Now Greenstone Winery
Yarra Glen, Australia
Closed but still Kicking!!
Tasted in March 2015
By Sean Overpeck
There is a first time for everything, and this review for Wine, Dine, and Play I can now say it is a first. The review is on a winery visited in March 2015 while in the Yarra Valley, Australia. I stopped off for a few days in Melbourne before heading on to Sydney, then back to the United States. I had just completed an eight month working tour at McMurdo station in Antarctica, and was ready for a little break before moving onto my next job at the US Consulate in Iraq. During a two day visit to the Yarra Valley, I went to six vineyards, two restaurants that had their own labels, and a little zoo with native Australian animals. The winery in question for this review is the Sticks Winery, which while doing research I have discovered that they are closed and the property is now being run by Greenstone Winery. So the review shall be on the Sticks tasting, but shall make sure that Greenstone is represented for those who read and would like to visit the Yarra on day, you can try the new vineyards wines. Though Greenstone is the new owner, the Sticks webpage, and social media are still active, so both wineries will be listed below.
Addition to the original posting:
Scroll down to read the main review
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From vineyards home page:
Sticks Yarra Valley is beautifully situated on a single site in the picturesque Yarra Valley, an hour’s drive from Melbourne. The Winery and Cellar Door, which are nestled in to the base of the Christmas Hills, have unparalleled views of the Estate vineyard and Great Dividing ranges.
It is here that winemaking operations are carried out, making Sticks one of the most progressive wineries in the valley. Producing award winning wines that are sold both nationally and in key markets around the world, Sticks Yarra Valley wines express true varietal characteristics.
Standing at six foot six, our founding winemaker, Rob Dolan was given the nickname ‘Sticks’ during his days as a dual premiership player for the Port Adelaide Aussie Rules Football Club. Rob pulled together a young, vibrant and highly regarded winemaking team who have continued on with Rob's commitment to making fresh, fruit driven cool climate wines. Let's just say the winemaking team are as passionate about the sticks in the vineyard as Rob is about his footy!
Our Winemaker, Travis Bush, is dedicated to producing exceptional cool climate wines showing depth and regional expression.
Main review:
Day two of the wine tour for Yarra Valley began with the drive from Melbourne and the first stop being Sticks Winery (now Greenstone). The tasting room manager mentioned that a group from China had just purchased the winery, but when doing my research on Greenstone, they have been an Australian name for years, so as far as the Chinese purchase that was mentioned during my tasting in March 2015, who knows.
As far as tasting go, this was the biggest, with a total of twelve separate wines, to include vintages of their 2008 merlot that was selling out, to a wonderful tasting 2011 Shiraz. The three wines I enjoyed the most from the tasting are detailed below in cost and tasting notes and include the 2013 chardonnay, and the 2012 merlot and #29 estate cabernet. The #29 emblem represented the owners jersey number to the Port Adelaide Football Club, where he was given the nickname of ‘Sticks’. Total case production for all of their 2012 wines numbered at 30,000 cases, and compared to previous years, their yield was down by 30%.
Review basics:
96 - 100
|
is Extraordinary
|
90 - 95
|
is Outstanding
|
80 -89
|
is Above the Average
|
70 - 79
|
is Below the Average
|
60 - 69
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poor / appalling / “Cac”
|
Wine, Dine, & Play’s Rating
|
87 Points
|
| James Halliday | 2012 No.29 Cabernet Sauvignon 95 ponts |
| All Accolades | Sticks Awards and reviews |
| Regulatory | AGWA: The Australian Grape and Wine Authority |
This or these wines remind me of:
I really enjoyed the tasting at Sticks and it is a shame that they are closed, but so goes the nature of any business. Some will succeed and others will not. From the tastings such as their #29 Cabernet, I would compare it to the cabernet I tasted at Gustavo Winery in Napa Valley, California back in 2013. A nice earthy and chocolate cab with fine tannins that could stand up on the palate with any good duck course, especially if it were say The Fat Duck restaurant by Heston Blumenthal, which at the time of my visit to Australia, he had opened for a short period of time, but the reservations were completely booked out for my dates there, and for anyone else that wanted to reserve. The Merlot was light yet also robust with flavor reminding me of another California wine by Emmolo Winery also in Napa.
