AUSTRALIA
WINEMAKER: |
PHILLIP LEMESSURIER |
VINEYARDS: |
SOUTH AUSTRALIA – ADELAIDE HILLS & CLARE VALLEY |
GRAPES: |
SHIRAZ, PINOT NOIR, CHARDONNAY, SEMILLON, RIESLING |
PHILOSOPHY: |
SINCERE |
Corduroy Wines is Phillip LeMessurier’s personal project, an Adelaide born winemaker that brings his passion and experience together to produce a solid line up of wines from Australia.
Phil worked his first vintage in McLaren Vale back in 1999, with the next stop that same year being in the US, where he undertook another vintage at the renowned family estate Domain Drouhin in Portland, Oregon. Upon his return to the Vale, he worked a two-year stint at another South Australian powerhouse, where he cemented his career in winemaking and took his practical expertise to the classroom, graduating with a degree in Oenology at the University of Adelaide.
LeMessurier then moved away from his home state, where he took on the role as Assistant Winemaker at Thomas Wines in the Hunter Valley, which is where Phil had the opportunity to further develop his practical and theoretical experience, beginning to flourish as a winemaker with his own philosophies.
He has since returned to the northern hemisphere on a frequent basis, working vintages in the Napa Valley at state-of-the-art winery Vineyard 29, the Rhone Valley at Paul Jaboulet and Burgundy with David Duband.
Corduroy was established in 2009 as a small side project for Phil, in which has now developed into a well-respected label amongst the great wines from Australia, making exceptional drops out of his beloved Adelaide Hills and Clare Valley.
The passion project has always been Phil’s so-called love child, with an ongoing search for single vineyard sites that are meticulously dissected in order to pinpoint individual characteristics of each terroir. His efforts in the vineyard simply result in making wines with outstanding quality over value and it allows Phil to approach the cellar with a ‘minimal handling’ philosophy across the Corduroy range.
WINEMAKER: |
JAMES SEXTON |
VINEYARDS: |
VICTORIA – MORNINGTON PENINSULA |
GRAPES: |
PINOT NOIR, CHARDONNAY, PINOT MEUNIER, MERLOT |
PHILOSOPHY: |
ICONIC |
Located on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, Main Ridge Estate has been producing high quality wines since 1980, with the philosophy of using only fruit grown on the estate. The estate was founded by Nat and Rosalie White, as the first commercial winery on the peninsula, displaying an immaculately maintained vineyard followed by meticulous and detailed winemaking.
The unique characteristics of the vineyard were recognized as a perfect opportunity to produce great wine, and the vision of the White family continues its legacy today under different ownership, with a 3 hectare vineyard planted with 50% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay and a small amount of Pinot Meunier and Merlot. These 40-year-old Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines have produced iconic wines for Australia with a strong expression of terroir, heavily influenced by the coastal cool climate of the peninsula.
After years of success with these wines, acknowledged by the Australian industry, the estate was sold to the Sexton Family and continues being advised by Nat White as a consultant. This move was crucial for both families, allowing a handover with experienced insight for consistency amongst the wines and a quality assured transition over the years to come for Main Ridge Estate.
The winemaking has been taken over by James Sexton, a smart young wine professional focused on steering the winery through its traditional path of producing exceptional wines. The 2017 vintage is James’s third year since the Sexton’s came on board and it has been recorded as one the cooler ones at the property since 2004. However the young winemaker has manoeuvred his way through the season to bring these wines displaying elegance, power and an extremely promising future for bottle age. Tasting through the range makes us immensely honoured to have this great estate join the portfolio.
