Willem Kurt / Beechworth

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Established in 2012 with purchased fruit and rented winery space, steady progress saw vigneron Daniel Balzer and wife Marije van Epenhuijsen purchase a paddock a short distance south of Beechworth township in 2017, today home to seven acres of vines, an off grid winery, substantial plantings of trees and native gardens, and a natural reed bed wastewater filtration system.

Daniel saw fit to establish his estate and plantings from scratch – “I didn’t want to take on the mistakes of somebody else,” in his own words, carefully planting an acre at a time. Vines of Chardonnay, Vermentino and Syrah are already yielding some fabulous wines, with first crops of Pinot Noir and Sangiovese due next year.

The undulating site of quartz flecked clay and loam allowed planting to multiple aspects (predominantly South West facing), and the proximity and size of the site permits Daniel to give meticulous attention to the vines and canopy management, in turn allowing low intervention winemaking which is raising some beautifully transparent and unforced expressions.

Quality is redolent here in the finished wines, and with the releases this strong off young vines, we’re immensely excited to see what future years will bring from this address.

The name Willem Kurt comes from the middle names of Daniel and Marije’s two sons, reflective of the couple’s German and Dutch heritage respectively.

All wines are fermented naturally and bottled without fining or filtration, and are hence vegan suitable.  Quality is redolent in this whole stable, and with the releases this strong off young vines, we’re immensely excited to see what future years will bring from this address.

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  • Willem Kurt Beechworth Rosé 2024

     $ 31.00 incl. GST

    100% Shiraz.  Bone dry with a beautifully nuanced gravelly mineral backbone.  Flavours of strawberry, orange rind, watermelon, pepper and spice with a pleasing drive and weight.  Refreshing and no doubt a great food wine, a style with enough individuality to sit in well among our sizeable collection of pink wine.

    “Nutty, perfumed, redcurrant, tangerine and blood orange. It’s juicy and savoury, has a softness to it, but also a bit of Campari bitterness, and strawberry, a firm chalky grip to texture, with a juicy and saline finish of excellent length. A sophisticated style, and very good to drink.” 93 points, Gary Walsh, Winefront

  • Willem Kurt Beechworth Vermentino 2024

     $ 35.00 incl. GST

    The young vines are maturing to provide a greater intensity of flavour.  This release saw three separate picks with varying degrees of skin contact to build texture.  Note the below review was written on release, the wine is settling in well and looking superb now.

     “The nose is quite yeasty, courtesy of its extreme youth, presumably. The palate though is right on track, with grapefruit and citrus notes woven through with spice, stones, quartz and more of the like. It has both texture and cut, the latter aided by brine-like notes. I’d want the nose on this to settle down before hooking in, but the intensity and character of the palate is excellent.”

    92 points, Campbell Mattinson, Winefront

  • Willem Kurt Beechworth Syrah 2021

     $ 42.00 incl. GST

    2021 represents the first year Willem Kurt harvested from their own site; a cooler site to the previous source of purchased fruit sees a change in style for those familiar.  Three months of skin contact before basket pressing promotes complexity and a fine tannic structure.

    “Well hello.  This is a beautiful Beechworth shiraz. Composed, fresh, flavoursome and complex. It tastes of black cherries, almost into plum, with deli meat, black pepper, floral elements, woodsmoke and an array of both sweet spices and garden herb characters. There’s a clear, welcoming sweetness to the fruit, which really drains you in, but then there’s so much savoury, spicy, bunchy character inlaid. This is a beauty.”

    94 points, Campbell Mattinson, Winefront

  • Willem Kurt Beechworth Chardonnay 2023

     $ 45.00 incl. GST

    Barrel fermented and raised in French oak, 25% new.  Selected barrels only saw lees stirring and malolactic fermentation, simple winemaking allowing the fruit to shine through.

    “There’s an inherent complexity to this chardonnay. It pushes hay into peach, smoked bacon into grapefruit, and oatmeal into citrus, and while it has semblances of slippery smoothness – or richness, even – it feels energetic throughout, and ultimately lengthy. The way flavour sweeps through the finish is particularly enjoyable, and of particular note. This is another winner under the Willem Kurt label.”

    94 points, Campbell Mattinson, Winefront