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Puglisi family vignerons, since 1932
We’ve been cultivating grapes, crafting wine and sharing it for over ninety years, and we’d love to share our world-class wines with you.
The Ballandean Estate family of wines reflect the strengths of the Granite Belt's unqiue terroir, cool climate and high altitiude. Our Shiraz and Merlot vines are some of the oldest in Australia. We produce a unique range of alternative varietals, Strange Birds™. A wine pioneer, Angelo’s vinicultural vision has delivered 13 new Strange Birds™ for the Granite Belt Geographical Indication.
Each parcel of fruit is vinified with minimal intervention and bottled within our modern winery, situated at our home vineyard overlooking the breathtaking Ballandean Valley.
Our winemaking philosophy is founded on the belief that great wines are made in the vineyard, must be an authentic expressions of place, and are a labour of love from a family that lives and breathes wine.Â
The Granite Belt’s viticultural significance is recognised and protected as a wine producing region under its unique GI (Geographical Indication).
Reviews
Mike Bennie
2023 Wild Ferment Viognier
93 points
The wine sees some skin fermentation, and the lees are stirred in the French oak barrels it rests in before bottling. Wild fermented, of course. A lush but refreshing rendering of the variety with slippery then squeaky texture, pithy pear, grapefruit, ginger, cinnamon spice, dried apricot and dried apple all featuring here. A touch of sweetness to taste, but the brown spice elements roll through the finish, lending savouriness and a bit of pleasing bite. There is complexity, interest and delight here
Mike Bennie
2023 Malbec
89 points
It pushes a lot of buttons for those seeking malbec – plushness, plummy fruit, chocolatey elements, violet-floral lift, faint bloody characters and sweet spice. It's inviting and soft, supple in tannin profile, generous upfront though, alas, the finish is somewhat dilute and pulls up short. Oak is spicy and sweet, a little over the top of the fruit character, but that should fold in in a few more years if patiently cellared. Decent drinking ensues.
Mike Bennie
2024 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc
86 points
A neat and tidy, elementary white wine of light, fresh tropical fruit characters married to sweet citrus and light passionfruit freshness. No hair out of place, high refreshment factor and easy to drink.
Mike Bennie
2022 Opera Block Cabernet Sauvignon
90
A soft and dark-fruited cabernet with choc-cherry, kirsch and cassis characters licked at by spearmint and eucalyptus sweetness and piquancy. Around that, clove, cedar, toasty cinnamon and ground walnut notes lend depth and woody spice to the potency of that fruit compote character. It's a little warm and breathy in the palate, but many will find that sweetness and lift a charm. Tannins lend some light chew and shape, the finish, alas, a little short and gummy to take things to higher echelons.
Mike Bennie
Angelo's 1987 Rare Tawny
95 points
A wine produced to honour the generational family winemaking legacy at Ballandean Estate. This is rich, slippery and ultra-dense, loaded with molasses and treacle characters, cinnamon, bitter-dark chocolate, toffee and stewed plum with dried orange peel, raisin and preserved cherries in tow. It's powerful and dense, but holds a level of clean spirit and lifted spice that elevates the wine. Palate-staining intensity is a feature here. Touches of umami in deep rancio a given in this matured, concentrated wine. Very complex, moreish and compelling in its style.
Mike Bennie
2023 Small Batch Chardonnay
95 points
Parcels are selected for this reserve wine offering. It is matured in 100% new French oak barrels for 13 months. It's a brilliant mix of fresh, crisp stone fruit and more honey, toasty, slippery richness. The mesh of bright, high-elevation fruit with ably-judged oak maturation and less work delivers a complex wine of intensity and yet vivid freshness. Alongside the more opulent fruit characters, a slip of nougat and almond savouriness and a sizzle of brine-like minerality brings energy to the wine. Complex, intense and very good; drink in vivid youth, but hold some in cellar for honey-buttery softness to follow through.
