Brokenwood

Senior winemaker - Stuart, Brokenwood Winery

Three lawyers – including wine writer James Halliday – who became friends over drinking fine wines, established Brokenwood, in the centre of the Hunter Valley in 1970, as a weekend hobby farm. The original 4.5-hectare block was planted to Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon and friends were cajoled into helping during vintage and pruning in return for good food and wine.

The wines quickly developed a strong following, and six new partners joined in 1978 allowing the purchase of the block adjoining the winery … the Graveyard Vineyard. Not actually a graveyard but, as with the original Cricket Pitch vineyard, a plot that was destined by the local council to be the local graveyard. Planted on deep clay soils the wines showed amazing depth and concentration from the very first vintage.

The wines’ popularity and subsequent growth in production saw the arrival of a full-time winemaker, in the early 1980s, along with new equipment, and the release of a Semillon. Brokenwood continued to expand, taking on more shareholders and producing wines from vineyards across Australia. Today there are several outstanding individual vineyard wines in the range, but in terms of Shiraz, the leader of the pack is the Graveyard Shiraz, a Hunter Valley (and Australian) classic. Brokenwood also produce an outstanding Semillon, the IRL Reserve Semillon, which is well worth seeking out.    

We offer the following Hunter Valley wine from Brokenwood Wines:  

• Brokenwood Wines, Graveyard Vineyard, Hunter Valley
• Brokenwood ILR Reserve Semillon, Hunter Valley