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Balnaves

The Balnaves’ family vineyard is situated at the southern end of the famous Coonawarra Terra Rossa strip. Planted in 1975, the vineyard is now 58 hectares in size (70% planted with Cabernet Sauvignon) and has been in the family for three generations. Most critics in Australia would agree that the two top producers of Cabernet Sauvignon in the country are Cullen in Margaret River and Balnaves in Coonawarra. Balnaves’ position was recognised when James Halliday named them ‘Winery of the Year’ in his 2008 Guide. Today, Doug, together with his son Pete and daughter Kirsty, run the Balnaves vineyards and manage another 300 hectares for other growers in the heart of Coonawarra. Balnaves started bottling and selling their own wine in 1990. The quality of their fruit was always excellent, but they began their move to the top of the Coonawarra ladder in 1995 when they hired Pete Bissell as their winemaker and started work on their own winery. Bissell had made a great name for himself within the industry by producing a range of trophy winning wines across the road at Wynns, and his move to Balnaves enabled him to replicate this quality on a smaller scale. His achievements were recognised when he was named ‘Qantas Winemaker of the Year’ in 2005. The winery, which opened in time for the 1996 vintage, won two architectural awards for its stylish simplicity, but more impressive is the way that it has been planned from a winemaking point of view. The vineyard area is divided into small blocks of between one and two hectares, which are managed separately according to the specifi c needs of each area. In the cellar, the small fermenters enable Pete to select and ferment a number of small lots separately, giving him numerous blending components and resulting in more layered and complex wines.