| Shaky Knees Chardonnay 2005 This lovely unwooded Chardonnay is made from fruit from the Fitzgerald’s Stone Hill vineyard, a few kilometres to our south, and was hand picked in early May after a very long ripening season. It shows some tropical fruit along with peach and melons and is balanced with nice acidity. A lovely wine to drink now or until 2010. Alc/vol. 13.0% | Bottle Price $15.00 | Add to Cart |
 
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Chardonnay 2008 The 2008 vintage was very early so the grapes were picked during the first week of March after a very warm period in early February. Fortunately the last weeks were a lot cooler so flavour development, acid loss, and sugar accumulation slowed down appreciably. This style of Chardonnay is fruit driven and hand picked when the fruit matured to the ripe peach and melon flavour spectrum. The must was chilled post crushing and then held in the press for a short time before pressing began. Like all of our white wines it was cool fermented over several weeks helping to retain all of those lovely fruit characters. A lovely fresh wine that can be drunk whilst young, but like good Chablis it also has the potential to age. Alc/vol. 14.0% | Bottle Price $23.00 | Add to Cart |
 
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Sauvignon Blanc 2008 This is a blend of fruit from our own vineyard (75%) and that of the Baxendale’s near Whitlands (25%), planted at a slightly higher altitude. We picked the fruit over three weeks in late February to mid March to give the wine added complexity from the large spectrum of sauvignon characters from herbaceous to tropical. After gently de-stemming the fruit we chilled the must immediately and held it in the press for a few hours to add additional palate weight. The lovely full fruit on the palate is balanced by cool climate zingy acidity and it’s ready to be enjoyed over summer, or cellared for up to 3 years. Alc/vol 12.5% | Bottle Price $23.00 | Add to Cart |
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Delatite Pinot Gris 2008 Pinot Gris was first planted at Delatite in 1996 and the first vintage released was the 2001. It’s normally harvested between mid March and mid April and is a blend of our own fruit and that from the Klingsporn’s vineyard 15km to our south east. We pick at a variety of ripeness levels to ensure increased complexity of flavour and texture and I feel the wines have always been more in the gris style rather than the grigio! Up until the 2006 they were made in a very straightforward manner but since then they are 100% whole bunch pressed, 25-30% spends a few months in old barriques and the balance has 3-4 months on lees in tank. The fruit shows rich flavours of pear, musk and some spice and the length and depth of fruit on the palate is balanced with fine acidity and it will develop beautiful honey tones in the bottle over the next 4 to 10 years. Alc/vol range 12.5-14.% | Bottle Price $23.00 | Add to Cart |
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| Dead Man’s Hill Gewurztraminer 2008 This wine is widely regarded as the benchmark aussie Gewurztraminer and the 06 vintage is currently being served in Qantas First Class International – the first Gewürztraminer to be selected. The Deadman’s Hill vineyard is around 100 metres higher than our main vineyards and has been dry grown for most of its life. It was the first part of the vineyard to be converted to BioDynamics back in 2003 and, as with all our other blocks here, it is pruned and picked by hand. Besides providing grapes for this wine, fruit from Deadman’s Hill is now the base for two new wine styles here –Polly Sparkling Gewurztraminer and the VT Gewurztraminer (a dessert wine). Normal harvest dates are between mid March and early April and after crushing the must is chilled and then left in the press to cold soak for a few hours. This helps to extract the delightful and enticing flavour and aromas of musk sticks, rose petals, Turkish delight and lychee typical of this grape. Post fermentation, the wine was left on lees in tank for four months to enhance and lengthen the full palate. It’s a floral, spicy wine matched with well balanced acid and can be enjoyed now or cellared with confidence for up to 10-12 years. Alc/vol. 13.5% | Bottle Price $25.00 | Add to Cart |
 
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| Sylvia Riesling 2007 This early picked Riesling was hand harvested from our Contour and Old blocks. It’s loosely based on the German “Kabinett” style of Rieslings which are low in alcohol, fruit driven and are usually a little sweet. It was picked in mid march, a full 4 weeks before the fruit for our “normal” Riesling. This is the second release of this style at Delatite and the acid and residual sugar is beautifully balanced. It’s named after Sylvia Ritchie, mother of the founder of Delatite Winery and a redoubtable matriarch who lived until she was 94. She was well known for her wonderful garden and her love of sweet things. Enjoy it as a beautiful, light and fresh, low alcohol wine or cellar for up to 10 years. Alc/vol 9.5% | Bottle Price $23.00 | Add to Cart |
