The Boutique Wine Lover's Wine Reviews and Wine Related Stories
The alphabet of Boutique Wineries - C
Coonandry Wines - Coonabarabran, New South Wales Situated near Coonabarabran in the foothills of the Warrumbungles Mountains, the Coonandry (est 1993) and Timor Valley (est 1997) vineyards both experience cool nights and late harvests. Our current range of hand picked wines include: Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Rose' and Chardonnay.  Already a lovely mellow red with rich berry tones. The palate is still a bit young and so this wine has great potential to age into an even better wine than it has already achieved. Try purchasing a case and sampling a bottle every couple of months.  This wine is surprisingly very soft and mellow for a Shiraz. This vintage possesses lovely chocolate and blackberry characters enhanced by a smooth, light French oak flavour. Located 18km North of Denman in the Upper Hunter Valley, Callatoota Estate is owned by John Cruickshank and family. It specialises in medal winning dry red table wines made entirely from its own fruit in its own fully equipped winery  Colour dark cherry red. Aromatic plum and forest floor on the nose with burnt autumn leaves. Savoury but richly sweet plummy shiraz on the palate. Lots of gamey characters on the back palate. A true Hunter style. Good well balanced finish. Drink now to 2010.  A 50/50 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The fruit led flavours of the Cabernet Suavignon are nicely complemented by the mouth filling Cabernet Franc. Wil continue to improve for several years. Named after the bend in the Murray river where the property is situated, Cape Horn Vineyard was first established in the early 1860's catering for the thriving riverboat trade between Echuca and Barmah. The vineyard and cellar door were redeveloped in 1993 by Sue and Ian Harrison.  An excellent example of this fruit driven variety with intense blackberry and mint flavours. Matured entirely in new water bent american oak for 10 months, this wine will continue to develop over the next 4-6 years.  The Goulburn Valley is home of some of the oldest Marsanne vines in the world. It has a reputation of producing a wine of full bodied varietal character. Deeply coloured with almond and honeysuckle flavours, it has a fine tradition of aging. With Gratitude, Josefine Boutique WineriesAll glory comes from daring to begin - William Shakespeare
New to Boutique Wineries - Red Earth Estate
A big welcome to Red Earth Estate - Western Plains, New South WalesRed Earth Estate Vineyard is a small family run business which comprises a 6 hectare vineyard and a modern winery with tasting room. The vineyard and winery are located at 18 Camp Road Dubbo, which is adjacent to Western Plains Zoo. In its 8th year, the winery is crushing approximately 100 tonnes 2003 Shiraz This medium bodied Shiraz combines black currant and cherry flavours with peppery characters and a soft easy finish. This wine is part of a cancelled export order and is excellent drinking now. The cost recovery price is an absolute bargain for such a quality wine. The bottles are labelled for the Chinese market. 2006 Estate Blend This is a blend of our Estate grown red varieties - Shiraz, Grenache and Cabernet Sauvignon. Full of fresh berry fruits, capsicum, pepper, spice and oak with light tannins and a warm soft finish, this is a nice light easy wine to enjoy. At $96.00 a case (plus freight) - this is great value! 2006 Shiraz (Bronze Medal) This ruby coloured Shiraz has a warm mouth feel of spice and peppers with a good influence of oak and flavours of blackberry and menthol. It has a short to medium finish. Great value for this bronze medal winning wine at $96.00 per case (plus freight) Our mixed dozen contains 4 bottles of each of the following wines: 2006 Shiraz 2006 Estate Blend 2003 Shiraz. This is a lovely mix of easy drinking red wines, ideal for those lazy winter barbecue lunches. Excellent value at only $96.00 per case Warm regards, Josefine Boutique WineriesWhat is genius - To aspire to a lofty aim and to will the means to that aim - Friedrich Nietzsche
The alphabet of Boutique Wineries - D
