I had the pleasure last week of attending the Dan Murphy’s Cellar Release programme, it was such a pleasure to have Peter Nixon head of the Dan Murphy’s Wine Panel talk us through the wines.
Dan Murphy’s last week released the latest wines from its cellar and introduce these aged wines into stores for customers to purchase as part of the Cellar Release program. Sixteen wines will be released from the Dan
Murphy’s climate-controlled cellar in Melbourne to store shelves across the country. The Dan Murphy’s Cellar Release concept began in the 1950’s with Dan Murphy himself cellaring wines in a premium cellar space with ideal conditions. As Dan Murphy said, “One of my great joys has been laying down various wines that I could sell when they were sufficiently developed and ready for drinking.” Housed beneath the original Chapel Street store in Prahran, Melbourne, Dan Murphy’s cellar became a haven for wine enthusiasts – a special place where good wines were given time to become great.
As Dan Murphy’s expanded and the public’s interest in wine grew, the Cellar Release program was relocated to fulfil the demand. Today, Dan Murphy’s has more than four million bottles of wine, maturing in a climate-controlled cellar – only to be released when Dan Murphy’s Wine Panel deem them to be at their very best.
“All wine lovers deserve to understand and taste the delicious benefits that come with the ageing process,” says Peter Nixon, Head of Dan Murphy’s Wine Panel. “It is because of the Cellar Release program that Dan Murphy’s is in the unique position to offer Australians these carefully aged wines without the expense of setting up private cellars. We offer mature wine to be enjoyed as the winemaker intended.”
The Dan Murphy’s Wine Panel consists of four wine experts, three of whom are international wine show judges, and one wine buyer, who start by skilfully selecting the wines that will best benefit from aging. The wines are then perfectly stored, and through the years their development is followed with regular assessments. When the Panel decides that the wines are close to maturity, they are released for sale.
“Cellaring wine is a tricky task as every bottle of wine is different. It is crucial to remember that wine is a living thing – it’s constantly changing, particularly under cork. The fragile liquid inside responds to the elements and needs more care and attention than you might imagine,” says Nixon.
Some of Dan Murphy’s oldest wines still ageing in the cellar include a Seppeltsfield 100 Year Old Para Vintage Tawny, Penfolds Grange from 1952, as well as some rare fortified wines from the 1920s.
This July, 16 wines will be released from the cellar including:
Penfolds Bin 138 Shiraz Grenache Mataro 2010
Wolf Blass Grey Label Shiraz Cabernet 2009
Grant Burge Filsell Shiraz 2010
For a complete list of newly released cellared wines, please visit
www.danmurphys.com.au/cellar-release
by Arrnott Olssen
Editor Rogue Homme
