SPIRIT
Yarra valley
Part of the Port Philip zone which surrounds Melbourne, the Yarra Valley is located an hour outside Melbourne and is one of the most important fine wine growing regions in Australia. The Yarra Valley’s viticultural history extends back to 1838 when the Ryrie Brothers planted the first vineyards at what is now Yering Station, with the first vintage produced in 1845 by the legendary James Dardel. In 1863 Hubert de Castella established St Huberts Vineyards and Guillaume de Pury established Yeringberg, bringing the total area under vine to 430 acres. This trend continued with the establishment of Yeringa with David Mitchell planting vineyards at Stringybark Creek increasing the area under vine to 1000 acres. This period of growth was followed by a series of poor vintages and tough economic conditions which saw vineyard production completely cease by 1937.
The Yarra Valley’s modern renaissance began when Reg Egan planted Wantirna Estate in 1963 and was followed in the late 1960s and early 1970s by Mount Mary, Yeringberg, Yarra Yering, St Huberts, Seville Estate, Yarra Burn, Chateaux Yeringa (now de Bortoli) and others, From the this period through to the late 1990’s investment and expansion continued, with the majority of wineries small, quality conscious, boutique producers of top quality wine which fetched appropriate prices. The latter period of the 1990’s saw large scale corporate investment, with Moet & Chandon establishing Domaine Chandon alongside acquisitions by Mildara Blass, McWilliams, Hardys and others.
The Yarra Valley is a diverse and cool climate region with a lower average growing temperature than both Bordeaux and Burgundy, the principle white variety is Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, while the red varieties that the region is renowned for are Cabernet Sauvignon (with associated Bordeaux varieties of Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc) which helped put the Yarra Valley on the map followed by Pinot Noir which arrived en masse in the 1980s and followed more recently by Shiraz (which is sometimes blended with Viognier). Both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are also cultivated as sparkling base. Interestingly, vineyards planted in the cool, upper Yarra Valley for the production of sparkling wine are now being used for table wines. Whether it’s global warming or just that recent vintages have been warmer, there is little doubt that the Upper Yarra including places such as Hoddles Creek and other sub-districts such as Woori Yallock have really come into their own over the last 5-10 years.
Chardonnay styles vary across winemakers and site, with a distinctive aromatic profile of melon and fig in warmer sites and white peach and grapefruit from cooler vineyards. Both styles are characterised by good acidity. Outstanding producers include Oakridge, Toolangi, Coldstream Hills, de Bortoli, Giant Steps, Mac Forbes and Hoddles Creek. The Yarra Valley is one of the first Australian regions to establish Pinot Noir of high regard, with notes of plum, cherry and strawberry and a characteristic underlying sappy acidity and fine soft tannins. Outstanding producers include de Bortoli, Coldstream Hills, Giant Steps and Mount Mary and Wedgetail. Yarra Valley Cabernet is almost always blended with traditional Bordeaux varieties and is characterised as a medium bodied wine, elegant, with notes of cassis, hay, tobacco leaf, fine silky tannins and remarkable longevity. Outstanding producers include Mount Mary, Yarra Yarra, Yeringberg, Wantirna Estate. Shiraz is less prevalent in the Yarra Valley and highly dependent on vineyard location favouring warmer growing conditions. Increasingly producers are following the Northern Rhone Cote Rotie blend by adding small quantities of Viognier for added colour and aromatic lift. Classic Yarra Valley Shiraz is almost always of a cool climate style with notes of pepper, black cherry and spice with fine silky tannins. Outstanding producers include Yering Station, de Bortoli, Jamsheed, Yarra Yarra and recently Serrat.
