tyrrell’s...clockwise from top: edward tyrrell’s property at the time of his grandson murray...
TRANSCRIPT
Nothing is great unless it is good
Tyrrell’s
Nothing is great unless it is goodThe Tyrrell family wine story
2008 marks the 150th anniversary of our
family’s arrival in Pokolbin to commence its
future in the Australian wine industry. 150 years
of one family with a constant base and industry
in which it operates is a rarity in the country.
We Tyrrells have been on our vineyard for two
thirds of Australia’s modern history. The motto
of ‘nothing is great unless it is good’ came with
my great grandfather from England and has
been a guiding beacon for the family through
the 150 years. It has been and will be the basis
of all we do.
We have passed many milestones along the
way, with the past 50 years contributing the
most. The introduction of Chardonnay and
Pinot Noir to the modern Australian industry,
our expansion outside our beloved Hunter
Valley to Mclaren Vale, Limestone Coast
and Heathcote, and the championing of the
Introduction
Semillon variety from the Hunter are, to me,
the outstanding achievements.
The Heathcote move will see us at the
forefront of the development of what I believe
will be the next great Shiraz area of Australia;
one that will rival and then surpass the Barossa
and Mclaren Vale.
Hunter Semillon has provided us with the
rare opportunity to work with one of the truly
unique wine styles of the world and I trust that
in my lifetime it will be recognized worldwide
for its great quality.
The continuation of Tyrrell’s Wines as a
family business for another 150 years, at least,
is my greatest dream. Family businesses
always have a longer term view of the world, its
operation and its people. It is from the family
businesses that the innovation and leadership
required by the wine industry, nationally and
locally, will come. Wine is forever in our blood
and in our dreams.
Pauline and I will probably not see the 200th
anniversary of Tyrrell’s but the future of it will
be in safe hands. Our three children Jane, John
and Christopher, will have created their own
part of our family’s history and tradition.
M. Bruce Tyrrell AMManaging DirectorTyrrell’s Wines
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Photography Christopher Morris, Bernie Gibson, Alexander Housalas
Text Fiona Sainty
Art director Lucila Lamas
Concept editor Louise Upton
Published by Tyrrell’s. © 2008 Tyrrell’s.
Photography by Christopher Morris © 2008 Christopher Morris.
Jane Tyrrell photograph © 2008 Alexander Housalas.
All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by copyright may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means
(graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, recording taping, or information retrieval systems)
without the written permission of the publisher and the photographers.
Disclaimer: The publication is sold on the terms of understanding that the authors, consultants, editors and publishers
are not responsible for the results of any actions taken on the basis of information in this publication, nor for any error in
or omission from this publication. All reasonable efforts have been made to trace copyright holders.
Contents07
08
12
16
22
38
Foreword
The Slab Hut
The Brothers Tyrrell
The Mouth of The Hunter
Changing the Way We Drink
“It’s a bloody obsession” (Semillon)
Taking Wine to The People
Dirt Floors and Big Wood
The Wines and Winemakers
Tyrrell’s Star Wines
The Fifth Generation
Tyrrell Family Timeline
44
48
50
56
58
60
7
In the 30 years I’ve known the Hunter Valley,
the region has been distinguished by the
passion of its wine people. They believe in their
patch so comprehensively – its soils, its regional
grape varieties, its vineyards, winemakers and
viticulturalists, even in a perverse way its
climate (always a talking-point), and most
especially its traditions and history. The Tyrrell
family, incarnate in the persons of Murray and
Bruce Tyrrell for most of that 30 years, are
among the most passionate, in their support of
the Hunter and belief in their own work. They
have every reason to be. Tyrrell’s is an
outstanding wine company; the quality and
depth of its portfolio is impressive. It fi elds
more great individual bottlings of Hunter
Semillon than any other winery, and its Shiraz
offering is also formidable. But Tyrrell’s also
excels at Chardonnay and (less consistently, but
Foreword
still surprisingly) Pinot Noir, as well as less-
glamorous grapes such as Verdelho.
But what makes Tyrrell’s truly unique is that it
preserves its own quirky individuality. This is
more than slab huts, dirt fl oors and large oak
vats, although they are all important. It has a lot
to do with attitude. When you speak to a Tyrrell
you get no shortage of opinions, but they are a
special kind of truth, fi ltered through a particular
world view. I won’t even attempt to defi ne that
view, except to call it the Tyrrell factor!
The Tyrrell way is a very pragmatic way.
They do what they do because they’ve found
over a long period of time that it works. They
don’t follow the mob, which is refreshing in the
modern wine industry, where so many producers
are driven solely by the market, producing
homogenised wines, which they term
‘products’. This is not the Tyrrell way.