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| Riesling 2008 The Riesling fruit was picked over the last week in March and the first fortnight of April, with the warm and dry weather preceding the harvest making it one of the earliest vintage in 35 years for Delatite. The wine shows strong grapefruit and lime aromas, combined with some regional floral tones; it has great length of flavour, a mineral finish and a lovely crisp natural acidity. This is a wine to enjoy when young, or to cellar with confidence for up to 15 years. Alc/vol 13.0% | Bottle Price $23.00 | Add to Cart |
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Late Harvest Riesling 2008 Another early year with another late harvest wine, the fruit was picked during mid April which was several weeks after our “normal” Riesling. This wine has lovely aromas of citrus peel and orange blossom and the palate is sweet up front but very well balanced with fine acidity. It isn’t a cloying wine so can be paired to a range of dishes especially light desserts such as fruit salad or a lemon tart. Ready to drink now or watch it mature in the cellar for many years to come; up to 12 years. Alc/vol 11.5% | Bottle Price $23.00 | Add to Cart |
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| VS Riesling 2005 This wine is named after Vivienne Ritchie, the co-founder of Delatite who planted the first blocks of Riesling here in 1968. It is from these blocks that this fruit was picked in the first week of May; the cool dry weather preceding harvest and the slow ripening conditions has developed the depth of flavour in this variety. The wine shows intense aromas of citrus flowers, limes and hints of floral and musk tones; it has great strength of flavour and beautiful structure, the limey/citrus flavours, balanced with a mineral finish and fresh acidity. It has great finesse and will cellar well for up to 15 years. (Rating of 93 pts in James Halliday’s 2008 Australian Wine Companion) Alc/vol. 12.5% | Bottle Price $25.00 | Add to Cart |
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| Catherine Gewurztraminer 2008 This is the first wine of this style to be made at Delatite - a rich sweet Gewürztraminer loosely modeled on the vendage tardive wines of Alsace. It was picked two weeks later than our Dead Man’s Hill gewurz which has given it greater richness, sweetness, and a fuller palate although this is well balanced with very nice acidity. Our sweetest wine, it’s to be enjoyed with sweet desserts and even very rich pork dishes such as double roasted pork belly. This style is very much a work in progress here and we would’ve loved to have seen a lot more botrytis in the grapes before we picked – but there’s always next year! (Residual sugar 100 grams per litre) Alc/vol. 10.0% | Bottle Price $23.00 | Add to Cart |
 
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Dungeon Gully 2006 A lovely softer blend that in 2006 is made up of Merlot and Malbec in equal volumes; as in the original blends of almost twenty years ago. The fruit comes entirely from our own vineyards and was picked over two weeks in mid to late April. The warm, berry characters of the Merlot combine with the dark blood plum and dry spiciness of the Malbec. The palate is of medium weight, with round fruit and tones of chocolate and vanilla. Cellar for up to ten years. Alc/vol. 14.0% | Bottle Price $25.00 | Add to Cart |
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Bull Run Cabernet Merlot 2004 The fruit for this wine came from around the district as well as from Delatite, and was picked over the month of April The nose shows strong fruit characters of ripe blood plums, blackberry and sweet redcurrants, together with some spice. Matured in three-year old French oak hogsheads for 10 months, this supple wine has fine lingering tannins and nice structure. Enjoy it now or cellar up to 2010. Alc/vol. 13.5% | Bottle Price $15.00 | Add to Cart |
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Merlot 2006 The strong fruit characters of this wine meant that we were able to mature in French Oak Hogsheads for 18 months giving the wine further development and rich oak characters. The nose shows elegant but strong oak notes of warm tobacco and cedar with rich red berry characters. In the mouth the wine is firm. The palate covers with plum and blackberry fruit wrapped in mocha coffee oak flavours. This wine has the structure to age well for at least twelve years; over that time the fruit will give more leathery, earthy flavours and the tannins will further mellow and soften. Alc/vol 14.5% | Bottle Price $28.00 | Add to Cart |