 Date Brothers Wines is a unique family business run by three brothers: Roy, Barry and Tony Date. Situated in the heart of the Murray River at Swan Hill Victoria, Australia. Their passion for growing quality grapes is evident in their fine quality award winning wines.  This chardonnay has aromas of intense ripe melon and white peach underlying floral bloom.The palate of stonefruit,melon and nectarine is complemented by honey and roasted almond tones  The Durif wine has aromas of a combination of anise, licorice,satsuma plums and rosewater. Sweet black strap licorice flavours greet the palette with smooth tannins forming a structured mouthfeel and clean fresh finish.Date Brothers Durif is truly a regional classic.  Devils Creek, running along the base of Mount Buffalo, provides the precious water supply for the vines from which this wine was crafted. The creek was famous for disappearing underground some years and welling up again in plentiful supply during others, leaving the exasperated locals to liken it to the devil himself. Who knows, a few glasses of Devils Creek may bring out the devil in you.  Vibrant medium straw colour with green tint. On the nose, spicy oak lift with melon fruit characters. Full flavoured with roundness, sweet fruit characters and oak integration. Enjoy with thai food.  Medium cherry red, lifted ripe plum and chocolate notes. Supple mid palate, lovely charry oak characters from ageing in French oak barrels. Enjoy with Asian meals incorporating sweet chilli sauce. Dionysus Winery takes its name from the Greek God of wine and offers a heavenly mix of handcrafted boutique wines and a friendly relaxed atmosphere. The Winery sells a diverse range of reds and whites.  This wine has been barrel fermented in new French oak. It has fruit characteristics of melon and tropical fruits and hints of butter on the nose.  The wine has supple silky tannins giving a fleshy mouthfeel. The nose has hints of violets, chocolate, spice and fruitcake and has luscious berry and plum flavours. With Gratitude, Josefine Boutique WineriesMany of us spend our lives searching for success when it is usually so close that we can reach out and touch it - Russel H. Conwell
The alphabet of Boutique Wineries - E
 Eagle Ridge Wines is based in Dawson Road Kangaroo Ground. The fruit is sourced from our vineyard and the wine produced by Yarra Hill Wine Making. Our aim has been to produce premium wine from our fruit while keeping affordably below the normal boutique pricing structure.  Color: Rich crimson/purple. Nose: Black current, black berry fruits, savory aromas and complex spicy vanilla oak. Palate: Medium to full bodied with fine grained tannins. Good intensity of flavor and length. Dark liquor cheery, blackcurrent and a hint of chocolate. Oak:18 months on Frenck oak.  Color: Vibrant garnet color. Nose: Aromatic berry fruits with hints of spice and subtle oak. Palate: Soft gentle tannins while being medium in body with a cherry plum fruit filling out the palate with fresh vibrant non lingering acid. Oak:Ten months on French Oak. Eden Springs - Eden Valley, South Australia Eden Springs is a vineyard and small winery in the High Eden sub-region of the Barossa. It specialises in estate-grown, 100pc varietal shiraz, cabernet sauvignon and riesling.  Estate grown at Eden Springs vineyard in the renowned Eden Valley region, this wine displays citrus blossom and rose petal aromas, mid-palate fruit and crisp acidity. Elegant and balanced, it is classic High Eden in style, the long, cool ripening producing wines of great depth and varietal flavour. Premium Eden Valley Rieslings are stunning with age and this wine has the potential to benefit from careful cellaring. Classic Eden Valley in style, this is an elegant, medium-bodied wine with a soft, silky palate - the result of long, cool ripening in our High Eden vineyard. Rich Cabernet fruit and a fresh cherry bouquet sit above more complex oak and chocolate flavours, all layered with fine tannins. Aged in oak for 2 years, this beautifully balanced wine is one to enjoy now and well into the future.  Elmswood Estate is situated in the Redlands area of the Yarra Valley. The very fertile red soil coupled with the higher elevation provides unique fruit driven flavours with the subtle characteristics of cool climate wines. Rated as one of Victoria's most beautiful wineries by "The Wine Regions of Victoria" An ideal location for your wedding or function. Open 7 days a week 10am-5pm.  The 2004 Cabernet Merlot was harvested from 24 year old low yielding vines, from our 20 acre vineyard in the Redlands area of the Yarra Valley. Picked late in the season, the wine produced has spent 18 months in French Barriques. The nose is full of fresh blackberries with the palate showing a little pepper on the finish. Drink now or put in the cellar and watch it develop over the next 12-15 years.  The 2006 Methode Champenoise was made using the traditional French method of bottle fermentation and extended ageing on yeast lees. A blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from our 25 year old vines, has produced a wine that is elegant and showing a great deal of those fruit characteristics renowned from the Redlands area of the Yarra Valley. With Gratitude, Josefine Boutique WineriesKnow what you want to do - then do it - Ernestine Schumann-Heink
Boutique Wineries and Touch Football ???
