Calvados, Gin, Rhone Blend

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More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

Frank Moorhouse in his book Martini - a memoir states, "Every time it is served, the martini represents a journey towards an unattainably ideal drink". The idea of endlessly pursuing a perfection that does not exist is something well known to passionate winemakers. Having a winemaking background we thought we would delve into the mysteries of gin production. This was largely brought about by our fascination with martinis and all things gin.
The notion of the "unattainable ideal drink" led us into a series of trials and experiments and we have become fully immersed in the alchemy of batch distillation and the extraction of exotic and local botanicals. The MGC doffs its hat to London Dry Gin with the two major components being juniper berries and coriander seed. There are 11 botanicals in total (not including a lot of love) with the grapefruit peel and rosemary coming from the garden at Gembrook Hill Vineyard. The other botanicals are macadamia, sandalwood, honey lemon myrtle and organic navel orange, which are all sourced from Australia. The exotics in the mix are angelica root, orris root and cassia bark.

Each botanical is distilled separately and then blended to our recipe - essentially a winemakers approach. We use a copper pot baine-marie alembic still. A still traditionally used for making perfume. This allows us to preserve the delicate nature of the botanicals we work with. The final component is the water used to break the gin back. We use Gembrook rainwater which is pure and fresh and allows the botanicals to shine through. At only 60kms from Melbourne this local source contributes to the definition of the unique "Melbourne Dry Gin" style.

The MGC is not chill filtered. We didn't want to take out the oils that contribute so much to the aromatics and mouth feel of the gin. So when the gin is very cold the oils become slightly insoluble and form a light haze. The French use the word louche to describe this. In a different context someone who is louche is of a shady character! Each bottle is numbered to reflect the small batches in which it is made. ANDREW MARKS, Distiller & Winemaker

A rocking little gem in the making, the 2020 Côtes Du Rhône has a round, elegant, incredibly satisfying profile as well as textbook blackberry and black raspberry fruits supported by pepper and floral notes. It should be outstanding and well worth a few bottles. JEB DUNNUCK

Wines of the Year 2023: Value category and top scorers
Modern, lifted and a bit heady, but attractive and evocative. Black cherry inkiness segues into a dense palate where all the fruit is crammed into a structured body with drying tannins. Herbs and stones hemmed in by a firm grip. A good all rounder DECANTER

An impressive Cotes-du-Rhone with stacks of blackberry and black raspberry fruit wrapped around a core of moderately dry tannins on the bold palate. Long self-confidently dry finish. A cuvee of 50% syrah, 45% grenache and 5% mourvedre. Drink now. JAMES SUCKLING

The medium to full-bodied 2020 Cotes du Rhone will see plenty of more time in tank, yet it's already drinking well, with hints of garrigue and black olives adding nuance to the blackberry and cherry fruit. Silky and clean, it's delightfully easy to drink. WINE ADVOCATE

A voluptuous, well-balanced and charming Lirac red with aromas of dark cherries, plums, warm spices and wet stones on the nose. It’s medium- to full-bodied with fine tannins. Juicy center palate with pulpy dark cherries and a refreshing core of purple berries. Well-driven and focused with a flavorful finish. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. JAMES SUCKLING

48 % Grenache, 35 % Mourvèdre and 17 % Syrah from very low yields of 15 hl/ha, at Domaine du Joncier on the pebble terroir of the Vallongues plateau. Certified Biodynamic, Joncier was acquired by Mont-Redon in 2022 and the wine remains Joncier-labelled. 100 % destemmed with gentle extraction via pumpover. Matured for 15 months in 228 litre Burgundy barrels (Syrah) and stainless steel (Grenache, Mourvèdre). Unfined, unfiltered.

This wine is incredibly impressive with great energy and intensity while remaining very supple, elegant and fresh. A remarkable success and a great addition to the already outstanding Château Mont-Redon Lirac (one-third of which is from these vineyards at Joncier).

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

STAFF PICKS 2024 - ROSCOE HALLIGAN-ROSE

Too long a story to tell here, but the brief version is, I spent a good bit of time before our recent trip to the Rhone trying to find a producer that fit our wants and needs perfectly, we found three in the end. The Rhone is so exciting at the moment with so many great wines coming out, and many remain at reasonable prices. Still, in the face of this wave of excellent wine it is still rare to find someone crafting wines that are this extraordinary. Paul Formosa is one of the most talented and focused young winemakers I have come across in a long while. His wines are nothing short of spectacular.
Wonderful purity of expression, vivid, bright and clearly defined. Lighter in colour than you may expect, but that belies the deep wells of character that lurk amongst those soaring aromatics, dramatic fruit and the flashes of minerality that add to the overall feel of crispness that accompanies the luxurious and beautifully cushioned fruit. The wine goes on and on and with each moment another nuance or detail escapes from the depths and flicks or flutters along your mouth, tantalising you with the feeling of things to come.
Composed and self-assured, this is not a Gigondas that seeks to stun you with bold and forward fruit, rather it lures you in with its seductive flavours, its shapely profile and its enticing array of perfume. Sneaky structure pays second fiddle here, but it is all perfectly measured and ensures a very long and expressive life ahead. This was an easy choice for my wine of the year. ROSCOE



