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Henry Best was a highly industrious merchant and butcher who serviced Ararat miners during the Victorian gold rush. He planted thirty hectares of vine along Concongella Creek in 1866 and constructed a commercial cellar wineworks which continue to process the most spectacular vintages until the present day. The heirloom plantings of Henry Best remain productive, as some of the most historically significant rootstock in the world. Home of the Jimmy Watson 2012 Trophy, Royal Sydney 2013 Australian Wine Of Year, James Halliday 2014 Wine of Year, Distinguished and Outstanding Langtons Classifications. Remarkable for a style that's all their own, chiselled, brooding and black. Best's Great Western endures as one of the new world's most preeminent, yet bewilderingly soft spoken viticultural estates. Just quietly, the wines are conspicuously under priced and of exceptional value... Carn the concongella cabernet»
Roland Kaval
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Roland Kaval
Roland Kaval is an accomplished, entrepreneurial, and highly intrepid winemaker from Victoria

Durif is a rare red grape variety brought to Rutherglen from France in 1908 by the eminent Australian viticulturalist Francois de Castella. Whilst very little Durif remains in France today, the variety has flourished in Rutherglen where the long dry autumns and abundant sunshine allow the fruit to develop intense colour and rich flavours. In fact, this unique variety seems to have found its ideal Australian home in Rutherglen where it is regarded as the region’s flagship red wine.

Roland Kaval

A typical Durif can be characterised as having a deep, almost impenetrable, colour, with earthy, peppery aromas, a full palate displaying ripe berry fruit flavours and a firm tannin finish. In short, the Durif shows immense power and richness – a red wine with attitude! No wonder the wine is renowned for its ageing potential, with examples that are 10 or even 15 years old still showing astonishing verve and freshness. Rutherglen Durif is a unique world wine style.

Winemaker Roland Kaval completed an Honours Degree in Biochemistry from Monash University and an Applied Science Degree (Oenology) from Roseworthy Agricultural College. He then spent three years as a chemist in the brewing industry before commencing winemaking in 1982. Roland worked for several Australian companies in varying capacities from production to sales and marketing before setting up a winemaking consultancy business in 1997. He lectures in wine appreciation and is a guest taster with Winestate magazine. Roland also holds the position as wines czar with Global Wine Marketers, a leading Australian wine exporter, strategically based in the township of Gordon, less than one hour’s drive from Melbourne Airport and the Port of Melbourne.

"The Clyde Park vineyard has changed owners in recent years. Gary Farr first planted the vineyard in 1980, then sold it to Donlevy Fitzpatrick, the man behind the Melbourne Wine Room at The George Hotel. The wines are now in the hands of Roland Kaval who, after a major stint at St Leonards, is well versed in handling idiosyncratic wines. He's doing an excellent job" -Peter Bourne

Roland Kaval

Roland Kaval