13 Rare, Cult Wendouree Wines
Two Extraordinary Events…
Wendouree is a “Legend of the Clare Valley” and considered a great treasure of Australian Wines. They are renowned for making some of Australia’s most sought-after wines from more than 100 year-old vines.
Wendouree are wine-lovers wines. Their distinctive beauty confronts & challenges the drinker year on year, making them some of Australia's most recognised & sought-after wines. Tony & Lita Brady, custodians of Wendouree since 1974, have built the estate into the opposite of Australia’s modern, market-driven, high-tech industry, still only selling directly to their trusted mailing list year to year. Hidden in a clearing of red gums not far from the township of Clare, the old stone cellars, built-in 1914, are still in use and almost unaltered today. The wines made here are individual and age-worthy in the style of winemakers past.
mwwines.com.au
This may be your only chance to try 13 of these rare cult wines dating back to 2009…
Sunday February 9th
Hosted in our Private Back Room - Limited Seats Available
Lunch: 12-3pm, 13 Wines & 4 Courses | $395
Tasting: 4-6pm, 13 Wines with Nibbles | $235
National & International Reviews:
Wendouree is a national monument... Australian auctioneer Langton’s in its Classification of Australian Wine lists Wendouree Shiraz as ‘exceptional’, one of only seven wines along with the likes of Grange and Henschke Hill of Grace.
James Lawther, Decanter
The aura of sacredness and rarity surrounding Wendouree’s wines is something that very few wineries, anywhere, can lay claim to… But the character of the wines is what really makes this small estate one of the greatest, most elusive and highly collectible.
Nick Stock, jamessuckling.com
The Clare Valley’s Wendouree is one of the great treasures of Australian wine.
Huon Hooke, The Real Review
An iron fist in a velvet glove best describes these extraordinary wines.
James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion
Wendouree is a sacred word in Australian wine circles, noted for its history, anachronistic business practices and legendary wines.
Joe Czerwinski, The Wine Advocate
The Wendouree History & Context
The brand first started with Alfred Percy Birks. He and his brother planted the first vines in 1892, thus establishing A.P. Birks’ Wendouree Cellars. The word Wendouree was, at the time, thought to be an Aboriginal word meaning place of water.
Wendouree was one of four wineries in the region in 1890's along with Quelltaler, Seven Hill, and the Stanley Wine company which was established in the same year as Wendouree. The cellars, which still stand today,were built a few years later in 1914.
In 1917, failing health caused Alfred Birks to hand over responsibilities to his son Roly who remained involved for the next 65 vintages. Taking on roles of winemaker and salesman through a long, difficult period from 1917 to 1970,he established the eastern block vineyard and developed sales of dry red and fortified wines in cask to the local trade and hotels.
Aged 77, Roly Birks sold Wendouree, but unfortunately, it was purchased by someone with neither the capital nor the ability to run the business thus its was offered for sale by the mortgagee.
Following this, the vineyards fell into disarray with broken trellis failing to be maintained and overgrown vines being left untrained.
In 1974, Max Liberman purchased the estate through a mortgagee sale. Son-in-Law Tony Brady was asked to run the property with his wife Lita. Roly was retained as a consultant and stayed on for 7 years, turning the vineyard around.
Any unwanted vines were removed in 1981 which accounted for nearly half the vineyard. Varieties including Chenin Blanc, False Pedro and Crouchon were all removed reducing the size of the vineyard from 24Ha to 12Ha.
In the last few decades, with the assistance of Stephen George of Ashton Hills, the old vines of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Malbec, Mataro and Muscat have been revitalised to produce the incredible fruit yielded from them today.
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The Wines
Shiraz Mataro 2015, Our Price $225
An 80/20% blend from 1893 plantings (Central Vineyard), 1919 (Eastern), and 1920 (Eastern) bushvines. Purely in terms of weight, and not flavour, this has a lighter body than the Shiraz or Cabernet Malbec. The youngest vines were 95yo at the time of vintage, and all the vines producing all or any grapes incorporated in Wendouree's wines are in prime condition for such ancient vines. There's a silky patina on entry into the mouth, then there is a relentless build-up of purple and black fruits, and the rippling muscle of tannins. Great wine from a great vintage.
97 Points James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion (June 2021)
Shiraz Mataro 2013, Our Price $275
The mataro is very evident in the structure and texture of the wine, adding a savoury/spicy/earthy element. Once again, the overall balance is exemplary - as is the length. Its charms are less immediately obvious, but the end impression is of a totally delicious wine.
