Reviews for Brokenwood Winery Review

DateTitle
10 Jun 2010

PDF		 0 Brokenwood Winery Review
www.firstpress.com.au


…. PJ Charteris of Brokenwood Wines has been described by noted wine reviewer Nick Ryan as "the rarest of treasures, a winemaker born not made. He just gets it," This awards recognised and celebrates the outstanding unique wine styles produced by PJ who has had over 26 years experience in winemaking & has held many wine judging positions, including Chairman of the Barossa Show and panel chair in at least four other maojr wine shows…………
4 Jun 2010

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Cessnock Advertiser


The Hunter Valley Wine Industry honoured the achievements of their very best in each winemaking field at the fourth annual Hunter Valley Legends and Wine Industry Awards held at the Barrel Room at Tempus Two.

Th evening celebrated and recognised the hard work and dedication by those from the region who are passionate about making the best wines in the country.

Hunter Valley Legends and Wine Industry Awards Chairman, Iain Riggs, said " This year we have put emphasis on winners not only excelling in each individual field, but we wanted to recognise their tireless work promoting the Hunter Valley Wine region, and their efforts to continue the legacy of the Hunter Valley legends and pioneers…...

To read the full article download the PDF.
4 Jun 2010

PDF		 0 Brokenwood Winery Review
The Week that Was


Hunters & Collectors

Hunter Valley Winemaker of the Year, PJ Charteris, and some of the team from Brokenwood who took out Cellar Door of the Year at the Hunter Valley Wine Industry Awards last week.
31 May 2010

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www.hospitalitymagazine.com.au


Brokenwood wines winemaker PJ Charteris has been haled at the Hunter Valley's best.

Charteris has been named 2010 Winemaker of the Year at the annual Hunter Valley Legends and Wine Industry Awards, selected froma field of finalists that also included Neil McGuigan from Australian Vintage Limited and Mark Richardson from Tyrrell's Wines.

The organisers said the award recognises and celebrates the outstanding unique wine styles produced by Charteris who has more than 26 years experience in winemaking and has held many judging positions, including Chairman of the Barossa Show and Panel Chair in at least four other major wine shows. Amongst his accolades are many Gold Medals and Silvers for wines in the 2009, 2010 Sydney, 2009 Adelaide, and 2009 Hunter Wine Shows.

He also producsed the NSW Wine of the Year…. To read full story download PDF
28 May 2010

PDF		 0 Brokenwood Winery Review
www.winebiz.com.au
Daily Wine News

…..Award Winners include: Brokenwood Wines winemaker PJ Charteris - Wine Selectors Hunter Valley Winermaker of the Year;……Brokenwood Wines - Clear Image Hunter Valley Cellar Door of the Year…
28 May 2010

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"on line article"
Martin Dineen

Hunter Wine Legends Awarded

……………….. Brokenwood Wines was named cellar door of the year……………

for full story click PDF
28 May 2010

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The Newcastle Herald
Martin Dinnen

Those who bring the Hunter's most delightful drps to the tables of the world were honoured at the Hunter Valley Wine Industry Awards last night.

………………………..……Brokenwood Wines winemaker of the year PJ Chareris was named winemaker of the year and……..

To read the full story open PDF
1 Feb 2010

PDF		  Brokenwood Winery Review
Wine 100, Australia's Leading Independent Wine Guide
Penny Boothman

True to Terrior
1 Feb 2010

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QANTAS Inflight guide to Wine 5th Edition
Peter Bourne & Bob Campbell MW

For a not overly tall man Len Evans cast a very big shadow and few knew that better than Iain Riggs. As chief winemaker at Brokenwood, Riggs was well aware that althoug Evan's Influence spread across the entire Australian wine scene it was particularly keenly felt in the Hunter Valley that he called home….
1 Feb 2010

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Newcastle Herald
Matt Carr

CHANCE TO WOO VISITORS WITH BOTTLES OF OUR BEST
Hunter Vineyards hosted yesterday a group of tourists who could bring millions to the regions wine industry……
1 Jan 2010

  Brokenwood Winery Review
GOLD BOOK: Australian Wine Vintages - 27th Edition 2010
Robert Geddes MW

BROKENWOOD remain true to their origins while having a flexible philosophy on expanding their range based on the quality of differeing regional varietals on the east coast. Graveyard remains a benchmark for their style.

