Tasting Notes

The name Hamill tells a multigeneration story of the Thomson family, beginning with Emily Grace Hamill, who married Fredrick Thomson. Hamill Shiraz is produced from the Sugarloaf vineyard, which is situated amongst the rolling hills surrounding the black ranges.

Chardonnay was one of the varietals planted in the Concongella Vineyard in the 1970’s despite the fact that cuttings were extremely hard to come by at the time.  The fruit for this wine comes from an old single vineyard located in a cool sheltered site within the Great Western GI.

The 2014 Thomson Family Shiraz was awarded the ‘Wine Of the Year’ for the 2017 Halliday Wine Companion and the 2017 was awarded 99 points for the 2020 Wine Companion. It is hand harvested, hand plunged and fermented in small open fermenters.

This unique wine comes from our ‘Young Vine’ plantings of Pinot Meunier which were established in 1970. Although eminently drinkable now, previous examples of this wine prove that it will age gracefully for many decades if cellared correctly.

The Best’s Old Vine Pinot Meunier is the ultimate wine that speaks of place, and it has a cult following, particularly in the wine community and the trade where people understand how rare this varietal planting is.

Deep crimson with a garnet hue, this wine rounded and harmonious wine boasts fleshy red fruits with a breadth of savoury, but soft lingering tannins and pairs perfectly with pork dumplings.

Best’s Bin 0 Shiraz is produced from the four original Shiraz plantings in the low yielding blocks of the historic Concongella vineyard at Great Western. This includes nineteenth century and mid twentieth century plantings of Shiraz which result in very low yielding, intense vines. The fruit is hand-selected, sorted and fermented in small-batches and matured in the finest barrels in our underground cellar.

The Riesling vines from Great Western produce flavoursome, elegantly structured, spectacularly age-worthy Rieslings which stand confidently alongside some of the most outstanding Australian examples of the variety. In recent times, the style has evolved to match the continental climatic conditions to a beautifully balanced wine with texture and aromatics.

Best’s Sparkling Shiraz epitomises the regional characteristics with plenty of spice and plummy fruit characters. The dosage liqueur for this wine contains a small quantity of very old Best’s Liqueur Muscat that gives the wine an added layer of interest and complements the style.

This sparkling wine was inspired by Christine Mary Thomson (C.M.T.) who for many years has worked alongside her husband Viv, continuing the Thomson family traditions as custodians of Best’s Wines at Great Western. Made from the traditional varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and disgorged after four years on lees, this wine celebrates the long history of sparkling winemaking in Great Western.

With pretty and inviting rose petal and melon aromas, this is a wine that speaks more about history, soil and place than variety, a unique expression of our Australian wine heritage.

Bin 1 is a classic, cool climate, aromatic Shiraz, made in a style that is perfumed, spicy and peppery, yet well balanced with no overt dominance of alcohol. It’s a great match with food – particularly dishes like spring lamb.