The promising 2022 Gigondas Cuvée Tradition 1871 mixes 80% Grenache with the remainder equally split between Syrah and Mourvèdre. Glossy red fruits mingle with dashes of dried herbs and a splash of rosewater. Refreshing acidity neatly balances the moderate fruit concentration, persisting all the way through to the sapid finish. This is a lovely Gigondas. NICHOLAS GREINACHER, Vinous

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More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

We were first introduced to the distillery by Melbourne (and San Sebastian) bar owner, Gerald Diffey. He was fairly passionate about this range of gins he'd seen on a trip back to the UK and urged us to import some. We knew Gerald knew his stuff so we were interested but wary given the number of Gins in the market, but once we delved deeper into the operation and then tasted the range we were sold.

The distillery is a relatively new operation headed by Bob Russell and sons, Matthew and Stephen. It is unique in several senses but first off it is housed in a Victorian-era pumphouse in the now derelict Chatham Dockyard south of London. The dockyard was at one time of huge importance to the Empire building ships for the Royal Navy from Napoleonic times through to the Falklands. The pumphouse # 5 was used to pump out water for the dry docks. Russell saw an opportunity to revitalise a magnificent piece of English architecture, give some locals a job and indulge his passion for making bespoke spirits. To do this he decided to take the road less travelled in distilling and instead of buying in bulk spirit to make his Gin

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Distilled using locally grown barley and Kentish water, this is as fresh and bright as a sunny spring day in the countryside. Elegant and refined gin, with a lovely, half floral, half herbal lift. I tasted it before learning what botanicals had been used in its production, and suspect its fragrant quality comes from the local elderflowers. MAX ALLEN

Ingredients: Italian Juniper berries, locally sourced elderflower, Bulgarian Coriander seeds, Spanish orange peel, Italian lemon peel, Guatemala green cardamom, grains of paradise from Africa, European Angelica root and Orris root, our own neutral grain spirit and Kentish chalk filtered water.
 

Aged in small apple brandy casks for over 12 months, this rich and generous liqueur is a result of blending pressed French and British heirloom apple varieties with our apple spirit.

Complex and well-structured with baked apple and spice, balanced with firm tannins and cask influence.

Our take on the traditional aperitif from North-West France – enjoy as such or serve with blue cheese or dessert. WILLIE SMITH

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More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

We wanted to taste the Juniper. We wanted it to taste different to our Melbourne Dry Gin. We wanted it to taste amazing.

The Single Shot is a gin made in a single distillation, unlike the MGC’s original Melbourne Dry Gin, in which botanicals are individually distilled then blended together. The result is a full flavoured gin, so much so it may louche (form a fine glazy mist) in a G&T or Martini, which MGC celebrates as a mark of distinction.

Even before its release, Melbourne Gin Company has received major international accolades for Single Shot becoming the most awarded gin that no one has yet tasted.

Double Gold at the 2018 San Francisco World Spirits Awards;
Gin Master at the 2018 Gin Masters Awards London,
Gold Medal at the 2018 World Gin Masters – Asia (Hong Kong)
Since 2013 when MGC launched their first pioneering product, Melbourne Dry Gin, their fascination with the alchemy of gin has kept them busy conducting trials, perfecting their techniques and playing with different botanicals to create Single Shot.

Described as a "cask-finished English grain spirit" because it hasn't spent enough time in barrel to be designated as whisky (there is a whisky in the works, due for release this year), this has just the faintest hint of pale golden colour and is bursting with ethereal aromas of sweet, freshly milled malted barley, a touch of honey, some lightly toasted linseed and sesame. It's sweet and fine on the tongue, with a deliciously seductive, gently oily texture. An intriguing and unique spirit. MAX ALLEN

Ingredients: With a specially selected blend of our holy trinity of grains mixed with our Kentish water before being distilled carefully through our traditional pot still.
 

Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin is crafted to deliver the best of all worlds: a perfect, classic gin and also something that would fascinate and delight even the most hardened gin fanatic. It’s spicy but with great citrus, a truly modern Australian gin.

Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin captures the essence of contemporary Australia’s heritage in Europe and Asia. We’re using whole oranges which is unusual but Australian citrus is highly aromatic and supports the spicier botanicals like cardamom.

The cinnamon and star anise add rich fruitcake tones, the Tasmanian pepperberry leaf provides warmth rather than heat, and the lemon myrtle is a beautiful alternative to lemon peel.

Our Rare Dry Gin has been awarded medals at a number of prestigious international competitions: Double Gold in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2014 and 2016, Silver in the London International Wine & Spirits Competition 2014, and Gold at the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Competition 2014.  fourpillarsgin.com.au

Distilled in Battersea, south London, this is named after Ralph Dodd, an early nineteenth-century entrepreneur whose many schemes included the creation of the London Distillery Company. The venture failed - indeed Dodd was taken to court for his innovative notion to issue transferable shares - but his sprit lingered on. So when the brand new London Distillery Company started producing gin in 2013, it was called Dodd's. The bulk of the botanicals, including the honey, are distilled in a copper pot still, while the more delicate ones are cold distilled in a vacuum still. The two streams are then blended and married before bottling.

The nose is creamy, then a leafy shiso-like aroma emerges with fat fruits behind. In time there is subtle juniper, a menthol hit, some celery, and sweetness. The mouth feel is very silky, which distracts you initially from the high, fresh and brightly warm perfume. You're inside the pine forest eating ras el hanout baklava. DAVID BROOM, Gin: The Manual

The 2022 Châteauneuf Du Pape Blanc is Grenache Blanc, Clairette, and smaller amounts of Roussanne, Picpoul, and Bourboulenc. Ripe citrus, crushed stone, white flowers, and even a kiss of brioche all emerge on the nose, and it's medium-bodied, with a pure, elegant mouthfeel, good acidity, and a great finish. It's going to evolve for 10-12 years, if not longer, if well stored. JEB DUNNUCK

Incredibly mineral and saline with astonishing focus and precision for this very warm location. Great lemon aromas ranging from blossoms to the peel. Great concentration, but no less vitality. Amazingly long finish that reminds me of great Alsace dry rieslings, like Clos St. Hune! Drink or hold. ( 96) STUART PIGOTT Pigott, James Suckling

Robust and wonderful, Claude Navy Strength is our full flavoured, full bodied gin with a hint of Australia, carrying a delicate touch of Southern Sassafras foraged from the Victorian mountains. Despite its humble beginnings, Claude has won the hearts and tastebuds of gin lovers and critics around the world, winning double gold at the World Spirit Awards. It continues to be one of our most popular gins and a staple for any drinks cabinet.

Beautiful on ice or as a Gibson Martini. We also love it as a G&T using a good quality tonic. BIG TREE

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More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

The botanicals are steeped for 24 to 48 hours then additional Juniper and Liquorice Root are vapour infused in the neck of the copper pot still to give a traditional Juniper flavour at the front of the palate through to a sweet liquorice finish. This gin is triple distilled giving the spirit an ultra-smooth flavour despite the higher than normal ABV. It contains 11 Botanicals including 3 local botanicals - Native Bush Pepper, Lemon Myrtle, Tasmanian Wattleseed. SPRING BAY DISTILLING

For me this is an altogether gentle and delicate gin not that it doesn't have presence or flavour. More that it relies on its quality through craftmanship and quality ingredients. Juniper driven but highlighted with native bush botanicals that give a unique flavour and aromatic profile. I often find (Australia) native botanicals in gins overpower everything else but these are judiciously used and create a wonderful tasting gin. There is sweet oiliness on the finish that carries everything to gentle, clean and clear finish. A really well made and poised Aussie gin. MYLES,PWS

If you haven’t noticed the explosion in the craft gin scene in Australia then you must be living under a rock. As a Gin fanatic that has been pretty exciting for me in the last few years watching this category re-energised. Matt and Dave from Patient wolf are one of the newest kids on the block and they have done a fantastic job with their super locally crafted Patient Wolf gin. Yes -  I know its not wine!

With the help of their 230L Muller copper still, custom built in Germany they have made what is one of my favorite Aussie Gins to date - and there are a lot of them! Grapefruity-Citrus opens on the nose that breaks and revels a lovely savoury, earthy bent to this gin that I absolutely love. Orris root and peppry corriander compliment the underlying juniper drive. There is an almost forest floor like edge to the pithy citrus flecked core that just works brilliantly and sets it apart from so many Gins that are making their way on to the scene.

Perfect Gin and tonic gin with a slice of ruby grapefruit or try it as a Gin buck with lime, mint and dry ginger. Yum!