BROKENWOOD SEMILLON - 4 STARS
Crisp parsley, celery herbals on release, after 3 years grows smoother showing hints of honey, lanolin and wax.
Vintage: 2006 / Points: 87 / Cellar: to 2012
Vintage: 2007/ Points: 87 / Cellar: to 2013
Vintage: 2008 / Points: 86 / Cellar: to 2014

BROKENWOOD CHARDONNAY - 4 STARS
Brokenwood do things well and this regional blend builds soft fleshy warm climate fruit with crisper cool fruit into a lovely taut, structured modern chardonnay.
Vintage: 2006 / Points: 92 / Cellar: to 2011
Vintage: 2007 / Points: 90 / Cellar: to 2013

BROKENWOOD HUNTER VALLEY SHIRAZ - 4 STARS
On release very fresh savoury tapenade with plum and blackberry shiraz, medium bodied and soft and will develop into a seemless style with enough time to integrate the oak.
Vintage: 2005 / Points: 86 / Cellar: to 2015
Vintage: 2006 / Points: 88 / Cellar: to 2018
Vintage: 2007 / Points: 88 / Cellar: to 2010-17

BROKENWOOD GRAVEYARD VINEYARD SHIRAZ - 5 STARS
A benchmark for medium-bodied red, savoury with a large volume of top quality silky tannins, discernible new oak when young in a durable medium-bodied wine.
Vintage: 2005 / Points: 88 / Cellar: to 2019
Vintage: 2006 / Points: 94 / Cellar: to 2012-26
Vintage: 2007 / Points: 92 / Cellar: to 2011-24
23 Nov 2009

PDF		  Brokenwood Winery Review
www.usatoday.com
by Steve LaBadessa

AIRLINES STILL OFFER FLIERS FINE WINE AS A HIGH-CLASS AMENITY
Most airlines have eliminated meals, free pillows and magazines. They've reduced snacks to a minature bag of pretzels. But there's one frill many refuse to skimp on in their cost-cutting drive to be profitable: wine …

… Top-quality wines - provided free to coach passengers on Qantas - include 2008 Brokenwood Cricket Pitch Cabernet Merlot Shiraz …
2 Nov 2009

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Town & Coutnry Leader
by Julie Hartigan

FINE WINE Award gives Brokenwood the fruits of their labour

When conditions produce the perfect grape, it is the winemaker's duty to treat that grape with the utmost care.
That's the philosophy of Hunter Valley winemaker PJ Charteris who is behind the 2007 Brokenwood Forest Edge (Orange) Chardonnay, which has just been named NSW Wine of the Year.
28 Oct 2009

  Brokenwood Winery Review
The Sunday Telegraph
by John Fordham

BROKENWOOD'S BARGAIN PAYS OFF
Brokenwood's decision to spread its viticultural wings has landed the five-star Hunter Valley-based winery NSW's top wine award.

The 2009 Brokenwood Forest Edge Chardonnay ($30) hails from Orange, where chief winemaker Iain Riggs turned his attention eight years ago, sourcing chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and pinot noir from the cool-climate slopes of Mount Canobolas.

His judgement was tellingly rewarded with the 2009 NSW Wine of the Year from a first-rate field of a dozen finalists.

Brokenwood was 12 years old when Riggs took over as winemaker in 1982.

Then it was a 100 per cent red producer. However, the wily Riggs immediately changed that once he began exposing his palate over the valley's leading white varieties semillon and chardonnay. In his first vintage, whites commanded 70 per cent of Brokenwood's production.

But, importantly, among his reds was the inaugural vintage of Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz, which has gone on to become the Hunter's pre-eminent red.

It was Rigg's single vineyard philosophy that led him to Orange in search of cool-climate fruit.

"Forest Edge is a classic, impressive white at its best," remarks Riggs, who's quick to point out to the role his sidekick, PJ Charteris, played in putting the wine together.

"Orange is an ideal location for chardonnay and sauvignon blanc and we've also made some tidy pinots from there as well," he adds.

"It has great terroir with its weather, soil and aspect more than 1000m up Mount Canobolas."

The championship wine is laden with striking rich tropical flavours mingling with gentle toasty oak.

If ever there was a wine that could win back chardonnay support from those who have deserted the variety for sauvignon blanc, this is it.
20 Oct 2009

PDF		  Brokenwood Winery Review
www.nswwine.com.au
by Bly Carpenter

NEW SOUTH WALES WINE
What a Night!

