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Big Hammer Wines, John Duval Collection
Shop These Award-Winning Australian Wines
Former Penfolds Winemaker, 2x Red Winemaker of the Year ~IWSC, & One of Australia's Top Winemakers
Award-Winning Winemaker
John Duval is one of Australia's most highly regarded winemakers. Raised on a South Australian farm with three generations of grape growers before him, his vinous path was fated. However, it was during his 28-year tenure with Penfolds that his passion for the famed Barossa Valley flourished. As Chief Winemaker and custodian of Australia's most famous wine, Grange, he was instrumental in establishing Penfolds as one of the world's great wineries. His accolades include being named UK Wine and Spirit Competition's International Winemaker of the Year, Red Winemaker of the Year (twice), and receiving Wine Spectator's Wine of the Year award. In 2003, John embarked on his own label, John Duval Wines, inspired by the best of the Barossa Valley's low-yielding, old vine vineyards. With a deft touch, he crafts intense wines that are as complex and distinctive as the diverse terroir of his treasured Barossa Valley.
"At the very pinnacle of quality and high standards rest a core of well-known names (including) John Duval. With 35 years in the winemaking business under his belt, nearly 30 of which were spent making Grange and developing the RWT label at Penfolds, John Duval is a bit of an Australian wine legend." ~Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate (2010)
John Duval's Vision
For over 100 years our family supplied grapes to South Australia’s best winemakers. Knowledge of the vineyard handed down through five generations, allied with a 30 year career at the pinnacle of Australian winemaking, are the foundations of John Duval Wines. Each wine made from fruit sourced exclusively from exceptional old Barossa vineyards, our distinctive style defined by elegance and structure.
Rather than seeking to simply emulate Penfolds, the aim of John Duval Wines is to perpetuate the story of a South Australian wine family through a collection of structured and elegant wines made from fruit grown in exceptional old Barossa vineyards.
What Make John Duval's Wine Standout?
The Barossa Valley, arguably the center of the Australian wine industry today, has one of the richest cultural histories of any Australian wine region. Settled in the 1840s by English and German emigrants, many of the first vineyards are farmed to this day by sixth-generation winemaking families. Here, gnarled old vines thrive in a warm, continental climate, with ample sunshine hours allowing the small berries to reach optimum ripeness and flavor concentration. While access to this scarce, old-vine fruit is fiercely guarded, Duval’s long-established vigneron relationships and intimate knowledge of Barossa’s subregions ensure he has a rich palate from which to craft his wines. Be it complex Shiraz from Ebenezer and Greenock’s red soils, glorious Marsanne from the Marananga region, or fruit from the 100-year-old Mourvedre vines in Light Pass and Angaston, under Duval’s care this exceptional fruit is fashioned into a grand portrait of the region’s rich history.
Marsanne was hand-picked from the Marananga region, Roussanne from the Kalimna region, and Viognier from Eden Valley. Gentle pressings were combined with free-run juice and cold settled. Fermentation commenced in stainless steel but some of the Marsanne and Viognier finished fermentation in and was aged in barrel until bottled in early August. The remaining Marsanne and the Roussanne was aged on lees in tank until bottling, to enhance the structure and texture of the wine.
The Reviews Are In! Find Out Why we Can Hardly Keep John Duval Wines in Stock.
This is a consistently impressive wine that has impeccable balance. ~95 Toni Patterson MW
John Duval is a bit of an Australian wine legend." ~Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate (2010)
It says loudly that John Duval’s experience has led him to the conclusion that to make upper-tier wine from shiraz from the Barossa you need new oak. ~94+ The Wine Front
"Great price for this fabulous wine. Loved the quick shipment; I had it in my cellar within 3 days!" ~Gerard D.
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