Annual dozen deals include $320 Chateau Yaldara shiraz, Peter Lehmann Mentor, d’Arenberg Coppermine Road & Thompson Margaret River cabernet
Fancy tasting a $320-a-bottle Barossa shiraz and a 97-point Coonawarra old-vine classic in our Super Premium pack? The offer will surprise you.
They say we’re a “new world” country when it comes to wine but the stories of our viticultural pioneers pulse with drama.
Peel back the labels on many of the wines on show today in The Australian’s best offer of the year – the 2022 Annual Dozen series – and stories emerge of big dreamers and bigger risk-takers; of newly arrived adventurers who scrapped and scraped together a new life in the Australian bush; of families who worked shoulder-to-shoulder over generations to grow vines and brands that still flourish today.
The legend of Peter Lehmann lives on in wines like the Mentor cabernet, the d’Arenbergs of McLaren Vale are 110 years into their grape greatness, while the ambition of larger-than-life Len Evans stands behind Leogate and its majestic Hunter Valley vineyards.
The Australian’s Annual Dozen, compiled in association with club president James Halliday, has evolved over the years into several offers involving 30 wines: the Select Dozen ($16.67 a bottle); the Premium Dozen ($20.83 a bottle); and the Super Premium Six ($39.99 a bottle, and also available in a dozen).
Our Super Premium Six this year includes a bottle of 2017 Barossa shiraz with a recommended retail of price of $320 a bottle.
The Chateau Yaldara 1847 Grand Pappy’s Barossa Valley Shiraz 2017 scored an impressive 95 points by the Halliday team’s Barossa specialist Tyson Stelzer (full tasting note below).
Just as impressive is the story of Chateau Yaldara and its founder, Hermann Thumm.
Hermann was born to German Lutheran parents and grew up in Georgia, then part of the Tsarist Russian Empire.
After his hometown was occupied by the Red Army in 1921, he fled to Iran as a young boy to escape communist rule but 20 years later, after building up business interests, he was detained during World War II by British forces. He was shipped with other Germans to Loveday in South Australia’s Riverland, where he spent more than three years in Australia’s largest internment camp
“The wise ones used the time to study,’’ he wrote, years later. “Among us there were many academics, lecturers, professors from the Tehran foreign colleges, so whoever wanted had the great opportunity to study and to spend the time improving themselves.”
Raised on a vineyard in Georgia, Hermann also spent time in camp trying to make sparkling wine from local grapes.
“In the camp, my champagne in beer bottles was popping all over and under the huts,’’ he wrote. “In my dreams I already saw myself as a well-to-do wine and champagne manufacturer for I had an idea to revolutionise champagne making in the modern ‘tank fermentation’ way and that idea constantly pursued me as a great challenge.”
Soon after being released from his internment camp, Hermann made his way to the Barossa and about a year later, in 1947, founded Chateau Yaldara, named after the local Aboriginal word meaning “sparkling”.
The present Yaldara winemaker, Sam Kurtz – a sixth-generation Barossan whose ancestors from the Koch and Gramp families planted some of the region’s first vines in the 1800s – isn’t certain what became of Hermann’s sparkling ambitions but knows he came to be regarded as one of the valley’s most creative winemakers, crafting red table wines while most in the industry were still focused purely on fortifieds.
After more than 50 years’ ownership, Hermann sold the Chateau in 1999 to McGuigan Wines. In 2014, it was purchased by 1847 Wines, a Chinese-owned operator, for $15.5m.
Sam, an award-winning former chief winemaker for Saint Hugo and Wyndham Estate, tells me the Chinese government crackdown on Australian wine has impacted Chateau Yaldara. “It’s been a difficult time – initially I think we all were hoping China would come back but we now realise it’s going to take longer,’’ he says.
In the meantime, more tourists are being drawn to Yaldara’s historic sandstone chateau at Rowland Flat, and exceptional wines like the Grand Pappy are winning fans locally.
The 2017 vintage, described by Tyson Stelzer below, finds a place in our Super Premium Six for an equally exceptional price.
Chateau Yaldara 1847 Grand Pappy’s Barossa Valley Shiraz 2017
Played right, the Barossa’s cooler seasons rank among my favourites. There’s a bright, spicy crunch to the best of 2017 Barossa shiraz. This is a refreshingly medium-bodied style laced with red cherries, greengage plums and a hint of black pepper. Tangy acid line and a fine tannin grid carry a finish of impressive persistence. 95 points. 14.5% alc; RRP $320 a bottle.
SPECIAL $39.99 a bottle in the Super Premium Six (or dozen)
Another wine with a story to tell in our Super Premium Six is a 2016 Coonawarra shiraz (rated 97 points by James Halliday).