NSW wine sales grow to $64.3 million! - Godfather of organics honoured - Brokenwood wins NSW Wine of the Year.
20 Oct 2009

PDF		  Brokenwood Winery Review
THE SHOUT - Hotel, Bar, Club & Liquor Industry News
by Amy Looker

TOP 40 NSW WINES REVEALED
The top 40 wines in NSW were announced on Monday night at the NSW Wine Awards Gala Presentation Dinner, with Brokenwood's 2007 Forest Edge Vineyard Chardonnay from Orange taking out the award for 2009 NSW Wine of the year.
19 Oct 2009

PDF		  Brokenwood Winery Review
www.nswwine.com.au
by Bly Carpenter

NEW SOUTH WALES WINE
2009 NSW Wine of the Year Announced

It started 40 years ago with a group of blokes with a passion for wine. They built an Australian icon brand, then a benchmark wine with Hunter Shiraz, today they won the 2009 NSW Wine of the Year with a wine from NSW's most exciting new region, Orange
1 Oct 2009

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Wine & Spirits Magazine - 23rd Annual Buying Guide


INTERNATIONAL WINERIES OF THE YEAR
From Austria to Spain, Argentina to New Zealand, here are the 65 best international wineries we discovered in the last 12 months.

Our critics selected these wineries on the basis of their performance in our blind tastings; all of them excelled in both the percentage of wines we recommended out of the total tasted, and in the average score of the recommended wines. Only wineries with three or more recommendations are eligible for the honor…
29 Sep 2009

PDF		  Brokenwood Winery Review
FULL CIRCLE Wine Solutions
by Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein

SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW ME?

When I began buying wines in the early 1980s at Square One, I remember being interested in and intrigued by Australia. It was, to the USA, relatively new in terms of being available domestically but out side of the wines of Rosemount and Lindemans, at the time, hard to track down. When regional wines began to trickle in, the Hunter Valley, perhaps due to the late and great Len Evans living there and being a relentlessadvocate, was a first to take a toehold in the USA.

Having been in Australia with the MS program over the last couple of weeks, we took part of our lone day off and went to the Hunter …. Starting with a brief visit and tasting at the Brokenwood Winery, we then lunched with several local producers in the region, tasted a range of wines and I soon realized that I was completely off the mark in what I had been thinking about the area, an assessment that had been largely unchanged since some of those initial efforts in the last 80s. Rather than medium quality Chardonnays with ample oak, I was especially impressed with two varietals - Semillon and Shiraz.

The Semillons, with the hallmarks of this unique varietal emanating from this area, were stunning, from the youthful bright current 2009 vintage efforts, bursting forward with some minerality, lime zest, celeriac, and lemongrass are framed with zesty acidity and very moderate levels of alcohol (10.5-11.5 percent). Especially noteworthy in my notes were from Scarborough, Pepper Tree Alluvius and Brokenwood. Brilliantly focused, they also age well as was exhibited by a 2003 (Scarborough) and a remarkable and still very youthful 1999 from Brokenwood (the ILR bottling). Unique, balanced and very food friendly, it was a clear reminder as to what quality dry Semillon is all about and why it’s such a compelling wine at table.

Most of us associate Shiraz in Australia with the ample extracted efforts that come from McLaren Vale, old vine offerings from the Barossa and the bruisingly intense efforts from Victoria’s Heathcoate. Shiraz from Hunter … never had thought much about it. Until the luncheon. If elegant could ever be used as an adjective for Shiraz, these wines define it.

Less alcoholc, redolent of red/soft black fruits and with balanced but not overly OTT (over the top) tannins, these wines were savoury, minerally, nuanced and again more Burgundian, if you will, than the big boyz we’ve come to expect from this part of the world. Bottles from Thomas (their ‘kiss’ bottling), Brokenwood (Graveyard Shiraz), and Pepper Tree (Coquin bottling) stood out.