Whether you talk of art, architecture, music or
wine, nothing great was ever created by a
conformist, paying too much attention to
fashion or what others think. Creating things of
lasting value, character and individuality
necessitates following one’s own convictions…
something personal and internal. While it’s a
modern and sizeable winemaking company,
Tyrrell’s still manages to do this. Long may
it be thus.
By Huon Hooke
8
At Tyrrell’s, in the New South Wales Hunter
Valley north of Sydney, fi ve generations of
winemaking can be traced to an unassuming
one-roomed hut. The hut of ironbark slabs was
Edward Tyrrell’s home. Built by hand in 1858
and progressively surrounded by grapevines, the
site marks the birthplace of one of Australia’s
great wine dynasties. If these walls could talk,
they would tell stories of hard-working larrikins,
family, great wine – and visitors’ cars. The hut
stands today in the car park of the winery as a
monument to Edward’s vision.
Englishman Edward Tyrrell was 19 when
he arrived in Australia in 1854 with his elder
brother Lovick. The boys had lost their father
in 1843 and came to join their uncle, the
theologian William Tyrrell. William was in
Australia, having been posted here in 1847 by
the Church of England, and on January 31,
Chapter OneThe Slab Hut
1848, he was installed as the fi rst Bishop of
Newcastle in the Hunter Valley.
Lovick continued his religious education
with his uncle (eventually becoming an
Archdeacon). Edward looked to the land. He
moved to Singleton in the Hunter Valley to
take up dairy farming. The Hunter Valley
was, in those days, a hotbed of opportunity,
acknowledged by the new colonists as the most
valuable agricultural land in the Sydney radius.
Land grants had fi rst been made in the 1820s.
Edward, when he saw the land, was said to
have marvelled at the thriving vineyards that
had been planted in those original allotments
along the Hunter River. His future in milk
looked decidedly shaky.
When Edward arrived in Pokolbin in 1858,
only a few blocks were left available for vine
growing – none of them in the fertile river soils
he had admired. He settled on a conditional
purchase of 320 acres of land abutting the edge
of the Brokenback Range, much further into
the Valley, and named the property “Ashmans”
after family holdings in Suffolk, England.
The slab hut was home. The vines he
planted came from cuttings propagated by
James Busby 20 years earlier at the Kirkton
vineyard on the Hunter River. (Busby is
regarded as “the father of the Australian wine
industry.” He brought a collection of cuttings of
437 varieties, sourced from Spain and France,
to Australia in 1832, and most of the original
Hunter Valley vineyards are believed to have
come from these vines.)
Edward was predominantly interested in the
two varieties of grapes the Hunter was already
having great success with and making its own:
Semillon and Shiraz.
9
This page: Edward Tyrrell’s ironbark slab hut, built in 1858, marks the beginnings of the wine dynasty. Tyrrell’s is no different to the great wine houses of the world, tracing their history to a building. Think Veuve Clicquot, Domain Romanee Conti and Opus One. The buildings may boast very different architectural heritages but they stamp the place their own.
10
A little more than fi ve years after arriving at
“Ashmans”, Edward announced his intentions
as a winemaker. The vines were doing well.
The fi rst crop loomed. Edward constructed
a winery from sheets of corrugated tin and
ironbark he cut from the property with an adze
and an axe.
He commissioned a hand-press from a metal
smith in Morpeth (where his uncle was based)
to make his fi rst wine. He also built a new home
next to the slab hut, complete with separate
bedrooms. All this was completed by the time
the fi rst vintage was picked and pressed in 1864.
By 1870, some 20 acres of Semillon and Shiraz
had been planted, along with Aucerot, which
was considered in those times to be “the prince
of white wines” – not so now.
Vines weren’t the only thing prospering in the
1870s at “Ashmans”. Edward’s brother Lovick
often visited with his wife Emma, and Emma’s
sister, Susan Hungerford. Edward and Susan’s
friendship developed, and they married in 1869.
In 1870, their daughter Susan (known as Molly)
was born – the fi rst of 10 children. The fi rst son,
Edward (forever known as Dan), was born in
1871 followed by Amy, Frederick, Robert (Tim),
Elizabeth (Rose), Ellen (May), Daisy, Florence
(Flo) and Avery.
The “book-end boys” Dan and Avery would
be the next generation of Tyrrells to put their
weight behind the wine industry. Dan was
18 when he took over many of the vineyard
operations from his father in 1889. His brother,
Avery, was not yet born; the last of Edward and
Susan’s children, Avery did not arrive
until 1891.
