McLaren Vale

Region: Australia, McLaren Vale

Grape variety: Red Frontignac, White Frontignac, Shiraz & Grenache

Background: Started by the late Doug Collet in 1973, Woodstock in McLaren Vale has always had an eye on the future. As well as red, white and rose wines, Woodstock has a ken focus on fortified wines too. When his son and current owner, Scott took over in 1982, the tradition has continued with fine wine making from the old vines on the property. Ben Glaetzer is now the chief winemaker with Scott managing vines – a winning team as shown by the Heartland range.

With a sweet tooth, and a passion for capturing grape flavours, winemaker Scott Collett started fortifying sweet Muscat styles in 1984. Scott would crush almost raisined, highly aromatic grapes of Muscat and Frontignac varieties to end the vintage after all the other wines were made. Pure grape spirit was added soon after ferment started, making perfumed, luscious wine of about 18% alcohol.

Although the average age of this Muscat is around 15 years, the youngest is 5 and the oldest is 25 years old when bottled. With barrel maturation, the wine becomes even sweeter as some evaporates to the “angel’s share”, and the caramel and toffee flavours grow. Colour slowly settles out of the wine during aging. A portion of younger Muscat adds aromatic fruit aroma and flavour to freshen up the complex aged components.

Tasting notes: Raisin characters on the nose with orange zest aromas and a glimpse of Christmas pudding evident. Decadent, luscious lingering toffee and grape sweetness tempts the sweet tooth in you. This wine was deliberately bottled unfiltered to retain its viscosity and fullness.

Awards: Gold at 2010 Royal Melbourne Wine Show 

VEGAN

Region: Australia, McLaren Vale

Grape variety: Grenache & Shiraz

Background: Started by the late Doug Collet in 1973, Woodstock in McLaren Vale has always had an eye on the future. As well as red, white and rose wines, Woodstock has a ken focus on fortified wines too. When his son and current owner, Scott took over in 1982, the tradition has continued with fine wine making from the old vines on the property. Ben Glaetzer is now the chief winemaker with Scott managing vines – a winning team as shown by the Heartland range.

Tasting notes: Powerful and complex tawny style. Intense flavours of nuts, toffee, mocha and spices. A powerful and complex nose full of nuts, toffee, intense spice and fresh rancio characters reflect its age and complexity. On the palate, toffee, mocha, coffee and intense nuttiness all combine to create rich luscious flavours. The finish is long with lingering flavours of a fine very old fortified.

Food pairing: An ideal digestive with coffee and chocolates, or alongside an intense aged cheese such as Gouda or Cloth Matured Cheddar.

Awards

Parker - 91 Points: 'The MV Very Old Fortified is a blend of wines possessing a minimum of 20 years of age. Pale to medium amber brown, it gives an intensely nutty nose with notes of burnt caramel, toffee, preserved orange peel, dates and spice cake. Very crisp, sweet and rich with a full body, it’s got a pleasantly viscous texture and a long nutty finish.'

James Halliday - 94 Points

Royal Adelaide Wine Show - Gold

International Wine Challenge 2018 - Silver

International Wine Challenge 2017 - Gold Winner

International Wine Challenge 2017 - Winner Mclaren Vale Fortified Trophy

VEGAN

Region: Australia, McLaren Vale

Grape Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

Background: Started by the late Doug Collet in 1973, Woodstock in McLaren Vale has always had an eye on the future. As well as red, white and rose wines, Woodstock has a ken focus on fortified wines too. When his son and current owner, Scott took over in 1982, the tradition has continued with fine wine making from the old vines on the property. Ben Glaetzer is now the chief winemaker with Scott managing vines – a winning team as shown by the Heartland range. Woodstock has enjoyed a strong reputation for Cabernet Sauvignon since 1982. Situated in the higher and cooler end of the Vale, Woodstock is the perfect home for the Cabernet Sauvignon variety. Warm, sunny days with cool gully and evening sea breezes ensure the Cabernet fruit ripens well and retains its natural acidity.

