News
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Producer Spotlight - Lethbridge (Geelong) - 15% Discount for $300+ spend
“In the 2026 Companion, Philip Rich accorded the submissions 14 gold medal scores, and if you consider that they also make compellingly distinct sparkling wine under the Nadeson Collis banner, you could add three more to the tally. Lethbridge is a treasure trove of brilliantly individual wines.” Top 100 Wineries 2026, Halliday Wine Companion
Lethbridge, along with regional pioneer Bannockburn, is far and away our favourite Geelong producer. Ray Nadeson and Maree Collis were both successful medical researchers before succumbing to their desire to create a vineyard and winery in Geelong. They planted vines on their own rootstocks, built a straw-bale winery and house, and farmed the land according to biodynamic beliefs. Their wines are powerful, structured, pure and long-lived.
Organically & Biodynamically Managed
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Head to Head - Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2024
I was fortunate enough to try the Lambert and Salo 24s recently as a side-by-side comparison. Both wines retail in the mid 40s to mid 50s bracket so I guess they could be called 'mid-market' these days.
To me 2024 seems like a more expressive and powerful chardonnay vintage, not double helped by the fact 2023 was very cool and bordering on cold which result in crisper and more subtle profiles.
Although Luke Lambert is no longer the winemaker at Denton he still sources fruit from the stunning granite infused slopes from this site b/w Yarra Glen and Healsville. All fresh fruit here, seemingly simple at first, but progressively works through the complexity gears. Little to no oak impact. This is immediately atractive and ready to drink.
Salo is a real personal favourite of mine and a strong contender for most under-rated white wine from the whole of the Yarra Valley. The wine is the result of a colab project between Dave Mackintosh (Afrion) and Steve Flamsteed (Giant Steps, Eldredge). Fruit is sourced from the Full Moon vineyard in Gladysdale, located in an elevated area in the south of the Valley. The wine is somewhat more controlled and structured than the Lambert and again mininal oak impact. No doubt elevation is talking here as the cooler site has likely knocked the juicy edges off the. Taking into account structure this appears to have good cellaring prospects and I'd recommend drinking from late 2027+
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Clearance & Discount Wines - May 10th 2026
Alrighty.....about time we highlighted a number of wines that we are looking to clear out. Nothing wrong with 'em....I literally need the shelf space! Please note are in limited supply so please act quickly should anything catch your eye.
Terre a Terre Cabernet Franc (was $35 now $19) - By some margin this Croser Family 'project' is Wrattonbully's best red wine maker. Always (& strictly) traditional in the European sense - dry red fruits, long palate length and tannin driving a highly structured build.
Alkimi Syrah 2017 (was $39 now $19) - Mid weight Yarra Valley Shiraz with tangy spicy fruits. Plenty of buzz. Only 3 bottles left. Good winemaker this bloke.
Wild Duck Creek 'White Duck' Roussanne Viognier 2022 (was $45 now $35) - Made through the blending of Roussanne & Viognier, White Duck is full of texture and vibrancy. Fermented in 500L French oak barrels, it shows a lovely fusion of typical varietal characters. The Roussanne providing earthiness, roundness and fresh natural acidity, and the Viognier filling that palate with stone fruits and texture. Only 2 bottles remaining.
Thousand Candles 'Gathering Fields' Shiraz 2021 (was $36 now $29.50) - "Natural fermentation with 20% whole bunches, matured in older French oak. A super-bright crimson purple. Fully deserving of its gold medal at the 2022 Yarra Valley Wine Show, this opens with aromas of blackcurrant pastilles, boysenberries, black pepper, floral notes & a little charcuterie. Just as good on the medium-bodied, youthful and very well-balanced palate, which finishes with gently chewy, very fine-grained tannins and a little spice." 96pts
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Monty's Wine Wall
Fun fact!
We have over 200 hundred wines available buy the bottle for drink in or takeaway at our neighbour wine bar. From high quality cost-of-living busters through so some of the genuine superstars of the Australian market.
Looking for Rockford, Cullen, Yeringberg, Mosswood, Wild Duck Creek, Bindi, Noon, Koomilya, Wantirna Estate, Wynns back vintages? We've got em and all at drink-in prices we honestly believe are the sharpest in Melbourne (no BS!).
Where? The Grape & Hop Wine Bar
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On The Tasting Bench - May 8th 2026
Bindi 'Pyrette' Heathcote Shiraz 2023 $39
Been a while between drinks on this one. Medium climate style with dark fruits and pepper edges. Smooth palate but no means a crowd pleaser style, rather a 'thinking' style. Feels young. Some mild reductive and Northern Rhone notes. Not unlike the POCW JV with Graillot.
Mandurang 'Old Vine' Red Blend 2020
A very pleasant re-visit of some bottles from a winery we regularly stocked back in the Cloudwine days ~20 years ago. Super low profile but a veteren of Bendigo with the first vines having been planted 50yrs ago. Old for 'modern' Bendigo! Gee I was suduced here. Uber fresh and massive primary fruit load but you can't help but be sucked in. Seems Cab dominant with some grainy fruit but lashings of juicy suggest Shiraz at play. Never gets heavy. We will be stocking this, and others from Mandurang, for sure.
Mandurang GSM 2020
Like the other Mandurang vintages from 2020 this is very good. Seemingly plush early but lines of mild astringency and acid kick in to keep things sharpish. GSM really has no track record, of note, in Victoria, so this one really stands out. I've been asleep at the wheel with this quite achiever from Bendigo.
Koonunga Hill Shiraz 2024
Forgive me!! Talk about a wine that's hard to fault. Plushy fruited, balanced and absolutely no hard edges. No need to cellar but that was/is never the point. Best sub $15 red I've had in some time!