GilGraves / Bendigo

10

“The GilGraves family vineyard is a pint-sized affair in Axedale, located somewhere between Heathcote and Bendigo. They’ve been releasing small batch wines eked out off their own plot … It’s all great fun, kinda cool, and the resulting wine is great! And value! They’re down that natural wine pathway somewhere in winemaking/growing, as a reference. Not much not to like here.”  Mike Bennie, Winefront

“Life is not a dress rehearsal” – such is the motto of husband and wife vignerons Ken Gilchrist and Kaye Graves, who in 2010 started their second careers by purchasing a 50 acre property in Axedale, between Bendigo and Heathcote, to start a completely new venture.

Aside from farming sheep and offering accommodation on the picturesque farm, the centrepiece was the planting of a 5 acre vineyard – small enough to be enjoyably manageable, and large enough to grow meaningful quantities of wine, with purchased fruit topping things up as needed.

Inspired originally by the lo-fi wines of the Loire Valley, ethos is on organic farming, minimal handling of the grapes, and allowing nature as the author.  Winemaking was originally handled by Tim Sproal of Boomtown, seeing Jake Winther of Trutta taking things over from vintage 2023.  All wines are wild fermented and receive no additions beyond sulphur.

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  • GilGraves Easy Red 2022

     $ 32.00 incl. GST

    100% Shiraz from a block in Metcalfe.  9 days carbonic maceration, fermented in tank, then rested around six months in seasoned oak before bottling.

    “Easy Red” does what it says on the tin.  Heady aromas of Chinotto and savoury cola, again with a little medicinal element.  On the palate, savoury cola flavours/Chinotto, raspberries, green herbs, cherries, all in savoury balance.  Leaning firmly into the lo-fi end of things here but ultimately clean and delicious, and of course, chillable should one so wish.

     

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  • GilGraves Rosé 2023

     $ 32.00 incl. GST

    100% Cabernet Sauvignon, grown just out of the town of Redesdale on sedimentary soils by Peter Raeburn.  Early picked fruit is fermented and aged entirely in tank, bottled after around six months ageing on fine lees.

    Medium salmon shade.  Varietal nose – sweet capsicum, currants, a tomato bush element.  A superb food style, plenty of complexity and contrast in there, balancing savoury textural elements with high and low toned impressions of blackcurrants, deli meats, dried apple, a medicinal lick and a smattering of fresh herbs.  A worthy and welcome addition to our pink offerings.

     

     

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  • GilGraves Viognier 2023

     $ 33.00 incl. GST

    Grapes are sourced from Oakmore Estate, a quartz-ridden site at the southern end of the Heathcote GI.  Fermented and aged entirely in stainess on fine lees.

    Apricots and sweet dough on nose with a hit of pineapple.  Kernel/almond bitter aromas.  Holds a great tension and balance in mouth between fruit and bitterness, with an invigorating acid line.  A little salinity on the finish, great length and well composed.  For a variety which can appear clumsy when incorrectly handled, all poise here.

     

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  • GilGraves Sangiovese 2023

     $ 35.00 incl. GST

    Estate fruit here, from the property’s granitic soils.  Fermented in tank, gently extracted, and rested in seasoned oak for one year before bottling.

    More an old world expression than many, with a lively acid line, sour cherry though and through, a pronounced, succulent core of tannin, the oak lending a slight cocoa/dark chocolate element.  Concentrated, long, lots of juiciness there, but feels a serious expression due to its structure and length.

     

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  • GilGraves Malbec 2023

     $ 38.00 incl. GST

    Estate fruit, given just over one week’s carbonic maceration to preserve fruit flavours.  Around 12 months in seasoned oak before bottling.

    Malbec alright – nose of coca, grilled meat, coffee, bouquet garni herbs, tomato bush.  Plenty of palate concentration around raspberry fruit, black fruits, plums, and sweet tobacco.  Mouthfilling against a crunchiness of texture.

     

     

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  • GilGraves Shiraz Viognier 2022

     $ 38.00 incl. GST

    Estate Shiraz is cofermented with a small amount of Viognier, receiving daily plunges and pump-overs for three weeks, before 12 months rest in seasoned oak casks before bottling.

    A lifted nose, the Viognier giving a clear aromatic boost.  Vibrant and energetic, black fruits, black olive, leather, and a light creosote note.  Great energy in the mouth, mid-weight, great concentration of flavours, lovely succulent tannins which are fine but present.  Appealing purity and transparency, a beautifully tuned expression.

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