Winemaking Process: There are four blocks of Cabernet on the Estate... each providing a unique character to the wine. Low yielding old vines from our Honey Hut block provide palate weight, Block 3 vines provide a hearty backbone, our “Pineless” Block provides lifted berry characters enhanced by the Creek Block’s added leafiness. Yields range from 6 to 10 tonnes per hectare. Small berries with ample fermentation time on skins result in great colour and tannin structure. This wine was matured for just over 14 months in 13% new oak and the rest in 2 to 3 year old carefully selected American and French oak to provide softness and complexity.

Tasting Notes: Classic leafy Cabernet aromas, with alluring hints of cedar and spice bouquet. Evolving flavours of juicy blackberries, rhubarb, eucalypt, toasty oak and mint combine with a rich, fleshy middle palate to create a balanced, savoury finish that lingers. This wine has bright acid and firm yet elegant tannins, which provide complexity and roundness.

Food Pairing: Enjoy with osso-bucco, meat casseroles and goats cheese.

Review:

James Halliday - Australian Wine Companion 2013 - Rating 93: 'Strong purple-crimson; a generous, medium-bodied wine with bitter chocolate characters signalling the region, the black and redcurrant fruit even more enthusiastic with its message. Very attractive wine. Exceptional value.'

Vegan

Region: Australia, McLaren Vale

Grape Variety: Shiraz

Background: Started by the late Doug Collet in 1973, Woodstock in McLaren Vale has always had an eye on the future. As well as red, white and rose wines, Woodstock has a ken focus on fortified wines too. When his son and current owner, Scott took over in 1982, the tradition has continued with fine wine making from the old vines on the property. Ben Glaetzer is now the chief winemaker with Scott managing vines – a winning team as shown by the Heartland range.

Tasting Notes: Plum and rhubarb aromas with cassis, some savoury spice and mouth-watering hints of fennel and caraway entice a taste. These characters follow through onto the palate, with the underlying warmth of oak.

Food Pairing: Suggested dishes to pair with this wine are moussaka, beef jap che, beef in oyster sauce and mimolette.

VEGAN

Region: Australia, McLaren Vale

Grape Variety: Shiraz

Background: Started by the late Doug Collet in 1973, Woodstock in McLaren Vale has always had an eye on the future. As well as red, white and rose wines, Woodstock has a ken focus on fortified wines too. When his son and current owner, Scott took over in 1982, the tradition has continued with fine wine making from the old vines on the property. Ben Glaetzer is now the chief winemaker with Scott managing vines – a winning team as shown by the Heartland range.

Tasting Notes: When tasting this Shiraz, generosity of colour and flavour are clear and evident. The vibrant, floral and spicy bouquet brings together both red and black fruits like cherries and plums. The classic McLaren Vale earthiness comes through on the palate which balances the fruit concentration and the soft yet structured tannins.

Food Pairing: Best served with char-grilled or roast beef served with pepper sauce and wilted baby spinach or a selection of cured meats and smoked cheddar.

VEGAN

Region: Australia, McLaren Vale

Grape Variety: Shiraz

Background: Started by the late Doug Collet in 1973, Woodstock in McLaren Vale has always had an eye on the future. As well as red, white and rose wines, Woodstock has a ken focus on fortified wines too. When his son and current owner, Scott took over in 1982, the tradition has continued with fine wine making from the old vines on the property. Ben Glaetzer is now the chief winemaker with Scott managing vines – a winning team as shown by the Heartland range. Named after a set of medieval wooden leg stocks which stand in the town of Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England, “The Stocks” Shiraz is Woodstock’s flagship wine. This single vineyard Shiraz is made from 31 rows of low-yielding vines, planted circa 1900 on a sandy north slope of Woodstock Estate.

