letuffeau.com
(Link)
Wantirna Estate
Yarra Valley
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“With Reg (now in his nineties) still keeping an eye on proceedings, Maryann produces wines that consistently illustrate the Yarra Valley’s greatest virtues. They are made in tiny quantities, then sold in a handful of restaurants, fine wine retailers … They are as beautiful as they are important, and they show why Wantirna Estate is both the foundation stone and the guiding light for the Yarra Valley of today.”
— Nick Ryan, The Australian (Oct, 2025)
“When it comes to Quintets, I’m more a fan of Schubert, or maybe Carl Nielsen’s one for winds. When it comes to fine Victorian Cabernet blends, I can think of no finer than the Amelia and Hannah from Wantirna Estate. Indeed, the Hannah is in my small opinion the finest wine produced in Australia, full stop.
Let’s be real here, reader, Reg Egan, who is still with us in his nineties, is the first of the Yarra Valley revival. His vines are now the oldest in the G.I., and cuttings of nearly all of his varietals have been propagated all throughout the Valley. How many other Pinot vineyards are there in Australia that were planted in the 1960s? None.
All of this would be for naught if the wines were not made with the utmost care. Reg was a fine winemaker in his day, but his daughter Maryann — as is the case with all second generations — is finer still.
These are not wines of power, dizzying aromatics, or bottomless depths of fruit. They are not wines that excite. They are not wines that elite gushing prose. These wines simply are; and for me they are the finest Australian wines I can think of, and I mean that without exaggeration. No producer I know of evokes such an emotional response. Where do I go to from here? The more that I think about these wines, the more I drift into inarticulacy.
Reviews for your reference only.”
— David
“Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.”
Tractatus Logico-Philosphicus — Ludwig von Wittgenstein
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~ please note : discounts are automatically applied at the digital check-out! ~
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I
Wantirna Estate 2023 ‘Lily’
limited
(Shelf Price: $126.00)
Offer Price: $112.00
“A wine of ethereal beauty and balletic poise.”
96pts — Nick Ryan, The Australian (Oct, 2025)
“A deep and brightly coloured crimson purple. Both to look at and smell, this is a concentrated and complex Wantirna pinot that's going to need some time. Aromas of black cherry, damson plum and dried red rose petals lead onto the palate, which is densely packed, structured and very long. Have it with food now, for sure, but
(Link) those who still have some five to ten years from now will be very well rewarded.”
96pts — Philip Rich, James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion
Order here
(Link)
II
Wantirna Estate 2023 ‘Amelia’
(Shelf Price: $126.00)
Offer Price: $112.00
“Cabernet as drawn by MC Escher, exquisitely etched, scrawling volumes into the tiny details.”
97pts — Nick Ryan, The Australian (Oct, 2025)
“A 45/45/10% cabernet sauvignon/merlot and cabernet franc/petit verdot blend with the majority coming off the original dry-grown 1963 plantings. A fabulous, bright crimson/purple. A touch riper and richer than the
'22. There's a sumptuous core of dark fruits, violets, cedar and fresh pencil shavings on the nose. It's just as enticing on the perfectly pitched, medium bodied, elegant and very persistent palate. Everything is in place for
(Link) a long and productive life!”
97pts — Philip Rich, James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion
Order here
(Link)
III
Wantirna Estate 2023 ‘Hannah’
Allocation - 1 bottle available only
“Simply put, this is the pinnacle of Claret in Australia. For me, there is no greater wine in the country. It is certainly the rarest great Australian wine, with fewer than 300 bottles produced each vintage, a figure much lower with the 2023 vintage.
A perfect interplay of Merlot and Cabernet Franc; a darker core of black cherry and cocoa nibs with lifted aromas of incense and vine smoke, seaspry, and hazel. Something more savoury, akin to nori, is at work here as well. Firmly structured yet never dense, this will need a few years to unwind. Almost indescribable finish, long and mineral, with the classic Wantirna feeling, and it is a feeling, of density and supple fruit without weight or power. It just is.”
— David
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Allocation Dozen
1 mixed dozen, available on request
5 * Wantirna Estate 2023 ‘Lily’
6 * Wantirna Estate 2023 ‘Amelia’
1 * Wantirna Estate 2023 ‘Hannah’
Offer: $1,435.00
~ please order this specially priced dozen by reply email ~
If you would like any of the above, would like to come by for a private appointment, or just have some questions — please let us know.