The Kirbys and McKennas are airborne winemakers, Escarpment is an artisanal project for both families. For a house that is devoted to the creation of world class Pinot Noir in the Burgundian style, the rendering of a full bodied Chardonnay wine comes naturally. Escarpment have aspired to release a flagship white which can be sibling to the elite single Vineyard Kupe Pinot Noir. Their salubrious parcels yield the exceptional quality of fruit required to realize the ambition and construct a rich golden wine, the pinnacle of New Zealand Chardonnay.

$3999each $479DOZEN EACH DOZEN Escarpment allows individual vineyard expression from exceptional sites within the Martinborough region. The vines are planted to alluvial gravel terraces at the base of the Aorangi Ranges, the very hills made famous by the legendary Polynesian voyager who discovered New Zealand. In the search for the perfect site, Larry and Sue McKenna kept coming back to an area that offered the rich mix of elements required to grow and make the finest new world wines. The condusive mesoclimes surrounding the superlative Kupe Block stimulate vines and yield parcels of the finest Chardonnay, barrel fermented in a mix of new and seasoned oak followed by a judicious term of lees maturation.

Grown to the Martinborough Terraces along, Te Muna Road, where the free draining alluvial gravels yield complex mineral flavours, extravagantly oak barrel fermented to indigenous yeasts and aged ten months on sedimentery lees. Its bold yellow hues presage a ripe but restrained nose of savoury pomme fruits, judiciously oaked over a flinty mineral backbone, the ultimate exemplar of the august North Island style. Kupe Vineyard evolves gracefully, ideally matched to the freshest shellfish and Boston cray, New Zealand mussels and grilled hapuka.

$4999each $599DOZEN EACH DOZEN

When the Kirbys and McKennas met for the first time, they quickly realized they shared a great passion for Pinot Noir, the project to develop Escarpment was born. Collectively all four directors bring to Escarpment a world of experience, skill and understanding about the nurture of an exceptional site and the creation of sublime Pinot wines. After twenty one years of viticulture in Martinborough, Larry McKenna defines New Zealand Pinot Noir through an assemblage of exceptional sites growing some of the oldest vines in the region.

$6799each $815DOZEN EACH DOZEN Inspired by the great growths of Burgundy, Escarpment fashions its marvelous range of Pinot Noir to old world style as influenced by Martinborough's unique terroir. A blend of superior clones UCD 5, 6 and 13, from vines planted to deep alluvial gravel soils at Gill Cleland's Vineyard on Cambridge Road in 1989. Kiwa is open top fermented in traditional wooden cuvees, hand plunged twice daily over the course of three weeks. Batches are pressed into a selection of new and seasoned French oak barriques for eighteen months, bottled after a minimum of egg whites fining to protect the flavours, to aid brightness in the glass and promote a soft mouthfeel texture.

Bright, impenetrable red colour. Bouquets of smoke, cedar and meats, boysenberry and ham, polished and compelling. Moana presents a more savoury, complex and spicy Pinot Noir which has become a favourite of the Escarpment winemaking team. A splendid offering, one of the most superlative red wines to come out of New Zealand.

One of Margaret River's transcendent winemakers, Evans & Tate are renowned for their essential, contemporarily styled white wines. A succulent, zippy rendering of Sauvignon Blanc, driven by the freshness of its pure, primary fruit characters. Evans & Tate can call on the slow ripening vineyards to yield crisply flavoured grapes with good natural acids which can be vinified into wines of concentration and finesse. A vitalizing bouquet and palate is embellished by vibrant herbaceous characters, with just the right amount of textural mouthfeel and complexity.

$1899each $227DOZEN EACH DOZEN Fruit is sourced from vineyards which can provide requisite quality of fruit exhibiting great freshness and flavour intensity at low baume levels. Once the fruit has reached the desired level of natural acidity, harvest is carried out throughout the cool of night and early morning. Bunches are destemmed and softly pressed to extract the finest free run juices, settled and brought to temperature before being racked off solids. Upon completion, batches are racked off lees to retain primary fruit, bottled while fresh and vital to retain brisk vitality and crisp mouth feel.