Sources:
The Oxford Companion to Wine, (ed) Jancis Robinson
James Hallidays Wine Atlas of Australian, James Halliday
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Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin (700ml)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
GinAustralia506$89.00 -
Four Pillars Spiced Negroni Gin (700ml)This gin was originally the result of a conversation between Cameron (our distiller) and Jason (then Group Bars Manager at Keystone, and one of the World’s Top Ten Bartenders) back in 2014 - they wanted to create a gin specifically for the Negroni. Something to cut through the Campari and vermouth. And as the Negroni has always been a favourite at Four Pillars, Cameron jumped at the chance to make the first collaboration in our Bartender Series a tribute to the very definition of a perfectly balanced cocktail.
Four Pillars Spiced Negroni Gin is a highly aromatic, rich and (yes) spicy gin with great power and intensity. First, we took our base botanicals and upped the amount of Tasmanian pepperberry leaf and cinnamon. Then we added an exotic West African spice called Grains of Paradise. This is one of the most unusual spices in the world, with clove and sichuan characters. But although very powerful, the spice tends to glow rather than become hot.
We also decided to use beautiful organic blood oranges in the botanical basket, as well as some ginger. These wonderfully fragrant fresh botanicals help lift the spice to another level. Finally, we opened up the plates to add weight and intensity to the gin. fourpillarsgin.com.au
GinAustralia506$100.00 -
Patient Wolf Premium Summer Thyme Dry Gin (700ml)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!
NVGinAustralia506$105.00 As low as $94.50 -
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Patient Wolf Premium Dry Gin (700ml)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!
GinAustralia506$100.00 -
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Four Pillars Navy Strength Gin 700mlAfter experimenting with some exclusive batches of a high-proof gin for the Gin Palace we decided to add fresh 'Judy's Everbearing’ native finger limes, alongside our beautiful organic oranges, for its first release in 2014. This fresh citrus goes into the botanical basket, with some fresh ginger, giving our Navy Strength Gin its signature power and intensity.
The finger limes highlight the Asian spices like coriander and star anise, and are complemented by the fresh ginger. Then the turmeric adds a fresh but earthy quality, not unlike dill, and weight to the palate.
The resulting gin has lifted aromatics of lime curd, pine needles, and fragrant spices with a vanilla character which pulls the spices together. The palate is intense - sweet and juicy - but it is still very clean.
And we're very pleased to announce that our Navy Strength Gin has been twice been awarded Master status at the Global Gin Masters (in 2015 and 2016), and Gold at the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirit Competition 2014. fourpillarsgin.com.au
NVGinAustralia506$120.00 -
PWS Negroni at HomeThe Negroni has made its way into the hearts and minds of Australians everywhere and Four Pillars has taken it to the next level with their Negroni Spiced Gin. This is the first Negroni specific gin created on the market and is infused with things like cubeb, ginger, grains of paradise, pepper-berry, lemon myrtle and so much more.
For the vermouth a little Cocchi Americano Rosa adds a lighter touch and elegant lift to the already punchy gin base and what else but Campari could go in next to round out this perfect pre-dinner drink!
All packs come with a recipe card. Garnish not included.
$185.00 Regular Price $207.00 -
Four Pillars Fresh Yuzu Gin (700ml)Four Pillar have a thing for yuzu for a while now, and with three limited-edition trial runs under our belts, we're ready to launch the newest member of our core range: a stand-alone, honed and perfected Fresh Yuzu Gin. A bright, aromatic and (yes) fresh dry gin made with locally-grown yuzu and inspired by our adventures making gin with Japanese friends.GinAustralia506$91.00 As low as $81.90 -
The No.30 MLC - Tasmanian Gin 700mlTim Jones - ex Yalumba - Cascade - Willi Smiths is doing some amazing things in the Huon Valley with a vacuum still at the Australian Flavour Lab. This gin uses a traditional London Dry gin base botanical mis some Geraldton Wax leaf as a native addition. In using a vacuum still with lower distillation temperatures the aromatics on this gin are particularly fine and pure - a great mixing Gin and perfect for a super dry martini.GinAustralia506$110.00 As low as $99.00