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| Shiraz 2006 Our Shiraz has traditionally been from our own vineyard but since 2006 we’re mainly used fruit from the Steen’s vineyard at Strath Creek and this has enabled us to increase production from a few hundred cases to over a thousand in 2008. The flavours are similar and, despite the earlier ripening trends over the last few years, we’re harvesting the grapes in mid to late April. When young the typical aromas are of white pepper and eucalyptus and on the palate they show ripe red berry aromas, plums and cherries. The wine spends 12-14 months in a mixture of one to three year old French and American hogsheads and barriques which give the wines a spicy vanillin lift. The 2006 shows fine grain tannins and it can be enjoyed whilst reasonably young or cellared for up to 15 years. Alc/vol 14% | Bottle Price $29.00 | Add to Cart |
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| Nebbiolo 2005 This is the fourth release of our Nebbiolo which is grown at a very cool site - the base of Mt Timbertop at the GGS Timbertop vineyard. Picked in late May 2005, the fruit was fermented in open tubs for 10 days then left on skins for 4 days, before pressing out to tank. It has deep red colour with brick hues, and the bouquet is a savoury combination of raspberry, stewed plum and violets with tones of tobacco and wild sage. The palate shows the same warm fruit characters, overlaid with grainy, but fine tannins and balanced with a good acidity. Matured in one to three-year old French hogsheads for 12 months, this wine will cellar well for 3-5 years. It goes beautifully with strong Italian influenced foods and meat dishes. Alc/vol 13.5% | Bottle Price $25.00 | Add to Cart |
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| Devil’s River 2006 Devil’s River is the name we gave to our Cabernet sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet franc blend back in 1986. It’s normally harvested in April and May and up until a few years ago we sometimes had trouble getting it riper than 12-13 Baume – the resulting elegance and tightness in structure gives it some strong similarities to many wines from Bordeaux. Interestingly in the UK many people have commented on how un-Australian it is…whether this is good or bad depends on your point of view! It’s always been made from our local grapes and most of these vineyards, including our own, are cropped at between 3 and 6 tonnes per hectare. Normal flavour profile includes different spices (such as cinnamon and cardoman), mint, plums, and blackberries along with some vanilla from the oak. Tannins are generally in the mid range and the only fining agents used are egg whites (organic and free range eggs, of course!). It’s normally matured in a mix of one to three-year old French and American barriques and hogsheads for up to15 months and now that it’s under screw cap the 2006 will cellar beautifully for up to twenty years +. Alc/vol. 14.0% | Bottle Price $29.00 | Add to Cart |
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| RJ 2006 Our RJ reserve blend is named after my father Robert John Ritchie who planted the original vineyard here in 1968. It’s only made in exceptional years and is always very limited. The 2006 blend of Cabernet sauvignon 66% and Merlot 34% has a deep rich purple hue with a concentrated bouquet of ripe blackberries and blood-plums combined with herbal and spice tones. These strong characters continue on to the palate which has great breadth of flavour, balanced with fine-grained tannins and oak characters and it reward cellaring for a minimum of 150-120 years. It was bottled in February 2008 after 24 months in a mixture of French and American barrels. Production 1800 bottles. Alc/vol. 14.0% | Bottle Price $55.00 | Add to Cart |
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Delatite Wine Club members wishing to order online can take advantage of our special Club prices. As a member you receive a minimum of 2 six packs of wine with Andrew's tasting notes for only $240 per year, delivered free of charge except for WA, FNQ and NT- $30 a case. We have a variety of levels of membership and you are also entitled to a 15 % discount, from normal prices, on any dozen bottles purchased – mixed or straight. We host dinners, for club members and their friends, in all east coast capital cities at least once a year. | Wine type | Bottle Price | ||
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White Wines | ||
| Shaky Knees Chardonnay 2005 | 12.00 | Add to Cart | |
| Chardonnay 2008 | 18.40 | Add to Cart | |
| Sauvignon Blanc 2008 | 18.40 | Add to Cart | |
| Delatite Pinot Gris 2008 | 18.40 | Add to Cart | |
| Dead Man’s Hill Gewurztraminer 2008 | 20.00 | Add to Cart | |
| Sylvia Riesling 2007 | 18.40 | Add to Cart | |
| Riesling 2008 | 18.40 | Add to Cart | |
| Late Harvest Riesling 2008 | 18.40 | Add to Cart | |
| VS Riesling 2005 | 20.00 | Add to Cart | |
| Catherine Gewurztraminer 2008 | 18.40 | Add to Cart | |
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Red Wines | ||
| Dungeon Gully 2006 | 20.00 | Add to Cart | |
| Bull Run Cabernet Merlot 2004 | 12.00 | Add to Cart | |
| Merlot 2006 | 22.40 | Add to Cart | |
| Shiraz 2006 | 23.20 | Add to Cart | |
| Nebbiolo 2005 | 20.00 | Add to Cart | |
| Devil’s River 2006 | 23.20 | Add to Cart | |
| RJ 2006 | 44.00 | Add to Cart | |
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