gone beyond gooseberry and transcended into jalapeño. It’s so past the point of overt that it’s rounded back into spicy and interesting and quite exciting. But if you don’t like fresh green chilli this may not be to your taste. In the mouth the wine is rounder and more plump than you’d expect from the aroms. All in all, a wine likely suited to a mildly spicy Asian meal – dumplings come to mind; loading up on coriander and green chilli will be recommended.”

2021 Harewood Estate Porongurup Riesling

90 points – Nick Bulleid (Gourmet Wine Traveller):  “Has similar fullness on the nose, with citrus and a little stone fruit, but its structure is altogether tighter, with a strong drive of acidity. The fruit carries it, nonetheless. Caillard reported, “Intense lemon curd, a hint of marzipan aromas with herb garden notes. Hint of SO2. Well-concentrated and minerally with lemon curd, marzipan notes and pure, refreshing acidity.”

Apricus Hill

2020 Apricus Hill Chardonnay

92 points – Erin Larkin (Robert Parker Wine Advocate): “The 2020 Chardonnay is toasty, spicy and fine, with the briney acid profile that comes so naturally to Denmark, where this wine is from. The vineyard is right at the top of Mt. Shadforth and has commanding views to the coast and inland over Denmark’s hilly and lush countryside. Of all the subregions within the Great Southern, Denmark has the best affinity with Chardonnay (although they all make some), and this is a particularly fine-boned example. Very smart. Lovely, in fact.”

2021 Apricus Hill Point Noir

92 points – Kim Brebach (Best Wines Under $20): “It seems this label has found a home at this well-established Great Soutern Winery. This is a tasty Pinot Noir, not fined and filtered judging by the cloudy colour, but showing the characters we expect from a decent Pinot: some sweet fruit, some herbs and dank leaves, forest floor notes, a soft texture and medium weight.”

2021 Apricus Hill Chardonnay

90 points – Kim Brebach (Best Wines Under $20): “A new winery for me, from Pemberton in the Great Southern. The whites from here tend to be shy and delicate, and so it is here. Nothing wrong with that, but the flavours are a bit light on and the wine a bit tight. Lean but not mean, will need time. Would be good with seafood.”

Feudo Arancio

2020 Feudo Arancio Grillo

93 points – Kim Brebach (Best Wines Under $20): “Grillo is an Italian cross between Dicatarratto Bianco Comune and Muscat of Alexandria. The Muscat connection is not obvious in this wine from Sicily, but the wine is rich and round with plenty of flavour. Tropical fruits and spices balanced by a fine line of acid. Versatile.”

2020 Feudo Arancio Nero d’Avola

93 points – Kim Brebach (Best Wines Under $20): “As always, this winery in Sicily overdelivers: this is one of the best Neros I’ve seen in a while, leading with ripe, sweet fruit – black cherries and assorted red berries – and a touch of vanilla oak in the background. Medium-bodied, it packs a solid punch of flavour, good line and length, and pretty much perfect pitch. Great bistro/pizza/pasta red.”

Astrale

2020 Astrale Chianti

90 points – Kim Brebach (Best Wines Under $20): “It’s a simple soul as you’d expert at this price. Dark cherries and spices with notes of dried herbs and warm earth. Medium bodied, dry finish.”

2018 Astrale Chianti Riserva

91 points – Kim Brebach (Best Wines Under $20): “The prices for these wines are all over the shop. This is the better of the 2 wines, it shares the other’s characteristics, just adds a bit more depth and body.”

I Giusti e Zanza

2019 I Giusti e Zanza Nemorino (Syrah, Merlot, & Sangiovese)

92 points – Kim Brebach (Best Wines Under $20): “It’s a red labeled IGT Costa Toscana Rosso, i.e. it’s from Tuscany but can’t call itself Chianti or Brunello because it’s made from Shiraz, Merlot and Sangiovese. It’s also organic. It’s a smooth drop as you’d expect at this price, rich and round and slippery. Not all that complex or interesting, really, just pleasant drinking. Finishes pretty dry.”