We were recently invited along to our long term wine mate, Alex Retief’s new venture, Sydney’s first Urban Winery and Cellar Door. Located in the heart of St Peters in Sydney’s Inner West this is a fully functioning, commercial winery that processes at least 50 tonnes of grape each vintage.
With the ability to tour the winery and immerse yourself in the wine making process without having to leave Sydney this is one unique wine experience. With additional event and dinners planned you could find yourself exploring the regional differences of NSW’s finest wine regions all in one spot.
We loved the new cellar door area, which has just opened with a full bar licence so you can happily sample a few wines whilst indulging in local cheese and wine friendly nibbles. Obviously it wouldn’t be a cellar door without the ability to purchase a few of Alex’s wines. Our picks for the cellar are:
2013 A.Retief “The Alias” Mataro
A single vineyard Hilltops wine from the Mokhinui vineyard, this perfumed and brambly medium to full bodied red has seen 20months in older French oak before a few years in bottle. Its just hitting a great drinking window but will benefit from a few years in the cellar. $41
2012 A.Retief Chardonnay
This wine was cracking when released and is only getting better. We’ve even got a few cases in the Rushcutters Cellar. 18 Months in new French Barrique and plenty of lee’s work bring on an old school meets new school Chardy feel. Stone fruit ripeness but with a solid acid drive from that cool-ish Tumbarumba fruit. Well balanced and keeps going. $41
A great new addition to the Sydney Wine scene, go say hi to Alex maybe tread on some grapes and make sure you tell them Rushcutters sent you.