The wine hails from Brand’s Laira vineyard, which includes 15 rows planted in 1893 and is considered to be among the oldest still producing fruit on Coonawarra’s famed “terra rossa” strip.
The vines were planted by an English sea captain, Henry Stentiford, who named the vineyard after his ship.
Brand’s Laira Stentiford’s Old Vines Coonawarra Shiraz 2016
The length and focus of the wine in the mouth speaks eloquently of very old vines. The structure and texture, coupled with the dark fruits, are the key to the wine’s quality, though not making oak and tannins irrelevant. Coonawarra at its best. 97 points and Red Star for Exceptional Value. 14.5% alc; RRP $80 a bottle.
SPECIAL $39.99 a bottle in the Super Premium Six (or dozen)
All wines in the Super Premium Six – described by Halliday as “the creme de la creme” – have scored ratings in the Halliday Wine Companion of between 94 and 97 points.
The collection includes a 95-point Peter Lehmann Mentor Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 (RRP $45 a bottle) and a 95-point d’Arenberg Coppermine Road McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 (RRP $76 a bottle).
Here are two other beauties worth checking out.
Leogate Western Slopes Reserve Hunter Valley Shiraz 2017
Youthful. Ripe. A lot left in the tank, I would suggest burying this for another five years. Kirsch, anise, youthful purple-fruit allusions and a latticework of cedar-vanillin oak. The spread of flavours and texture, impressive. Have faith! Team Halliday rating: 94 points (By Ned Goodwin) 14% alc; RRP $115 a bottle.
SPECIAL $39.99 a bottle in the Super Premium Six (or dozen)
Thompson Estate Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
If you are tiring of reading about the near-perfect 2018 vintage in Margaret River, look away now. It produced wines of succulence, ripeness, density, power and balance, characters which are all present here in this wine. The concentration of fruit and structuring tannins/oak in this cabernet assure it a long and graceful life in the cellar for decades to come. Team Halliday rating: 95 points (By Erin Larkin) 14.2% alc; RRP $50 a bottle
SPECIAL $39.99 a bottle in the Super Premium Six (or dozen)
The Australian’s Premium Dozen is a “who’s who” of Australia’s premium regions and estates. All wines are rated between 92 and 96 points and were produced by top performing wineries – eight are rated Five Red Stars, the Halliday Wine Companion’s highest ranking.
Here are four of my favourites.
Alkoomi Black Label Frankland River Riesling 2020
Fine, talcy phenolics and layers of citrus fruit almost obscure the tight coil of acid that springs from the centre. This has delicacy, poise and grace – but it’s also powerful, making it an intriguing, beautiful and well-crafted wine. A lot to love right now, or cellar it – it’ll go for years and years. Team Halliday rating: 94 points. (By Erin Larkin) 12% alc; RRP $32 a bottle.
SPECIAL $20.83 a bottle in the Premium Dozen
TarraWarra Estate Yarra Valley Chardonnay 2018
Hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed, wild-fermented in French oak (25% new), no additions of any kind except SO2. Not as fresh as the Estate, but has complexity and depth. Team Halliday rating: 94 points (by James Halliday) 13.2% alc; RRP $34 a bottle.
SPECIAL $20.83 a bottle in the Premium Dozen
Leconfield Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2019
The tune is Coonawarra but its melody is Leconfield. A riff of blackberries and satsuma plums, mint and menthol tempered by woodsy spices, and the oak just so. All flavours flow through to a palate just shy of full bodied. There’s an elegance within, refreshing acidity and perfectly framed emery board tannins to close. Team Halliday rating: 95 points. (By Jane Faulkner) 14.5% alc; RRP $36 a bottle.
SPECIAL $20.83 a bottle in the Premium Dozen
Heirloom Vineyards McLaren Vale Shiraz 2019
Dashing, slick and transfixing. Inky blackberry, black cherry and satsuma plum fruit delivering density with impressive definition, lifted by violet perfume andset to a grand foundation of fresh licorice. Elena Brooks’ signature fine-ground tannins carry a long finish. Team Halliday rating: 96 points (By Tyson Stelzer) 14.5% alc; RRP $40 a bottle.
SPECIAL $20.83 a bottle in the Premium Dozen
Super Premium Six:$39,99
a bottle. Save $446 a six-pack.
Premium Dozen:$20.83 a
bottle. Save $112 a dozen.
Select Dozen:$16.67
a bottle. Save $122 a dozen.
PLUS With any order of 12 or more bottles comes a complimentary gold medal winning Zonte’s Footstep Chocolate Factory McLaren Vale Shiraz 2019 (RRP $30).
Order online or phone 1300 765 359 Mon-Fri 8am-6pm AEST. Deals only available while stocks last. The Australian Wine Club is a commercial partnership with Laithwaites Wine.
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