Have I driven a Ford lately (yes, I rented one on a business trip recently) but a trip to the Hunter, in mid and palate, this tasting demonstrated that I needed to get in the ‘car’ again …

COMMENTS
1. You certainly have a good appreciation of what the Hunter has to offer. Brokenwood Semillons, Hunter in general, offer the best of both worlds. Fresh, crisp and perfect with seafood when young with the ability to transform into a wonderful complex with great character. I have just been drinking some 1999 Brokenwood Semillon myself (the varietal not ILR) and it is drinking superbly. Still have a few bottles left.
Posted by Greg Mincher@The_Vintrey at 3:19pm on October 5, 2009

2. Thanks for the kind words and lucky you (having a few bottles of 1999 Brokenwood Semillon); I am indeed jealous!
Posted by evan at 10:04am on October 12, 2009
15 Aug 2009

PDF		  Brokenwood Winery Review
www.luxist.com
by Deidre Woollard

NEW YORK TIMES GETS A WINE CLUB

Following in the footsteps of the Wall Street Journal, the NY Times is getting into the wine business with a new wine club …. The NY Times is looking at various ways to raise revenue and extend the brand. On the wine website NY Times food and wine content runs along one side. Wine Club members will also receive booklets of Times recipes meant to be paired with the wines.

The shop also sells select wines like the Pahlmeyer Jayson Chardonnay and the Brokenwood Semillon in six and 12 bottle allotments.

The wine club is operated by the Global Wine Company. Other media-related wine clubs incude ones started by the San Francisco Chronicle, the Bay Area public broadcasting organization KQED, Sunset Magazine and Forbes. Will wine save media? The wine industry has been going through its own turmoil lately but maybe if newspaper readers won't pay for the content they will pay for wine.
8 Aug 2009

PDF		  Brokenwood Winery Review
The Weekend Australian Magazine
by James Halliday

THE FIRST VINTAGE NAMED GRAVEYARD SHIRAZ WAS 1983, BUT IT WAS THE 1986 VINTAGE THAT LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR WHAT IS NOW ONE OF THE TEN BEST-KNOWN SHIRAZES IN AUSTRALIA.
1 Aug 2009

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NSW WINE Short Breaks - What to drink, Where to eat, What to do, Where to stay
by Claire Harvey

HUNTER VALLEY SPOTLIGHT
Brokenwood Estate Winery.
29 Jul 2009

PDF		  Brokenwood Winery Review
Australian Wine Companion 2010 Edition - The bestselling and definitive guide to Australian Wine
by James Halliday

BROKENWOOD
Deservedly fashionable winery producing consistently excellent wines. Has kept Graveyard Shiraz as its ultimate flagship wine, while extending its reach through many of the best eastern regions for its broad selection of varietal wine styles. Its big-selling Hunter Semillon remains alongside Graveyard, and there is then a range of wines coming from regions including Orange, Central Ranges, Beechworth, McLaren Vale, Cowra and else where. The two-storey Albert room tasting facility (named in honour of the late Tony Albert, one of the founders) was opened in 2006. Exports to all major markets.

SEMILLON
Little needs to be said, except to repeat Bruce Tyrrell's comment on the impact of screwcaps; 'Hunter Valley Semillon is entering a golden age'
96 points - 2003 Brokenwood ILR Reserve
95 points 2004 Brokenwood ILR Reserve

1998 HBA Shiraz - 97 points
2003 ILR Reserve Semillon - 96 points
2006 Graveyard Vineyard Shiraz - 96 points
2004 ILR Reserve Semillon - 95 points
2008 Hunter Valley Semillon - 94 points
2007 Hunter Valley Shiraz - 94 points
2006 Wade Block 2 Vineyard Shiraz - 93 points
2007 Sangiovese - 93 points
2006 Indigo Vineyard Viognier - 90 points
2008 Cricket Pitch White - 89 points
2008 Pinot Gris - 89 points

Please see pdf attached for further information
21 Jul 2009

PDF		  Brokenwood Winery Review
Good Living Magazine - WINE, Sydney Morning Herald
by Huon Hooke

CHAMPION SOMMELIER TOASTS OUR TERRIOR
Europe's champion sommelier, Isa Bal, has encouraging words. 'Australians have an ease in communication, which is a very good asset in our trade,'he says. Do our wines lack terroir? 'No, Brokenwood Graveyard and Peter Lehmann Eight Songs are very different regional expressions of Shiraz,' Bal says. 'They have terroir.' …
… Bal prizes Hunter Valley Semillon and has a couple on his list. 'It's one of the most interesting wines in the world,' he says. 'At 10 to 11 percent alcohol it has ripeness and complexity and ages so well. There are no other wines like that in the world.'
1 Jul 2009

PDF		  Brokenwood Winery Review
GrapeGrowers & Vignerons - the national voice of wine and viticulture
by Renee De Cicco

QUALITY INCENTIVES LURE CONSUMERS TO BROKENWOOD

In an environment where it is difficult for smaller wine producers to compete with larger companies on price, Brokenwood Wines' incentive has been to over-deliver on quality.
The Hunter Valley based company produces 75,000 cases of wine each year, and winemaker PJ Charteris says it makes quality its selling point, regardless of price point.