Yes, the Boutique Wineries team are proud to be sponsors of the Fundraising Nite for the Australian Indigneous Touch Football Team.   The Australian INDIGENOUS [Men & Women's] Touch Football Team would like to take part at the Cultural Exchange tournament in New Zealand 1-7 April 2008. For this event they've planned a Fundraising/Auction Nite on the 14th of March 2008 at the Footsteps Gallery, Ann Street in Brisbane. We chose a mixed case of wine from our top of the top boutique wineries here in Australia. The mixed case is worth $268. The following wines were chosen: We are proud to be part of it. Go Touch Football - Go WineWith Gratitude, Josefine Boutique WineriesThose who build beneath the stars build too low - Edward Young
The alphabet of Boutique Wineries - F
 Friday Monkey wines are drinks for any occasion; be it at home, a casual dinner with friends, or at a BYO restaurant. We give you the finest quality wine that tastes good and lets you have all the pleasure. Friday Monkey wines reflect the climate and soil from which they were grown, in their pure form, conveying a unique flavor that cannot be replicated. Our Vineyards Top-quality wine comes from excellent fruit and that is the reason our wines are made in the well known Riverina region, located in the south-east of Australia. We look for color and flavor in the fruit, keeping a balance so that the wine has a rich, concentrated and smooth palate. The Riverina wine region has been producing consistent high quality wines over the years. Situated in New South Wales, the Riverina region is famous for its luscious dessert wine. It produces the bulk of the state's grape harvest. The Harvest time is from early February to early May.  Tasting Notes This wine has elegant herbaceous and berry aroma, complimented with vanillin oak. The palate has a rich, balanced mouthfeel and a warm finish. Cellaring Potential An easy drinking wine designed for immediate enjoyment and will cellar for 4-5 years. Suggested Food An excellent drinking with red meat or pasta.  Tasting Notes Fresh citrus/melon and white peach fruit aromas in harmony with nutty, vanillin French oak overtones. Concentrated melon, citrus and stonefruit fruit flavours complemented by soft, creamy yeast autolysis and delicate nutty oak nuances. This wine has an excellent structure with great length of flavours that are complex, yet fresh. Cellaring Potential An easy drinking wine designed for immediate enjoyment. Suggested Food Serve nicely chilled. This wine is ideal with good food and would complement most seafood, chicken, game poultry and white meat dishes. Fuddling Cup - Geographe, Western Australia The Fuddling Cup vineyard was planted with premium Cabernet Sauvignon in the Geographe Region of Western Australia near Bunbury within sight of the ocean in 2000. Although the plantings were new, award winning Cabernet has been grown in the vicinity for almost 30 years. The goal was to be a small integrated boutique wine business making less than 1000 cases of very high quality Cabernet Sauvignon 'from vine to the glass'. This has been achieved with the very first vintage 2003 attracting critical acclaim receiving a Commended Medal at the Decanter 2006 World Wine Awards and each vintage building on that success. First class viticulture and wine making practices are employed throughout. The 2003 vintage was then matured in French oak for 15 months before bottling.  The result is a satisfying deep crimson to purply red, medium-bodied Cabernet full of primary fruits evident blackberry/blackcurrant flavour, well balanced with mild spice and silky vanilla tannins with a long deep finish to the back palate. The 2004 vintage was matured in French oak barriques over 12 months under the supervision of winemaker Simon Keal. The resulting well-balanced fruit driven, long finishing Cabernet has lifted toasty oak and soft tannins. Controlled yields in the vineyard for the 2005 vintage produced excellent varietal character, complexity and ripe tannins. Plum and cassis combine with fine smoky oak aromas from 12 months in French oak barriques. The palate profile reveals many layers and delivers a long finish. Fuddling Cup continues to be a consistent provider of premium boutique Western Australian Cabernet Sauvignon.  