News
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New Arrivals from Wild Duck Creek
The big daddies from Heathcote have arrived.
Leading the way is the uber-powerful and mouth-filling Reserve Shiraz from 2022 and the slightly more 'moderate' Springflat Shiraz from 2023. These are larger-than-life room filling wines (as expected) and of course they won't be for everyone.
But, if you like 'em big these are hard to go post.
At the other end of the spectrum the Rose is very contemporary with dry savoury cuts and good length. We are pouring for the next week or two at The Grape & Hop in Montmorency. Rouding out the gang-of-4 is the Cab Sav Cab Franc blend 'Ducks & Drakes' from 2023. Manages to pack in a lot of palate presence for a cool vintage but the hook is the cool savoury herbally fruit. Almost bordering on sensible!
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First Looks - Future Perfect (Tasmania)
Thomas New's 'Future Perfect' label has been around for a little why now (established 2020) but it didn't hit our radar until late last year. Naturally enough the winery focuses on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, sourcing small parcels of fruit across Tasmania but the focus tends to be on the Derwent Valley. The Pinot Noir is particularly impressive and we will be pouring at the Grape & Hop Wine Bar shortly.
Thomas New's path to creating Future Perfect was unconventional. After working for various operations across Australia (including the Granite Belt, Margaret River, and other Tasmanian producers) and Austria, he concluded that Tasmania was the ideal place for his winemaking approach.
Chardonnay 2024 - cool climate clothing with bright citrus fruits but kicks up a gear mid-palate as the malo and oak impacts become more obivous. 92pts Halliday Wine Companion.
Pinot Noir 2025 - maybe, just maybe, the best Pinot Noir I've had over 2025 and 2026. Plenty of fruit sourced from Lubiana (in itself a surprise) and of course it's very good. Sweet fruit where it needs to be and eats the oak. Good acid; darker fruits late. The mineral / acid handling is impressive.
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First Looks July 2026 - Wilimee (Macedon Ranges)
Wilimee first caught my eye with a string of strong ratings from Jeni Port @ The Halliday Wine Companion. Some further digging revealed that Ben Ranken and Sally Richardson had acquired the Portree Vineyard in 2013. This site, with plantings as early of 1982, is bona fide 'old vine' material in the Macedon Ranges.
I worked through a range of the wines with Ben last month and, as expected, the local hereo varieties Chardonnay and Pinot Noir led the way. There are 2 tiers in the range - the Estate grown wines and a 'lower' tier that sources fruit from Macedon and Heathcote. For the wine nerds out there you will love the fact that the Estate wines are made/bottled according to soil types in the vineyard (Cambrian & Granite). Awesome!
And.....for good measure Ben and Sally are very serious about organic preparation and farming to ensure they can produce the best possible fruit from the 100% dry grown vineyard.
A few brief thoughts on the wines.......
2024 'Cambrian' Chardonnay - "1982 plantings @ 600m; good generosity; dry grown; good weight; fruity edges; less than 1kg per vine; 12 barrels. Huge presence for a MR chard."
2024 'By Wilimee' Sangiovese - "5 barrels; Kennedy vineyard in Heathcote; juicy early; firms a touch; easy going style."
2024 'By Wilimee' Fiano - "Heathcote (Kennedy) sourced; dry, almost savoury; 8yr old vines; made like chardonnay; pressed direct to barrel; old oak; wild ferment; full malo; it's very good; 350 cases made."
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Good Soul Newsletter #5 - July 2026
Hi folks,
Hope you're enjoying the weather!!
Too much new gear on the shelves to cram into this newsletter so we'll just hit the highlights. Very excited that we now have Bass Phillip in the house (been wanting to get this stuff for years) plus some very handy new discoveries from Sutherland (Heathcote) and Future Perfect (Derwent Valley & beyond).
First Looks - Sutherland (Heathcote)
We've been working through a handful of samples from uber-micro Heathcote producer Sutherland Estate. The vineyards were planted in 2012 and 2014, mostly to Shiraz, with smaller plots of Grenache and Mataro.
The east facing vineyard comprises 3 acres of Shiraz from 2 distinctively different clones, an old Tahbilk clone and old Barossa clone which each provides distinct character to the wines. On the steeper slopes of the southerly vineyard Grenache, Mourvèdre & Cinsault has been planted.
Carrying its adolescent 5yrs of age nicely. Medium weight, bright fruit early but gets darker as the palate progresses. Faint toasty oak late. Drinks like a proper medium climate Shiraz region and this would be a fair representation of Heathcote. The freshness is a highlight. Very solid value. Drink now to 2028.
First Looks - Future Perfect
Thomas New's 'Future Perfect' label has been around for a little why now (established 2020) but it didn't hit our radar until late last year. Naturally enough the winery focuses on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, sourcing small parcels of fruit across Tasmania but the focus tends to be on the Derwent Valley. The Pinot Noir is particularly impressive and we will be pouring at the Grape & Hop Wine Bar shortly.
Thomas New's path to creating Future Perfect was unconventional. After working for various operations across Australia (including the Granite Belt, Margaret River, and other Tasmanian producers) and Austria, he concluded that Tasmania was the ideal place for his winemaking approach.
Chardonnay 2024 - cool climate clothing with bright citrus fruits but kicks up a gear mid-palate as the malo and oak impacts become more obivous. 92pts Halliday Wine Companion.
Pinot Noir 2025 - maybe, just maybe, the best Pinot Noir I've had over 2025 and 2026. Plenty of fruit sourced from Lubiana (in itself a surprise) and of course it's very good. Sweet fruit where it needs to be and eats the oak. Good acid; darker fruits late. The mineral / acid handling is impressive.
Old & Rare Update
Some pretty handy top-ups to the Old & Rare portfolio over the past few weeks....the full range can be found here.
Bass Phillip
First time we've been able to get our hands on this house through 'official' channels. Complex cool climate fruits and mineral laced, the BP wines will live for some time.
Rockford
Additional vintages of the 'Rod & Spur' Shiraz Cabernet now on the shelf.
Vintage Ports
No better birthday present we reckon? Vintages spanning 2001 to 2021 from Stanton & Killeen, Noon and Campbells.
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Henschke - The Real Review Top Wineries 2026
link to article
add Henschke wines to website