"If people are prepared to spend an extra dollar or two in the price category, we want to ensure they are getting really good quality," he said, "All the wines we make we like to over-deliver in terms of quality; we aim to be at the top in our price point at each end of the market."

Brokenwood's first vines were planted in 1971 by three Syndey solicitors - James Halliday, Tony Albert and John Beeston - on a block in the foothills of the Brokenback Ranges that was originally intended to be a cricket ground for the local community.

From the company's first harvest in 1973, where grapes were carried to the winery in buckets in a car boot, to premium fruit sourcing from 1979, to achieving accolades for its 1999 Rayner Shiraz at the International Wine Challenge in 2001, Brokenwood has gone from strength to strength.

The company is best known for wines from its Graveyard Vineyard, which is now planted exclusively to shiraz. But PJ says multi-regional blends are just as important to Brokenwood's product range as its single region wines. "I guess the important thing in our company protfolio is that we don’t have all our eggs in one basket," he said.

As well as the Hunter Valley, Brokenwood uses fruit from Orange and Cowra in New South Wales, Beechworth in Victoria and McLaren Vale in South Australia.
While Graveyard Shiraz is its flagship wine, PJ says the company strives for quality and consistency throughout its wine range, which includes the multi-regional Cricket Pitch series that sits at the more competitive end of the market.

"When you are making a wine at $15 to $20 (a bottle), the economics of that dictate where you can get your fruit from," he said, "For us, blending becomes pretty important in terms of maintaining that quality and maintaining consistency in that brand."

PJ says there is a strong sense of regionality in Hunter Valley wines, particularly in the region's renowned semillon. "The styles that the Hunter Valley makes best are really a strong reflection of the influence that the environment has made on the winemaker," he said, "It has regioanlity; the styles have a very strong terrior, but you cant' express the effects of soil and climate in wine unless you have an interpretation from the person."
"so the way that people interpret the conditions they have will come through in the wine, and we have such interesting influences from the environment.
"Soil, weather, growing conditions; that has had a really strong impact on the way that humans have looked at wine styles."

PJ says the 2009 vintage has been one of the best seasons for semillon production at Brokenwood.
"We had a great season for semillon growing," he said, "In my 10 years in the (Hunter) Valley, I haven't come across a semillon vintage that has been as rewarding in terms of the fact that the wines made themselves to a certain degree. The fresh quality was so strong that it would have been hard to stuff it up."

Capping off the season, PJ and Brokenwood Assistant Winemaker Sarah Crowe were both recognised at the Hunter Valley Legends and Wine Industry Awards in late May.
PJ was named as a finalist in the 2009 Winemaker of the Year category, while Sarah earned the title of Rising Star of the Year.
30 Jun 2009

PDF		  Brokenwood Winery Review
Good Living Magazine - Wine 'Sydney Morning Herald'
by Huon Hooke

EASTERN SURPRISE
Forget rice wine, this vintner and her family label showcase unique Japanese grapes.

JAPANESE winemaker Ayana Misawa is a remarkable young woman. Aged 28, she has qualifications from universities in France and Japan including an oenology degree from Yamanashi.
She has worked in wineries in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Bordeaux and Burgundy, as well as her family's Grace winery in the Yamanashi prefecture's Katsunuma region - known as the birthplace of the Japanese wine industry.

In Australia, she has worked at Brokenwood in the Hunter Valley and Woodlands in Margaret River.
… She enjoyed working in Australia, especially Brokenwood where PJ Charteris is the winemaker. "PJ is the best winemaker I've met,' she enthuses ….

