10 of the best value wineries

Best Value Winery: Provenance Wines

It’s taken a lot of hard work and several decades for Scott Ireland to achieve the success he’s enjoying today, and this award for his Geelong winery is very well earned. Read the full story from James. 

Castelli Estate

Of its 19 wines, 14 were given the value rosette, led by the 2017 Great Southern Riesling (97 points), followed by the 2016 Frankland River Cabernet Sauvignon (96 points), and then three on 95 points, five on 94 points and the rest rated 90–93 points.

Chain of Ponds

Chain of Ponds opened up with a clash of cymbals with their 2013 The Cachet at 98 points. Then followed five 95-point wines, the three with the value rosette being the 2017 Black Thursday Sauvignon Blanc, 2017 Corkscrew Road Chardonnay and 2016 Graves Gate Syrah.

Mandoon Estate

Mandoon Estate set the scene with three wines on 97 points all with the value rosette: 2015 Reserve Margaret River Chardonnay, 2014 Reserve Frankland River Shiraz and 2014 Reserve Research Station Margaret River Cabernet Sauvignon. Then followed the sole wine, 2017 Swan Valley Verdelho, on 96, three wines on 95 and one on 94. 

Nick O'Leary Wines

2017 Tumbarumba Riesling, 2017 White Rocks Riesling and 2016 Bolaro Shiraz all received 96 points, followed by two wines each on 95 and 94 points respectively. All seven wines received the value rosette. The brightness of the fruit flavours of his wines are the key.

Patritti Wines

Patritti has 10ha of grenache at Aldinga North, and 10ha of shiraz in Blewitt Springs. Thus two single vineyard wines on 96 points, the 2016 JPB Shiraz and 2016 Lot Three Shiraz, followed by three wines each on 95 points. In all, 11 of the 12 wines in this year’s submission received the value rosette. Patritti isn’t well known in the eastern states, and deserves a wider audience there.

Rudderless

What Rudderless has in quality makes up for the very small production. They have one wine on 97 points, one on 96, and six on 95, all with the value rosette. Leading the way is the 2015 Sellicks Hill Grenach, hotly followed by the 2015 Sellicks Hill Grenache Mataro Graciano. The wines are chiefly sold through Doug Govan’s iconic Victory Hotel.

Scott

Sam Scott had a long career in retailing and winemaking in Australia and California before breaking out on his own in 2009. Eight out of 10 wines from Scott’s submissions for the guide received the value rosette. The 2016 The Denizen Chardonnay and, the outsider, 2017 La Prova Fiano (both with value rosettes) lead the way on 95 points, followed by three wines on 94 points.

Teusner

Teusner is no stranger to the Best Value Winery field, this year with two wines on 96 points, the 2017 Joshua and 2015 Avatar, both blends of grenache, mataro and shiraz. Three wines on 95 points, one wine on 94 points and four wines on 93 points also received the value rosette.

Turkey Flat

Turkey Flat only knows how to make very good wines at very good prices, led by its outstanding 2016 Shiraz on 98 points, and pursued by the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy-winning 2016 Grenache on 96 points. They have three wines on 95 points, all from old vines, and two wines on 94 points. If ever wines are made in the vineyard, Turkey Flat leads the way with the infinite care of its old vines.