Mike Bennie
2022 Saperavi
93 points
Saperavi produced at 850m above sea level. This is inky, rich and very potent. An explosion of forest berries, dark chocolate, sarsaparilla, clove, cinnamon and game meat that stains the palate to infinity and then some. It's so plush and toasty, warm and dark, hitting every taste bud and blasting the synapses with information about the brooding, powerful variety. Woody spice perhaps a little over the top of fruit right now, but it does seem to soak in as the wine opens up. At 15.5% abv it taps in at heavyweight level, but feels balanced and true to saperavi and its muscular potential. It should cellar well, despite drinking impressively right now.
Mike Bennie
2023 Nebbiolo
95 points
Nebbiolo from 850m above sea level! Very high country wine of Queensland. This does the variety great service. It's tightly wound and succulent in dark cherry fruit character, laden with woody spice and dried herb elements, shows off faint, bloody savouriness, some black olive notes, hazelnut, faint minty lift and dashes of white pepper. So much going on. The tannins are fine and firm, the wine feeling almost slate-like in texture with its mineral charm. It is compact and draws long and to a fine point, with palpable energy. There's a sense that this wine will cellar exceptionally long, too. A very good expression.
Mike Bennie
2022 Opera Block Shiraz
93 points
It's a plush and supple red of dark cherry, raspberry, distinct black pepper seasoning, a crushed-granite mineral vein and a good dusting of clove-cinnamon spice. It's just so at the upper end of the flavour spectrum, though fruit and woody spices mesh superbly and the wine feels warming without pushing boundaries, just a mellow, lush flow of everything that extends long and through to lingering sweet spice. It's fruit forward, pleasing, and easy to drink in its robust style.
Angus Hughson
Saperavi 2018
93 points *****
There are some wines that come along and knock you off your feet, and this is one of them … I’m almost certain it is the best wine that I have yet enjoyed from Queensland’s Granite Belt.
Winepilot, November 2021
Read reviewAngus Hughson
Ballandean Estate GFM 2021
92 points *****
I think we can be fairly sure that this wine is a one of a kind — a blend of Giallo, Fiano and Malvasia.
Winepilot, November 2021
Read reviewMike Bennie
2022 Viognier
87 points ****
From vines planted in the 1990s. This is textural and fresh in the same breath. Silky, rich in texture with a cut and thrust of cool, citrusy acidity. Scents of green apple, coconut-rolled dried apricot and fennel. Flavours are richer and set in a perfume of frangipani with apricot, lime and ripe lemon.
Halliday Wine Companion, November 2022
Read reviewMike Bennie
2021 Saperavi
92 points *****
Mellow, balanced and medium- to fuller-weight expression done with aplomb. It's an aromatic red wine with fine, well-integrated and firming tannins set amongst ripe black fruits and loaded with woody, savoury, smoky spice. Scents of black cherry, ripe plum, smoked paprika, clove and lavender. Flavours showcasing similar but lifted on an amaro-like tang of acidity with a sense of refreshment with each sip. An elegance here, despite the tendency of the variety.
Halliday Wine Companion, November 2022
Read reviewPeter Scudamore-Smith, Master of Wine
Malvasia 2020
The Italian varietal Malvasia from Northern Italy produced by Ballandean Estate is a delicious crisp Italian-style dry white wine, and textured, set to match the success of the critically-acclaimed Fiano, a fuller wine from the warmer Campania area.”
Catch it while you can! Ballandean Estate celebrates cellar door opening with Malvasia vintage release, June 2020
Read morePeter Scudamore-Smith, Master of Wine
Fiano 2021
Winemaker Dylan Rhymer continues to finesse Ballandean Estate’s Fiano, building sophistication as it evolves to a stylish and savoury tasty style with fruit-driven aromas. The 2021 vintage has the tell-tale hints of ripe melon sweetness common to the New World Varietal, lifted by sweet mint and white flowers, a result of the high ripeness of the fruit when picked at 13 Baume.
For the love of bees: A great Italian white from Ballandean Estate, September 2021
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