Please download the PDF to read the entire article.
19 May 2009

PDF		  Brokenwood Winery Review
WineScores.ca
by Daenna Van Mulligen, Accredited Sommelier

AUSTRALIA - New South Wales
Located in the southeastern portion of the great island continent of Australia and home to the stunning harbour city of Sydney, is New South Wales. However, NSW is not necessarily, formost in consideration of international wine drinkers. Yet it's here that the first vines, brought to Australia were planted, in Sydney, and it's also here, just two hours drive north, the historic Hutner Valley lies…

… After being picked up by Brokenwood General Manager (and one of it's 26 partners), Geoff Krieger in Sydney we drove north, into this verdant coastal range until we rolled into the town of Cessnock then continued north along Highway 82, also known as Wine Country Drive. By the time we passed the legendary Lovedale Vineyard there was no doubt we were in wine country as row upon row of vines painted the horizon. Turning onto Broke Road, then McDonald Road we made a brief stop in the Graveyard Vineyard to taste the berries before taking the back way into my first Hutner Valley stop, the highly acclaimed Brokenwood winery.

A combination of dance and reggae music was pounding out of the winery where a handful of young Blundstone shod, apprentice winemakers from around the world labored on the 2009 vintage. Semillon was fermenting in stainless steel tanks and the presses were rolling out discarded Semillon skins into golden sheets.

I sat down with Chief Winemaker Iain 'Riggsy' Riggs to taste a selection of what makes the Hunter Valley (and Brokenwood) famous - Semillon - plus a trio of Shirazes. Riggs is not only well-known but also a very well respected winemaker and wine judge in Australia. He is also the successor to Len Evans as the Chairman of the Hunter Valley Wine Show and makes a mean Semillon. Working along side Riggs is young Kiwi winemaker PJ Charteris. PJ seems to be the one who keeps an eye on the motley crew of winemaking trainees, he looks as though he could be one of them.

I spent the better part of the morning with the Brokenwood team, until the lunch bell rang I sat down to a delicious, healthy, buffet-style lunch prepared by an in-house chef, specifically to feed the crew and keep their energy levels up.

Even better were the bottles of wine, shared around this picnic table with lunch - a tasty glass of wine with lunch - very civilized.
3 Apr 2009

  Brokenwood Winery Review
National Liquor News - Australia's Leading Liquor Magazine


SPECIAL FEATURE, HUNTER VALLEY - THE NEW HUNTER
It's a region steeped in history and tradition, but as Mike Bennie discovered, Hunter Valley produces - both young and old - are keeping things fresh by tapping into new segments and consumer trends, while doing what the Hunter does best.

… In a newer winery, PJ Charteris, winemaker at Brokenwood, talks about the 2009 harvest in muted tones. 'We've pulled off the great escape in the Hunter. The Sems look fantastic and in fact, the rain we got was needed - it was so bloody dry the past months,' he said. Part of the newer breed of Hunter wineries, Charteris uses more modern winemaking and also sources fruit from other regions. Among this, he adheres to a traditional styling of the Hutner regional wines, which all becomes a pretty big juggling act come vintage time 'With the economic climate as it is, it seems everyone is a little worried, but crops are down, which is good.

A little of the pressure is off,' Charteris said. 'The Sems were probably down 10 percent, but the flavour is awesome and we're going to make some amazingly punch y wines from this vintage.'

This punchiness continues through to the Brokenwood Shiraz. Having recently tried the current and previous two vintages in a blind tasting, it was interesting to see the supple, bright fruit and taut concentration of the wines - perhaps more akin to McLaren Vale or Barossa Valley wine styles than the Hunter. The wines are very well made and priced very faily for the quality (Brokenwwod Shiraz 2007 RRP A$25) - the modern styling is a great hook for uninitiated Hunter Valley wine drinkers.

A younger generation of winemakers, like Charteris, are vamping up Hunter Shiraz, plumping up its rustic, medium weighted image to engender greater interet from a different crowd. Here, Charteris and like-minded cronies are paving the way for a broader appeal for the wines of the region, drawing in more interest through evelving the contemporary style.
16 Jun 2008

PDF		  Brokenwood Winery Review
Old Bridge Cellars teams with Hunter Valley icon, Brokenwood
Old Bridge Cellars - USA Distributers
11 Jun 2008

PDF		  Brokenwood Winery Review
Hindu Business Line 'Pitch for this winning Aussie team'
India
1 Jun 2008

  Brokenwood Winery Review
Australian Wine Companion - 2009 Edition
by James Halliday