The 2003 vintage spent 15 months in French oak. Great colour - crisp, clear, purply red with good depth. The nose is quite full of primary fruits, tannins are mild spice and vanilla and it has quite good depth in the fruit for a youthful wine - the blending shines through. I can only imagine it getting better with a bit of bottle age, but also in the next vintages - great depth. The 2004 vintage was matured in French oak barriques over 12 months. The resulting well-balanced fruit driven, long finishing Cabernet has lifted toasty oak and soft tannins. Plenty of intense flavours, sweet cassis fruit and poised with a lingering finish.  Firescreek Fruit Wines produce quality handcrafted specialty wine from fruits, flowers and herbs. Select from wines made from Plums, Mangos, Figs, Oranges, Cherry, Australian Rainforest fruits, Chilli, Passionfruit, Elderberry and others.Sweet Orange and Chilli wine. This special wine has an obvious but not overwhelming sweetness with a genuine orange character, a zest of chilli offering warmth without tears.  Fenton Views Winery is located in the Sunbury region nestled on the north facing slopes of Fenton Hill overlooking the Hume and Macedon Ranges. We are a boutique producer of premium quality award winning wines. Wines are closely monitored from the stage of the extended ripening beginning on the vine With Gratitude, Josefine Boutique WineriesDetermine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way - Abraham Lincoln
The alphabet of Boutique Wineries - G
Galafrey Wines - Great Southern, Western Australia Galafrey Wines remains a family owned business, one of the oldest in Mt Barker, its original 30 acres of vines planted in 1977. All wines are dry grown, nurtured and bottled on the estate.  If you want a textbook Rhine Riesling from a cool climate this is it. Superb aromatic florals with a keynote of lime which continue on the palate. very well balanced, delicate palate, with a clean crisp finish. A complex wine that will age well.  Delicious mouthful of fine elegant tannins, powerful blackcurrant aromas, cigar box with a hint of chocolate. It's well balance, complex with a long finish. Great with rack of lamb, osso buco or a simple seared eye fillet of beef.  Established in 1997 by Lorenzo & Pamela Galli, the estate consists of 100 acres at Rockbank in the Sunbury Wine Region and a further 250 acre vineyard at Heathcote. Galli Estate wines have been recognised for quality in Australian wine shows and have received favourable reviews from Australian wine writers. In the last five years Galli Estate wines have been awarded 3 Trophies, 11 Gold Medals, and 23 Silver Medals.  This is the first release of this single block selection from the oldest Shiraz vines in our Camelback vineyard. We have long been convinced that the Block Two produces the best quality Shiraz fruit we have. Previously it has been blended with the fruit from the other blocks, but in 2005 the quality was so good we decided to keep it separate. Block Two is a big powerful typically Heathcote Shiraz. Deep purple in colour, there are blackberries and violets on the nose, with a wisp of Central Victorian eucalypt. Layers of intense dark berry fruit and Moroccan spice unfold on the palate, mingled with subtle liquorice and vanilla. The deftly handled French oak enhances the richness of the fruit and adds complexity. Block Two is a wine with structure, length, and fine tannins. It will continue to improve over the next 5 or more years.  A classic example of this variety which is ideally suited to the cool grape-growing region of Sunbury. Exhibiting soft tropical fruit and melon characters, this wine is the perfect partner for light seafood dishes, but is just as appealing as a fresh easy drinking aperitif.   The cellar door is in Eumundi, whilst the vineyards are situated at Gympie in the foothills of the Great Divide, at four hundred metres elevation, twelve kilometres west of Gympie.  The grape vines are uniquely terraced. Lightly wooded , medium bodied wine from South Burnett and Glastonbury Vineyards With Gratitude, Josefine Boutique Wineries... remember what you now have was once among the things only hoped for - Epicurus
The alphabet of Boutique Wineries - H
 "One of the 10 best new wineries in Australia in 2002" - James Halliday - 2003 Wine Companion. "2002 Merlot named in James Halliday's top 100" - The Australian, November 2003  Intense deep colour and crimson hues. Nose exhibits characteristic blackcurant and mulberry overtones of black olive, dark chocolate and spices. A harmonious and well balanced wine with fine grained tannins and balanced acidity. Aged in a combination of French and American oak for 18 months. Bronze Medal winner at the 2003 Qantas Mt Barker Wine Show.  Attractive sweet fruit aromas of peach, nectarine and nougat and a palate loaded with tropical fruit and confectionary flavours. Easy to drink with a generous serve of sweet fruit that lingers on a dry finish. With Gratitude, Josefine Boutique WineriesCherish your visions ... if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built - James Allen