96 Points James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion (June 2021)
Shiraz Mataro 2012, Our Price $275
Often the most approachable but deceptively long ageing in the family, this presents a real conundrum for collectors. It shows more generous immediate fruit on the nose with red berries and a core of Wendouree eucalyptus and leaves, a quintessential expression of place. The fragrance builds and blossoms with air. The palate has smooth seductive fruit flesh, red and blue berry flavours, as well as hints of slate and dark minerals. The balance is impeccable and a long flowing tannin frame is both muscular and caressing. Drink from 2018 or wait for a decade longer, this will drink best either when young or fully mature.
97 Points James Suckling (October 2012)
Grilled peach, Jamon, basil
Malbec 2015, Our Price $225
Deep, shimmering red. Spice- and mineral-accented black and blue fruits and succulent flowers on the highly expressive nose. Stains the palate with intense, sharply focused cassis, cherry preserve, licorice and fruitcake flavors that unfold slowly through the back half. Shows outstanding clarity and spicy thrust on the youthfully tannic finish, which emphatically repeat the cherry note.
95 Points Josh Raynolds, Vinous (September 2022)
Malbec 2013, Our Price $195
Wonderful depth and richness of black fruits, with some patina of dried herbs. The structure is very tight, firm and solid, with impressive concentration. Density and power galore, but also balance, completeness and length.
95 Points Huon Hooke, The Real Review (October 2015)
Malbec 2012, Our Price $195
Deep, healthy colour; no other winery in Australia can match the depth and structure of Wendouree Malbec; its fragrant bouquet of spiced plums and prunes leads into a complex palate that opens with identical juicy fruit flavours, but closes with firm tannins on the long finish.
95 Points James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion (March 2022)
Roasted beetroot, goats curd, grains
Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, Our Price $275
A striking wine with creeping allure and an expression of cabernet sauvignon that is as unique as it is profoundly great. There are reticent leafy Aussie bush notes, redder cabernet berries and very discreet oak spice with some sweet earth too. Subtle complexity here; it smells gentle and mellow. Terrific fine tannin spread and a lithe juicy core, this floats and fills the mouth effortlessly. The depth is deceptive, as this is one incredibly elegant cabernet with a profound long and even web of tannin that commands the finish with assertion. Very pure and bright, full of energy and drive, the greatest young Wendouree I have tasted.
99 Points James Suckling (February 2015)
Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, Our Price $275
Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, Our Price $195
Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Our Price $295
Bright crimson, slightly deeper/more purple than the other '09s. Wendouree occupies a truly unique site that sets its wines apart from all others in the Clare Valley, but none more so than its cabernet, which has all the attributes of high quality, cool-grown cabernet. This is a very convincing wine, with great precision, length and balance.
96 Points James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion (June 2021)
Angus a la minute, green peppercorn butter, leafy greens
Shiraz 2015, Our Price $295
100% shiraz from Central Vineyard bushvines planted in 1893, and the Eastern Vineyard planted in 1919. The colour isn't particularly dark, but the flavours are very, very deep, complex and positively mouthwatering. You have no hope of understanding this wine without repeated visits to the glass. Texture, flavour and structure intermingle on the palate; purple and black fruits are but part of the story of a great vintage with magnificent longevity.
98 Points James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion (June 2021)
Shiraz 2013, Our Price $295
A perfect rendition of medium-bodied shiraz, burdened neither by massive alcohol or oak, allowing the black fruits, led by blackberry and supported by hints of licorice and earth, free play. The overall texture is exceptional, the tannins smooth and supple.
98 Points James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion (June 2021)
Shiraz 2012, Our Price $475
The most hotly collected Wendouree wine, this sits on a stellar level in 2012. It presents as a reserved and measured Shiraz, offering fine red fruit fragrance, a floral edge and a discreet, leafy Wendouree stamp. There’s some pepper here too, and an enticingly reticent smokiness, almost peaty. The palate has a long fine and assertive shape with pulsing flesh poised to unleash with time. Red plum, some slightly darker berry tones and some liquorice too, the effect is long and seductive, building through to a powerful but velvety finish. Yes, it's approachable thanks to a profound sense of balance, but do wait to drink this. Drink from 2022 and for a decade or more.
98 Points James Suckling (October 2012)