Crawford River Riesling 2022

"Crawford River are one of the more anticipated releases with unnerving consistency and quality. Interesting that these wines have been part of the make up of my work, in various guises, for now over 20 years too. This is one of the most straight up delicious releases I have tried. Moreish to the max. It's succulent in texture, which is important, which means it's juicy but also has chalky pucker. perfect. This one has a lime sorbet bent, green apple sherbet too, a splash of gin n tonic perhaps – all of that sounds pretty delicious as a thing to consume. It's fragrant, flavoursome and very refreshing. Extension of flavour is significant too. It just nails everything so well. Drink: 2023-2040."   Mike Bennie, The Wine Front - 96 points

"Bright lemon and lime glints in the light while aromas of lime, lemon meringue and jasmine jump out. There is undoubtedly a rich plushness here, but it's built as texture, not overt sweetness, and character is built by layers of spice and stony minerality. Carries very long and lingers with a remarkable seamlessness for such a youthful wine. Drink: 2023-2035."  Stuart Knox, The Real Review - 96 points

Belinda and John Thomson

In 1975, John and Catherine Thomson planted their vineyard at Crawford River, in far south-west Victoria, with Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon. It was a relatively unexplored wine growing region, but they were inspired by its geographical and geological potential to produce superior quality grapes. The cool, southerly latitude together with the maritime influence, complex soil structure and favourable micro-climate create a terroir which has justified the initial vision. The area is now known as the Geographical Indication (GI) of Henty. 

More plantings followed in 1976 and 1977 and the addition of a winery in 1981. Two further small plantings occurred in 1994 and 2001, however, they are now in the phase of replanting to ensure the longevity and future resilience of their special site. The wines are crafted exclusively from hand-picked and selected fruit grown on the estate vineyard, where they are subsequently processed and bottled on-site. 

Belinda Thomson took over from her father John as Chief Winemaker and Viticulturist in 2014 and is now the creative force behind the vineyard and wines. After studying Viticulture and Oenology in NZ in 2002 and staying on to work for several years, she returned to work with her father in 2005 after overseas harvests in France, Germany and Spain. A hunger for knowledge together with a passion for family led her to combine responsibilities at Crawford River with extensive international experience across a range of countries, before returning full-time in 2014 to her family estate. In 2020 she was a finalist in the Gourmet Traveller Winemaker of the Year list, as well as being included in the Top 50 Young Gun Vineyards of the year awards.

Crawford River Vineyard

The Crawford River Vineyard lies at the alluvial edge of a volcanic lava flow. The 11.5 Ha vineyard has its roots in an unusually complex, mineral-rich soil base. Gravelly, friable, basalt loam overlays permeable clay which in turn lies above a limestone base created by an ancient, risen seabed.

Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon are the two main varieties in the vineyard, with smaller plantings of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc.

All major activities such as picking, pruning, leaf-plucking, shoot-thinning and green pruning are done by hand. The vineyard is maintained without the use of herbicides or insecticides and organic practices are used wherever possible. They have a bio-dynamic test plot that Belinda prepared and planted with Riesling in 2014. 

We want you to enjoy your wines as soon as possible and endeavour to dispatch orders as quickly as we can. It may take us a little longer during sales or peak trading periods, so kindly keep that in mind if you are purchasing for a special occasion.

Shipping Cost

Delivery is free on any order of 12 or more bottles to Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Gold Coast, Newcastle, Sunshine Coast, Wollongong and rural Victoria.

On orders of 12 or more bottles to all other areas, we cover a percentage of the shipping costs. Shipping is calculated at checkout.

For orders of less than 12 bottles Australia wide, shipping is calculated at checkout.

Insurance

All orders are fully insured.

Standard Delivery

We use Australia Post and a Specialist Wine Courier (Anonymous Wine Freight) for domestic deliveries. Your location will determine which of these delivery services will be available.

Couriers will not telephone ahead to notify you of time of delivery and delivery on specific days can not be guaranteed.

While a large number of destinations are serviced within 48 hours or less, please allow up to 14 days for delivery within Australia.

Specialist Wine Delivery Service

We offer a specialist temperature-controlled wine delivery service called Anonymous Wine Freight to deliver your wine if you live close to the CBD in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney or Perth, or live in Byron Bay, Gold Coast, Mornington Peninsula or Geelong. If Anonymous Wine Freight services your postcode, the option to use them will appear on checkout. Here is a link to the list of postcodes they service. 

They are highly recommended as they ship in refrigerated transport to climate-controlled warehouses in each metro area before they make their way to your delivery address in air-conditioned vehicles for the last kilometers. In addition, they will even call you by phone at the time of delivery if they encounter any problems.

Please find their delivery schedule below.

Pick-up

If you live in Melbourne, you can pick up your order from our office in Camberwell by prior arrangement. Please select the 'Pick Up' delivery option during checkout and we will contact you to arrange a suitable time for pick-up once the order has been packed.

What if I won’t be home?

If you may not be home at the time of delivery and would like the wine left in a safe place, please give Authority to Leave (ATL) and any delivery instructions in the 'DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS & ATL' at the bottom of the shopping cart, located just above the CHECKOUT button. 

If you have requested delivery with Australia Post and have not given Authority to Leave, a signature will be required on delivery. If you miss the postman, the order will be taken to your local Post Office for collection.

If you have requested delivery with our specialist wine courier (Anonymous Wine Freight), the driver will phone you for instructions if you are not at home at the time of delivery. If he can't contact you, the order will be taken to their local depot and can be re-delivered subject to a $20.00 fee.

Summer Heat Policy

If during hot weather you would like us to delay dispatch of your order to avoid potential heat damage to your wine please let us know. We are more than happy to store your order in our climate controlled warehouse until the weather is cooler. Please add the request in the 'DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS & ATL' at the bottom of the shopping cart, located just above the CHECKOUT button.

Alternatively, we may email you and request to delay dispatch of your order until the weather is cooler. If this happens, you can of course request immediate delivery if you wish.

International Shipping

We deliver wine to a number of destinations worldwide. If you require overseas delivery, please email us with the relevant information and we will advise you if we can deliver to your selected destination and the shipping costs involved.

International orders are supplied GST free. Please be aware that you will be responsible for the payment of all duties and taxes that are levied by your local authorities.

Minimum order requirements apply.