Other Yarra Valley favorites on Wine, Dine, and Play:
TarraWarra Restaurant, Healesville
Dominique Portet Winery
Oakridge Wines
Bottle Prices
(excluding taxes)
$£€¥ - Under 50.00
$£€¥ x 2 - 51.00- 99.00
$£€¥ x 3 - Over 100.00
$£€¥ x 4 - Over 200.00
$£€¥ x 5 - Over 400.00
**Currencies chosen reflect the world’s major travelers and restaurant connoisseur’s**
Wine Selction:
|
Currency in the top wine producing countries: | Price Chart : |
2013 Chardonnay (750 ml)
|
||
$18.00
|
Australian Dollar (AUS)
|
$
|
$13.00
|
United States Dollar (USD)
|
$
|
£9.00
|
Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)
|
£
|
€12.00
|
European Union (EUR)
|
€
|
$17.00
|
Canadian Dollar (CAN)
|
$
|
¥85.00
|
Chinese Yuan (CNY)
|
¥¥
|
R203.00
|
South African Rand (ZAR)
|
R
|
$207.00
|
Argentine Peso (ARS)
|
$$$$
|
$9,066.00
|
Chilean Peso (CLP)
|
$$$$$
|
$20.00
|
New Zealand Dollar (NZD)
|
$
|
#29 Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 (750 ml)
|
||
$40.00
|
Australian Dollar (AUS)
|
$$
|
$29.00
|
United States Dollar (USD)
|
$$
|
£21.00
|
Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)
|
£££££
|
€27.00
|
European Union (EUR)
|
€€€€€
|
2012 Merlot (750 ml)
|
||
$20.00
|
Australian Dollar (AUS)
|
$$
|
$14.00
|
United States Dollar (USD)
|
$$
|
£10.00
|
Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)
|
£££££
|
€13.00
|
European Union (EUR)
|
€€€€€
|
Bouquet & Palette:
Wine & Grape:
|
Nose (Bouquet):
|
Palette Experience:
|
2013 Chardonnay
|
White nectarine, melon, grapefruit and nut
|
Citrus, nectarine, almond meal, acacia honey
|
#29 Cabernet Sauvignon 2012
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Dark currants, blackberry, earthy, dried tea leaf
|
Red fruits, cinnamon, olive, chocolate, fine tannins, elegant
|
Merlot 2012
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Red berries, fleshy cherries, cocoa, green olives, bay leaf
|
Plum, black cherry, fruitcake, round
|
Château or Vineyard Owner:
Rob Dolan
Winemaker:
Travis Bush
Vineyard &Tasting Room address:
Sticks Yarra Valley
Now Greenstone Vineyards
179 Glenview Road
Yarra Glen, Vic 3775
GPS Coordinates:
-37.659988
145.356455
Contact Information:
Tasting room:
|
Sticks number not active |
| Greenstone | +61 3 9730 1022 |
| Website: | Sticks Winery now Greenstone Vineyards |
| Email: | Contact Sticks Winery |
| Greenstone Vineyards | |
| Social Media: |
Facebook Sticks |
| Twitter@sticks_yv | |
| Facebook Greenstone Vineyards | |
| Twitter@greenstoneYV |
Tasting Room Information:
Monday - Sunday: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
AEDT: Australian Eastern Daylight Time (GMT + 11:00)
Review by:
Sean Overpeck (CFE)
The Picture below was taken at the Cellar Door to Sticks (now Greenstone) Winery in 2015
About Sean:
I am based out of St. Petersburg, Florida working in the food service industry for the past twenty years, and am currently with the American Embassy as the Executive Chef in Basra, Iraq. Formally I have worked with groups contracting in Afghanistan, Dubai, and Antarctica, also working in restaurants in and around Atlanta prior to the wars. I have also owned a catering company and served proudly in the United States Army food service program. The idea for the Wine, Dine, and Play Blog started in late 2012 after a trip to Jordan, when I was asked by others to write down the experiences from a few Jordanian restaurants, plus the wine from the region that I tasted, and locations of interest such as Petra, and the culture. Since that time, nearly 200 articles have been written on restaurants, including fifteen from the worlds top 100 lists of San Pellegrino and the Elite Travelers Guide; exotic world locations such as Dubai, Petra, and African Safari’s; food recipes & Grand Food Dictionaries; country cuisines such as Afghan and Peruvian; and of course wine from vineyards in California, Oregon, the Carolina’s, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia.
TTFN
“I like cooking with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food.”