Pale to mid straw with a fresh, light green rim. A showcase of the clean, generous Margaret River style, intense primary fruit aromas, lemongrass and ripe kiwi fruits, fresh green peas with a delicate herbal lift. Shows a splendid core of juicy flavours, green apples, thistle and chopped herbs all fill the mouth, building great length of flavour. Enjoy with chargrilled chicken, red onion, beetroot and goats curd salad.

A highly engaging, finely attenuated accord of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. Evans and Tate have gained international renown with their classic Margaret River style of dry white wine. Semillon lends distinctive characters of milk thistle and slate, Sauvignon Blanc contributes a zingy frappe of vegetables, gooseberry and lychee, all contributing to structure and preserving vitality of fruit.

$1899each $227DOZEN EACH DOZEN Batches of the best grapes showing intense varietal flavours and high natural acidity at lower baumes levels are selected from good Margaret River vineyards. On completion of ferments, parcels are sulphured, chilled and coarse clarified to avoid extended contact on yeast lees. Some components are kept on light yeast lees for a period, building texture. The batches are then assembled, followed by a fine earth filtration. Minimal handling throughout achieves an intensely aromatic and varietally expressive wine.

Brilliant pale straw with fresh green hue. Lifted tropical aromas of passionfruit, lychee and gooseberry, a touch of nectarine from the Chardonnay. Semillon contributes pungent characters of grassiness and slate. The palate is juicy and succulent, exhibiting nectarine and tropical fruits, culminating in a fresh citrus finish. Juicy and well balanced, with a touch of maritime savouryness, a marvelous accompaniment to calamari, avocado and crab.

$3999each $479DOZEN EACH DOZEN

Chardonnay vines fare exceptionally well in Margaret River, as appropriate shading yields intensely flavoured fruit with excellent natural acidity. The afternoon sea breezes typical of the region, cap the daytime temperatures and produce cool summer nights for which Margaret River is renowned. The balmy climes encourage ripening of the white varieties as flavour ripeness is achieved at lower Baumes with excellent acid retention. Grapes must be picked from midnight to 7am and are processed separately without delay to preserve quality and freshness.

$6499each $779DOZEN EACH DOZEN Chardonnay is selectively hand picked across separate blocks on different dates, over the course of two or three hours as flavours peak. Parcels are chilled to 5C and passed through an airbag press into new French oak 500L oak puncheons, only the finest quality pressings are retained. Barrels are vinified through the action of wild indigenous yeast, imparting great depth of flavour and aromatic complexity. Upon completion, barrels are topped up and treated to a term of maturation, regularly lees stirred to develop mouthfeel and texture. The best barrels are identified and assembled into the final wine, followed by an extended term of bottle age under the Evans & Tate cellars before release.

Mid golden straw hue. A pure expression of Margaret River, delicate layers of complexity that slowly build and evolve, lemons and lime, white peach and melon aromas provide primary fruit intensity with savoury elements of toast, slate and dried herb. Citrus flavours provide great freshness with stonefruit and melon flavours imparting concentration and fruit intensity. The barrel ferments achieve lovely textures and complex savoury notes.

$5799each $695DOZEN EACH DOZEN

$28799each $3455DOZEN EACH DOZEN

From a stately bequeath of the original Halls Gap plantings, established 1969 on the inhospitable slopes of the Victorian Grampians. The highly precious, single block of fully mature vines yields a meagre crop of extraordinary Riesling grapes, the parched berries are ripened to perfection by the clear skies and frigid climes, forming an indulgence of profound esters and intense flavours. Gloriously perfumed yet magnificently dry, lustrous and textural to the palate, populated on the tongue with delicate notes of ripe green apple and soft white fruits, citrus rind and sprays of fresh acidity.

$3499each $419DOZEN EACH DOZEN

One of Victoria's most distinguished and prolific vineyards, Halls Gap delivered decades of splendid harvests to Seppelt and Penfold, before being retained by the illustrious Mount Langi Ghiran. The inhospitable, rocky soils produce stately Rieslings of sound structure and the most pristine fruit characters. So highly fragrant of spring blossoms, kaffir lime and lemon curd, simply a sensationally clean palate of uber fine citrus flavours, luscious white fruit characters and bracing lime mineral acidity, balanced by a long and persistent mineral drive before an everlasting, complex and memorable finish.

$2699each $323DOZEN EACH DOZEN

$2799each $335DOZEN EACH DOZEN