Featured Wines
Below are some of the wines available now. Each wine pack features a variety of the wines below, depending on whether you choose a case of red, white or mixed wines. Feel free to let us know your preferences when you order!
Brave New Wine
2020 Rude Boy
| Variety: | Cab Franc, Grenache, Tempranillo, Counoise |
| Region: | Denmark, Western Australia |
| Style: | Light-medium bodied red |
| Flavour profile: | Boysenberry, tomato leaf, black olive |
| Pairs with: | Sausages, eggplant, pasta |
| Net carbs: | 0.3g per 150ml glass |
| Alcohol: | 13.0% |
| Sulphur: | <50ppm |
Headed up by Yoko and Andries Luscher-Mostert in WA’s little-known Denmark region, their Brave New Wine label is all about fun and idiosyncratic wines. The pair are very experimental, making over a dozen different wines every vintage in tiny quantities.
The Rude Boy is an eclectic blend of Cabernet Franc, Grenache, Tempranillo and Counoise, undoubtedly the only such blend in the world. This is seen as more of a winter red by the winemakers, something that’s still bursting with fresh flavours and life, but has a bit more structure, and savouriness for the colder months.
Place of Changing Winds
2019 Heathcote Marsanne
| Variety: | Marsanne |
| Region: | Heathcote, Victoria |
| Style: | Medium-full bodied white |
| Flavour profile: | Apricot, lemon zest, brazil nut |
| Pairs with: | Chicken, tuna, frittata |
| Net carbs: | 0.1g per 150 ml glass |
| Alcohol: | 13.0% |
| Sulphur: | <50ppm |
Robert Walters has had a long journey in wine spanning over three decades. He’s well known in the wine industry as the founder of Bibendum, an importer and distributor of boutique wines. He’s also been making wine himself for a little while now, and Place of Changing Winds is the culmination of his efforts.
Most of PoCW’s vineyards are in Victoria’s Macedon wine region, but Robert has a deep connection to Heathcote where he made wine with the legendary French winemaker Alain Graillot for many years. This Marsanne is very much in the Northern Rhone style, rich but well structured and definitely meant to be enjoyed with food.
Les Athlètes du Vin
2019 Pinot Noir
| Variety: | Pinot Noir |
| Region: | Loire Valley, France |
| Style: | Light-medium bodied red |
| Flavour profile: | Black cherry, mushroom, sage |
| Pairs with: | Duck, ocean trout, mushrooms |
| Net carbs: | 0.2g per 150ml glass |
| Alcohol: | 13.5% |
| Sulphur: | <50ppm |
Les Athlètes du Vin (or The Athletes of Wine) is a collective label of some of the Loire Valley’s finest organic producers. They all have tiny vineyard holdings all over the Loire so they thought the best thing to do was to collaborate with each other on a single label. Each wine is made by a single vigneron, but with the experience and wisdom of all the others woven in.
The Pinot Noir is made by Gérald Vallée in the Touraine sub-region of the Loire. Not a part of the Loire known for Pinot, but then the Athlètes aren’t really interested in following the rules. It’s a very French style of Pinot too, with structure and richness, as well as a savoury edge.
Marcobarba
2019 Barbabianca
| Variety: | Garganega, Trebbiano, Riesling |
| Region: | Veneto, Italy |
| Style: | Light-medium bodied white |
| Flavour profile: | Nectarine, lemon, quince |
| Pairs with: | Prawns, scallops, zucchini |
| Net carbs: | 0.3g per 150ml glass |
| Alcohol: | 11.0% |
| Sulphur: | <50ppm |
The titular Marco of Marcobarba has had an interesting journey to get to where he is now. Starting as a carpenter, he moved to Switzerland to farm vegetables biodynamically, before returning to his native Veneto. Once there he started working at a close friend’s vineyard and was soon managing small neglected vineyards owned by local widows, making his own wine.
This is where we find him now, working with close friends, farming biodynamically, and making wine with an independent streak. Blending these three grapes isn’t exactly traditional in this area, but it’s impossible to argue with the delicious results Marco has achieved.
Smallfry
2020 Eclectik Violet
| Variety: | Grenache, Cinsault, Grape X |
| Region: | Barossa Valley, South Australia |
| Style: | Medium bodied red |
| Flavour profile: | Red currant, blackberry, lavender |
| Pairs with: | Pork, barbecue, comte cheese |
| Net carbs: | 0.2g per 150ml glass |
| Alcohol: | 11.5% |
| Sulphur: | <50ppm |
Smallfry wines is a wholesome family affair – life partners Suzi Hilder and Wayne Ahrens, along with their two children, and their dog. They’re viticulturists who caught the winemaking bug, and it’s a good thing they did because their wines bring a breath of fresh air to the otherwise very traditional Barossa Valley wine region.
This wine is a bright, happy, easy drinking blend of mostly Grenache and Cinsault, two classic varieties of Southern France. However, there is a splash of Grape X in there two. What is Grape X? No one knows! Wayne has a few rows of it growing in his vineyards and no one has been able to identify it, but here it is, adding a touch of mystery to this eclectic wine.