Bottle packaging system ... an open discussion
There is a bit of a trap with using the same bottle packaging systems that work wonderfully with cork sealed wines for packaging wines sealed with screw caps.  The problem lies in the very thin aluminium seal that the screw caps provide. It only takes a very small blow to the top of a bottle and the a screw cap can be pierced (it is cut by the relatively sharp edge of the bottle - and dropping one carton onto another from a height of only 5 cm can produce this result). This will result in a lost bottle and leakage of the contents over the remaining bottles. It only takes one. From our records it appears that most of the damaged shipments come from Australia Post deliveries so I suspect that the cartons are still being handled as if they are cork sealed bottles. I'm not sure why. That's just the way it is. Nothing wrong here, it will just take a little time for this to filter into the transport industry in general: screw caped wines are slightly more susceptible to damage than cork sealed wines. What we have found is that a thin piece of E flute Single Walled corrugated or even a piece of E Flute single face board (a sheet of cardboard) over the top of the shipper (the carton) will significantly reduce this kind of loss from occurring. It provides just that extra bit of padding, and so protection, for the tops of the bottles. These sheets cost only a few cents each. Just something to keep in mind for the future. Let's have this as an open discussion. Wineries, what are your experiences with wine bottle delivery? What kind of system do you suggest? Customers, what is your view? The wine industry is big in Australia, should the delivery company more adapt to it? We appreciate you! Your Boutique Wineries Team When ... it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn - Harriet Beecher Stowe
The alphabet of Boutique Wineries - I
Ibis Wines - Central Ranges, New South Wales Located just north of Orange, close to the excellent Botanic Gardens and adventure playground. Ibis and Habitat Vineyards were established in 1988. Large range of reds and whites, unusual & older varieties.  Pinot Gris is a variety well known in the northern areas of France and italy where it is known as Pinot Grigio. The nose on this wine is lifted and enticing with fresh tropical fruit, pear, mandarin and sherbert characters. These follow through in good measure to the full long zesty palate and finish. A great accompaniment to poultry and asian dishes.  An important component of blends in Bordeaux and other parts of France, this variety stands very well on its own. The 1998 is the product of a hot and early vintage. The nose is rich and warm with elements of leather, pipe tobacco and mint. The palate has great intensity balanced acidity and a long finish.  The Immerse vineyards are 15 years old and produce fruit of intense flavour and consistently high quality. Four wines are made under the Immerse label – Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz.  Dark Cherry, rhubarb & spice with subtle Cinnamon oak. The soft spice & luscious berry mid palate provides easy drinking & great compatibility with almost any food. An interesting blend of tropical fruit characters & cool climate grassiness with a fresh crisp finish.  Island Brook Estate is a small boutique winery located in Metricup in the heart of the world-renowned Margaret River Wine Region. First planted 20 years ago with Semillon, Chardonnay, Verdelho, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. At Island Brook we focus on quality over quantity and for this reason we do not stock our wines at any major retail stores. You can only buy our wines Cellar direct making our wines a perfect gift for loved ones, staff and clients. Cellar Door tastings every day.  Blackcurrant and leafy bouqet precede a palate of black olives, cassis and coconut. This noble reserve is from individually selected barrels.  Blended with our Chardonnay this white exhibits elegant peach flavours as well as melon and tropical fruits. Quality easy drinking With Gratitude, Josefine Boutique WineriesThe most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire - Ferdinand Foch
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