Jonathan Maltus - The Colonial Estate (Barossa Valley)

"He has raised the bar in terms of already very good winemaking in the Barossa" (Wine Behind the Label)

The Colonial Estate is a range of limited-production Barossa Valley wines that are handpicked and vinified using mainly French methods by Jonathan Maltus of Bordeaux' Château Teyssier.

CWC's approach is deliberately and uniquely French. The wines are handpicked into trays and double-sorted (an extremely rare phenomenon in Australia where the usual rule is to chuck everything in on the basis that it is all so ultra-ripe it won't matter!). The reds receive cold pre-maceration, delestages, pigeage, and maceration on the skins prior to ageing in French oak; whilst the whites get whole-bunch pressing and lees bâtonnage and are fermented with yeasts imported from Champagne .

The reds come, in principle from the prime Northern Arc of the Barossa Valley (situated around the North of the Barossa Valley : Marananga, Ebenezer, Light Pass , Greenock , Angaston and Stockwell) and the whites from the cool-climate of the Adelaide Hills.  The wines are produced from vines that are either owned by the Company or are from selected growers.

2003 was the first vintage of "L'Explorateur" and with a Parker rating the right side of 90 points and a fair price tag, Jonathan is clearly going to make a name for himself down-under as well as in his (now) native Bordeaux.

In addition to CWC and Teyssier, the Maltus empire includes a very good range of Bordeaux Supérieurs under the label of Château Lacroix. These are some of the better inexpensive wines from Bordeaux.