Domaine Amélie & Charles Sparr
2017 Pensée
| Variety: | Pinot Blanc |
| Region: | Alsace, France |
| Style: | Light-medium bodied white |
| Flavour profile: | Pear, lemon, crushed gravel |
| Pairs with: | John dory, ceviche, quiche |
| Net carbs: | 0.1g per 150ml glass |
| Alcohol: | 13.0% |
| Sulphur: | <50ppm |
This domaine is the pairing of two “children of the vine.” Amélie comes from a family of peasant grape growers, while Charles is from a family of negociants (winemakers who buy grapes and unaged wine from smaller producers). Together they had a dream of making 100% biodynamic wine in Alsace, and in 2017 their dream came true with their first vintage.
This is an elegant and pretty wine, unsurprisingly so given the vignerons’ approach to setting the winery up in the first place. Pinot Blanc is a close cousin of the better-known Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. If you like either of these, you definitely should try this one as well!
Bodega Pirineos
2019 Principio
| Variety: | Moristel |
| Region: | Somontano, Spain |
| Style: | Light-medium bodied red |
| Flavour profile: | Blackcurrant, red plum, leather |
| Pairs with: | Lamb, paella, beans |
| Net carbs: | 0.3g per 150ml glass |
| Alcohol: | 13.5% |
| Sulphur: | <50ppm |
Bodega Pirineos is a co-op of around 230 small independent growers, all joining together in a common philosophy. Somontano is an obscure little wine region, ironically best known for growing mostly French grape varieties despite being in Spain, mostly due to the ubiquity of these varieties and its proximity to the French border.
However, there is a local gem called Moristel that almost went extinct before these dedicated growers brought it back. Moristel is grown only in this region, and there is only one wine in the entire world that is 100% Moristel. This one! When you drink this wine, you are drinking something truly unique. There is literally nothing else like it.
Brave New Wine
2020 Riot Girl
| Variety: | Vermentino, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier |
| Region: | Denmark, Western Australia |
| Style: | Light-medium bodied white |
| Flavour profile: | Ripe lemon, pineapple, quince |
| Pairs with: | Salty snacks, stir fries, chicken |
| Net carbs: | 0.3g per 150ml glass |
| Alcohol: | 11.1% |
| Sulphur: | <50ppm |
Sometimes a wine is more than a wine, it’s a movement. At least that’s what this wine represents for winemakers Yoko and Andries Mostert in WA’s little-known Denmark region. A movement towards fun, juicy wine that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
A blend of mostly Vermentino and Sauvignon Blanc, the wine simply jumps out of the glass. It’s incredibly vibrant and refreshing with aromas of Meyer lemon and pineapple with some welcome texture due to limited skin contact.
This can and should be drunk on a warm, sunny day along with whatever light snacks are around.
François Villard
2017 l’Appel des Sereines
| Variety: | Syrah (aka Shiraz) |
| Region: | Rhone Valley, France |
| Style: | Full bodied red |
| Flavour profile: | Black cherry, white pepper, cured meat |
| Pairs with: | Beef, kangaroo, lentils |
| Net carbs: | 0.2g per 150ml glass |
| Alcohol: | 13.0% |
| Sulphur: | <50ppm |
François Villard was not born into wine, starting out his career instead as a chef. He has been making wine since 1989 when he bottled his first vintage, just a single barrel of wine. Nowadays, he makes wine all the way up and down the Northern Rhone in France, from Côte-Rôtie in the north to Saint-Peray in the south.
Almost all the red wines in this part of France are made of Syrah, or as we Aussies like to call it, Shiraz. This wine is no exception, made in an approachable style from some of the estate’s younger vines. Quite a different style compared to Australian Shiraz though, this wine is still full bodied but with more structure and elegance, a grippy texture, and meatier flavour profile.
2019 Eos Blanc
| Variety: | Grenache Blanc and Macabeu |
| Region: | Roussillon, France |
| Style: | Light-medium bodied white |
| Flavour profile: | White peach, lemon, wet stone |
| Pairs with: | Flounder, chicken, mushroom carbonara |
| Net carbs: | 0.2g per 150ml glass |
| Alcohol: | 12.5% |
| Sulphur: | <50ppm |
When Éric Laguerre took over his family’s vineyards in 1999, he and his wife Corinne decided to go back to basics, farming biodynamically and making wine naturally. Their high-altitude French region of Roussillon, next to the Spanish Mediterranean border, lends itself to structured yet lively wines.
This wine is a blend of two local indigenous varieties, Grenache Blanc and Macabeu. It’s all about energy and texture backed with a bit of body, aromas of white peach, and a bit of pleasant grip on the palate.
This wine is incredibly versatile but it’s ideal pairing would be white fleshed fish served with beurre blanc.
2020 Up The Mountain
| Variety: | Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Merlot |
| Region: | Yarra Valley, Victoria |
| Style: | Light bodied red |
| Flavour profile: | Strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate |
| Pairs with: | Steak tartare, pumpkin, pizza |
| Net carbs: | 0.1g per 150ml glass |
| Alcohol: | 12.5% |
| Sulphur: | <50ppm |
Stuart Proud is a farmer first and a winemaker second, as his winery’s name might suggest. Don’t let that fool you into thinking he’s anything less than one of Australia’s leading lights in sustainable viticulture, particularly in the Yarra Valley. This region has long been almost entirely bereft of such practices due to disease pressure and a never ending stream of wine tourists more interested in lavish tasting rooms than what’s happening in the vineyard.
Stuart’s attitude on the farm carries over to his attitude to making wine, minimal-intervention without unnecessary additives. When you care about the soil and the environment the way he does, the last thing you want is to spoil it at the end. This purity shines through in this unconventional but delicious blend, which is absolutely bursting with life and freshness.