Winemaking Process: The old vines on sandy soils are inspected thoroughly during veraison each January; exposed bunches are removed to prevent sunburn and hidden bunches are thinned to ensure even ripening. Ideally, each remaining bunch will have about two leaves between them and the sun. Yields are deliberately kept low (average yield is about two bottles per vine) and the vineyard is essentially dry grown resulting in intense concentration of flavour. The Shiraz fruit is harvested at night to preserve the delicate berry flavours. The grapes are then crushed and cold soaked for 24-48 hours before fermentation in small open fermenters and hand plunged twice daily for at least 5 days. The wine is pressed and then finishes ferment in carefully selected old and new, French and American oak barrels in a temperature controlled cellar. Each barrel is monitored, and only the finest selected to continue the lineage of Woodstock ‘The Stocks’ Shiraz.

Aging: The wine is aged in carefully selected French and American oak barrels in a temperature controlled cellar for up to 18 months. Each barrel is monitored, and only the finest selected to continue the lineage of Woodstock ‘The Stocks’ Shiraz.

Tasting Notes: Deep, dark red colour with a purple tint. Plush, red and black fruits with a touch of dried spice and toasty oak on the nose. The palate is full-bodied yet soft, with ripe tannins and mid-palate fruit harmoniously balanced, which lead to a structured and complex finish. A wine that perfectly reflects its terroir, variety and region with elegance of fruit and well-integrated oak.

VEGAN

Region: Australia, McLaren Vale

Grape Variety: Shiraz

Background: Started by the late Doug Collet in 1973, Woodstock in McLaren Vale has always had an eye on the future. As well as red, white and rose wines, Woodstock has a ken focus on fortified wines too. When his son and current owner, Scott took over in 1982, the tradition has continued with fine wine making from the old vines on the property. Ben Glaetzer is now the chief winemaker with Scott managing vines – a winning team as shown by the Heartland range.

Flying Spitfires during WWII, Douglas Collett A.M was privileged to a pilot’s eye-view of the vineyards of Europe. Returning home, Doug saw the future for an Australian table wine industry, moving on from fortified styles. Equipped with animation initiative and perseverance, Doug planted many vineyards and made wines in many regions. He loved the natural beauty and robust flavours of McLaren Vale, acquiring Woodstock Estate in 1973. Doug’s own flight helmet represents the vision and passion of this inspirational man whose philosophy was “the glass is always half full” so lets fill it up!”

Tasting Notes: This wine exhibits distinctive and perfumed dark and red fruit aromas, indicative of an excellent quality vintage. The palate is luscious with ripe fruit and layers of soft tannin. Balanced acidity and subtle oak provide texture and a long smooth finish.

Food Pairing: Pairs well with slow cooked beef fillet with red wine braised or venison dishes.

VEGAN

Region: Australia, McLaren Vale

Grape Variety: Grenache

Background: Started by the late Doug Collet in 1973, Woodstock in McLaren Vale has always had an eye on the future. As well as red, white and rose wines, Woodstock has a ken focus on fortified wines too. When his son and current owner, Scott took over in 1982, the tradition has continued with fine wine making from the old vines on the property. Ben Glaetzer is now the chief winemaker with Scott managing vines – a winning team as shown by the Heartland range.

Tasting Notes: Intense varietal red fruit notes include cherry and raspberry. The palate is broad and rich, allowing it to be more readily drunk in its youth.

Food Pairing: Enjoy with a selection of Spanish tapas or a nice smoked duck on the BBQ.  

VEGAN

Region: Australia, McLaren Vale

Grape Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

Background: Started by the late Doug Collet in 1973, Woodstock in McLaren Vale has always had an eye on the future. As well as red, white and rose wines, Woodstock has a ken focus on fortified wines too. When his son and current owner, Scott took over in 1982, the tradition has continued with fine wine making from the old vines on the property. Ben Glaetzer is now the chief winemaker with Scott managing vines – a winning team as shown by the Heartland range.

Tasting Notes: This wine has a synergy between structure, tannins and fruit. The rich middle palate has generous dark fruit flavours with savoury richness of dark chocolate, fresh Cuban cigars, and spices. The lingering tannins are medium dry, balancing the lush fruit on the palate. A long refined finish makes this wine ideal with a hearty meal.

Food Pairing: This wine would match perfectly with a lamb roast or a slow cooked veal osso bucco.