BROKENWOOD
Deservedly fashionable winery producing consistently excellent wines. Has kept Graveyard Shiraz as its ultimate flagship wine, while extending its reach through many of the best eastern regions for its broad selection of varietal wine styles. Its big-selling Hunter Semillon remains alongside Graveyard, and there is then a range of wines coming from regions including Orange, Central Ranges, Beechworth, McLaren Vale, Cowra and elsewhere. The two-storey Albert Room (named in honor of the late Tony Albert, one of the founders) tasting facility was opened in 2006.
20 May 2008

PDF		  Brokenwood Winery Review
Hospitality BIZ India.com
by Dheera Majum der / Mumbai

Finewinesnmore introduces Brokenwood wines to cater to IPL season.
5 May 2007

  Brokenwood Winery Review
Good Weekend Magazine - The Sydney Morning Herald
by Huon Hooke

Brokenwood is a Hunter Valley-based winery, but it has a broad view. Its winemakers, Iain Riggs and PJ Charteris, take grapes from many regions further afield in their quest to produce the best of everything, and in an interesting range of styles. Their backbone is still the Hunter semillon and shiraz, of which the pinnacle is Graveyard Vineyard, but they currently have arrangements with vineyards in McLaren Vale (for sangiovese, and shiraz in a quite different style to the Hunter), Beechworth (chardonnay, viognier pinot gris, nebbiolo and pinot noir), Orange (chardonnay and pinot noir) and Bathurst (chardonnay again, from Mount Panorama, no less).
All are interesting and many are excellent. But the chardonnays are especially fun because we can compare the same grape from three regions: Beechworth, Bathurst and Orange (they used to do a Hunter chardonnay, too, but alas, no more). These are what Riggs likes to think are wines with GUTS - Grapes with the Unique Terroir of Site.
My favourite of the three 2005 chardonnays is the Forest Edge Vineyard from a very high altitude vineyard at Orange. It's smoky, minerally ands complex, with balanced oak and fine, seamless acidity; good richness and depth. Very satisfying to drink with roast chicken. The Indigo Vineyard from Beechworth is bright and fruit-driven. Just right for prawns dunked in homemade mayonnaise.
The Mt Panorama Vineyard from Bathurst is shy, restrained and backward, with good lees characters and a firm spine. Not as persistent as the others, it probably needs more time to show its mettle. It's also a lovely drink. No exhaust fumes or burnt rubber. It would suit oysters with a squeeze of lemon.

All are at 14 per cent alcohol, screw-capped and priced at $27 to $30.
9 Apr 2005

  Brokenwood Winery Review
Weekend Section ~ Newcastle Herald
by John Lewis

The adage “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” has been widely embraced in the Australian wine industry, albeit with the modification “don’t have all your grape sources in one region”.

Under the inspired leadership of Iain Riggs, the Pokolbin-based Brokenwood operation has transformed itself in the past 23 years from a purely Hunter producer to a great exponent of regional egg-basketry.

Its Hunter Graveyard reds rank among Australia’s best and its ILR Hunter Semillons are excellent. But Brokenwood has also scaled the heights with wines it has made from grapes grown outside the Hunter.

Perhaps its greatest success was in the 2001 London International Wine Challenge, the most respected wine competition in the world.

The international judging panel selected the Brokenwood 1999 Rayner Vineyard Shiraz, made in the Hunter from grapes grown South Australia’s McLaren Vale area, as the best red and the best Shiraz of the competition.

The Brokenwood Rayner Shiraz wines made their first appearance in the 1993 vintage and are the product of 50 year old vines planted by David Rayner and his family on a spur of deep Blewitt Springs sand.

The flexible philosophy is evident in a new batch of four Brokenwood wines that includes the $30 Brokenwood 2004 Rayner Vineyard Sangiovese, the 2004 Jelka Riesling from McLaren Vale ($21.50 a 375ml bottle), the 2004 Mount Panorama Chardonnay ($30) from Orange and the Brokenwood 2004 Indigo Vineyard Viognier ($35) from Victoria’s Beechworth area.

The Rayner Sangiovese is a big, bold 15% alcohol potion with spicy, bramble jelly scents and blood plum and glace cherry flavours. Just perfect for braised lamb shanks and borlotti beans or chicken cacciatore.
PDF 0 Brokenwood Winery Review
The Daily Telegraph
Jo Hildebrand

Wine taster Iain Riggs has suffered much: ulcers, ruined teeth and mouth aching from the strain. It's no life. And yet, here he is again, chairman of judges at the Sydney Royal Wine Show………

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