Awards: James Halliday Australian Wine Companion – 2016 Edition Woodstock Collett Lane Cabernet Sauvignon - Rating 95: 'Deep colour; tasted 15 months prior to its release in Apr '16, it is a very good cabernet in the making, all its components in balance: potent cassis fruit, firm, but not dry, tannins, and good oak. No hesitation in giving it gold medal points, for its balance and freshness ensure its long term future.'

Vegan

Region: Australia, McLaren Vale

Grape variety: Grenache & Shiraz

Background: Started by the late Doug Collet in 1973, Woodstock in McLaren Vale has always had an eye on the future. As well as red, white and rose wines, Woodstock has a ken focus on fortified wines too. When his son and current owner, Scott took over in 1982, the tradition has continued with fine wine making from the old vines on the property. Ben Glaetzer is now the chief winemaker with Scott managing vines – a winning team as shown by the Heartland range.

Winemaking process: The fermenting juice of ripe Grenache and Shiraz are drained off their skins when about half of the natural sugars have fermented by yeast creating about 8% alcohol. Enough pure grape spirit is then added (“Fortifying” the wine) to an alcohol level of 18.5%. Aging this in small old barrels oxidises the colours and grape flavours and concentrates the sugars, acids and rancio flavours, making a luscious style. The alcohol content rises some more during this process and finishes at about 19%.

Tasting notes: Medium amber in colour with aromas of caramel, figs and hints of cinnamon. Intense, luscious flavours with persistent nutty caramel aftertaste. Fine spirit characters balance the sweetness producing an elegant and lengthy finish. A fine, fruity yet soft “Tawny Port” style made by Scott Collett.

Reviews: James Halliday Australian Wine Companion - 2017 Edition Woodstock Old Fortified - Rating: 92 - 'Crushed and destemmed, matured in new and used American and French oak for 18 months. Full golden-brown; nutty, spicy, sweet Christmas cake with a surge of fruit on the finish, dry rather than cloyingly sweet.'

VEGAN

Region: Australia, McLaren Vale

Grape variety: Shiraz & Cabernet Sauvignon

Background: Started by the late Doug Collet in 1973, Woodstock in McLaren Vale has always had an eye on the future. As well as red, white and rose wines, Woodstock has a ken focus on fortified wines too. When his son and current owner, Scott took over in 1982, the tradition has continued with fine wine making from the old vines on the property. Ben Glaetzer is now the chief winemaker with Scott managing vines – a winning team as shown by the Heartland range.

Tasting notes: The colour is deep, dark red with an almost black centre, yet still visible bright, youthful hues on the edges. Satsuma Plums, blueberries, blackberries, beetroot and a hint of rhubarb aromas. Savoury toasted spice characters of anise, cloves and cardamom, seamlessly mingle with mouth-watering hints of fennel, caraway and min on the nose, with just a speckle of pepper. These characters follow through on to the palate, with a fine structured vanilla oak base providing a holding pattern for the flavours to be held up generously. Elegant yet firm tannins from Cabernet Sauvignon provide a sophisticated backbone, whilst fleshy Shiraz enriches the body and blossoms in the mouth, providing warm enriching and powerful flavours. The texture is powerful with great structure and definition in its youth, this full textured wine will evolve over time and reward with more complex flavours.

VEGAN

Region: Australia, McLaren Vale

Grape Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

Background: Started by the late Doug Collet in 1973, Woodstock in McLaren Vale has always had an eye on the future. As well as red, white and rose wines, Woodstock has a ken focus on fortified wines too. When his son and current owner, Scott took over in 1982, the tradition has continued with fine wine making from the old vines on the property. Ben Glaetzer is now the chief winemaker with Scott managing vines – a winning team as shown by the Heartland range. Woodstock Estate was purchased by the Collett Family in 1973, upon which stood a small 19th century cottage. Nestled in amongst the eucalypt trees, an old orchard and a small amount of vineyards, this cottage has been home to various members of the Collett family for nearly 50 years, while the winery and vineyards have gradually developed in the surrounding land. 43 rows of Cabernet Sauvignon vines were planted next to this cottage in 1976, replacing an old orchard. Since then, this Cabernet has thrived, producing bold wine with natural acidity and firm tannin structure. This wine pays homage to the old Woodstock cottage and the vineyards surrounding it.

Winemaking Process: The 45 year old Cottage Block Cabernet Sauvignon vines produce small bunches of sparse little marble-like berries. We harvest the fruit just prior to achieving full ripeness, ensuring that a degree of herbaceous varietal character is retained in our wine. The fruit is destemmed and crushed into stainless steel fermenters where it remains to ferment for approximately 5 days, pumped over twice daily. This results in great colour and tannin structure without bitterness or over extracted character. Maturation in seasoned oak hogsheads allows tannins to soften over time, providing richness and complexity. McLaren Vale is famous for generous middle-palate flavours in Shiraz, but this character also shines through in this Cabernet Sauvignon.

Tasting Notes: Bold tannin and unexpected mid - palate richness. The wine shows distinctive blackcurrant and subtle mulberry on the nose with hints of herbaceous tomato leaf character. The palate provides a harmonious balance between bright purple fruit and chocolate with mature oak derived savoury olive tapenade - like complexity.

Food Pairing: This wine has soft enough tannins to drink on its own but will work equally well with grilled flavours.

Vegan

Region: Australia, McLaren Vale

Grape variety: Semillion

Background: Started by the late Doug Collet in 1973, Woodstock in McLaren Vale has always had an eye on the future. As well as red, white and rose wines, Woodstock has a ken focus on fortified wines too. When his son and current owner, Scott took over in 1982, the tradition has continued with fine wine making from the old vines on the property. Ben Glaetzer is now the chief winemaker with Scott managing vines – a winning team as shown by the Heartland range.

Tasting notes: You can taste the apricots, mandarin peel, citrus and spices in this luscious blend. This one has the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity for after Dinner bliss.Very sweet flavours linger on the finish, with a balance of acid leaving you longing for more.

VEGAN

Region: Australia, McLaren Vale

Grape Variety: Montepulciano Background: Started by the late Doug Collet in 1973, Woodstock in McLaren Vale has always had an eye on the future. As well as red, white and rose wines, Woodstock has a ken focus on fortified wines too. When his son and current owner, Scott took over in 1982, the tradition has continued with fine wine making from the old vines on the property. Ben Glaetzer is now the chief winemaker with Scott managing vines – a winning team as shown by the Heartland range.

Tasting Notes: Bright, dense and deep purple in colour. Dark morello cherries, juniper berries, spearmint and dark chocolate on the nose. Full-bodied and robust with well-integrated tannins and a velvety texture balanced by mid-palate supple fruit characters and acidity. This wine has a long, smooth and spicy finish.

Food Pairing: This Montepulciano pairs well with pizza or pasta. It is also a great food wine that is perfetly paired with Italian classics.

VEGAN

Region: Australia, McLaren Vale

Grape Variety: Shiraz

Background: Named after a set of medieval wooden leg stocks, which stand in the town of Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England, ‘The Stocks’ Shiraz is Woodstock’s flagship wine. This single vineyard Shiraz is made from 31 rows of low-yielding vines, planted circa 1900 on a sandy north slope of Woodstock Estate.

Tasting Notes: Deep, dark red colour with a purple tint. Plush, red and black fruits with a touch of dried spice and toasty oak on the nose. The palate is full-bodied yet soft, with ripe tannins and mid-palate fruit harmoniously balanced, which lead to a structured and complex finish.

Award:

Halliday Wine Companion 2017 - 97 points: “This single (estate) vineyard was planted in 1900, and for good measure, this full-bodied wine represents the best barrels of the vintage. Dense, deep crimson-purple; there is substantial oak showing now, but it’s good quality, and I don’t have the slightest doubt that when the wine approaches maturity in ‘24, all the juicy black fruits, liquorice and chocolate will simply acknowledge that oak is part of a complex wine of the utmost quality.”

VEGAN