Edward died in 1909 aged 74. In 51 years at
“Ashmans”, he planted about 70 acres of vines
on land that turned out to be one of the best
vineyard sites in the valley. Edward’s lucky
dip was a treasure-trove of limestone country,
nestled in foothills protecting it from the worst
of the hot westerly winds.
Dan and Avery formed a formidable wine
making and grape growing team, leaving
Edward sure his sons would continue the vision
he had nurtured in his ironbark hut.
11
Clockwise from top: Edward Tyrrell’s property at the time of his grandson Murray Tyrrell. Edward Tyrrell contemplated dairy farming but on reaching the Hunter Valley in New South Wales became captivated by the grape. Built in Morpeth, the hand press is still a functioning part of the winery.
12
UNCLE DAN AND AVERYDan loved the concept of making and blending
wine, and spent as much time as possible with
Hunter winemaker Philobert Terrier; also
Maurice O’Shea and Leo Buring. Dan was also
regarded as one of the great sherry palates in the
country. In fact his favourite amontillado cask is
still in the winery.
In addition to the fruit produced from the
family vineyards, Dan bought material from
other small growers to further the scope of his
winemaking.
In 1957, Dan (in one of his only recorded
interviews) talked about the early business
decisions that set the Tyrrell’s brand on its
current path.
“We used to sell the grapes. Then I started
making wine when I was 18; we thought we
would do better out of it.
Chapter TwoThe Brothers Tyrrell
“We sold it to Sydney merchants, and bullock
teams came for it. Some of the vines are 75 years
old and still bearing. It has been hard, but I have
proved that hard work won’t kill you. Worry will.
“I make wine the same way it was made
a hundred years ago. You must have a good
ferment; we pick the grapes and let them start
the ferment.”
Farming in those years was a tough exercise.
All the work was done by hand and horsepower.
Ploughing the vineyard alone took seven weeks
non-stop and needed to be done four times a
year. The Tyrrell men collectively spent six
months a year sweating behind a team of horses
and plough.
While Dan has been said to have made some
of the best wines in the Hunter Valley, little
was known of the Tyrrell name. Most of the
wine was sold in bulk to wine merchants and
a growing band of private individuals in the
know. Hunter Valley legend Maurice O’Shea
was a customer, buying the majority of Dan’s
top wines for his Mount Pleasant winery, and
bottling them under his own label. He also sold
a large percentage to Caldwell’s.
As Dan’s nephew Murray Tyrrell was to recall
years later: “O’Shea’s wines were legendary,
but a great part of them was bought and either
blended with his own material or released,
as made by Dan Tyrrell and usually with a
distinguishing name like Richard Hermitage.
Dan Tyrrell was the winemaker...”
Over the years, Dan (who never married)
became affectionately known to all around him
as Uncle Dan. He saw in the centenary of the
wine business his father began, and offi ciated
over an astounding 69 vintages. He completed
his last vintage in 1959 at the age of 88 just
13
Clockwise from top left: Edward ‘Dan’ Tyrrell, known as Uncle Dan, continued the winemaking tradition begun by his father. The winery today still utilises traditions dating back to the early 1900s. Avery Tyrrell and his wife Dorothy Davey. Avery’s diligent vineyard management formed the backbone of his brother Dan’s wines.
14
weeks before he died of a heart attack.
Dan’s brother Avery’s interests lay in
viticulture, and he was meticulous in his
approach to vineyard management. Avery would
check any work Dan did in the vineyard, and
would often redo it so it was “just right.”
The seasons and challenges to wine growing
often referred to by Dan were largely borne
by his brother Avery. The concentration of
fruit he produced through diligent vineyard
management formed the backbone of Dan’s
wines. Avery monitored every vine and every
block, experimenting with pruning, replanting
where necessary and treating each vine as an
individual.
The quality of Dan’s winemaking is
– unfortunately – now proven only in history
and personal recollection. But Avery’s work still
pulls punches: his vines continue to produce
fruit for Tyrrell’s benchmark wines, some 130
years after they were planted.
Avery’s other great contribution to the Tyrrell
story was his son Murray. Avery died in 1956,
and when Dan died three years later, the Tyrrell
baton passed to Murray.
While the fi rst century of the Tyrrell story was
shaped by the quiet achievements of Edward
and his sons, the next 50 years are marked by an
outspoken belief in that early family legacy.
“If you have any particular enemy, put him into wine growing. It’s not a commercial proposition like it used to be; it costs too much. We have to rely on the seasons and new diseases are developing. There are people who want to buy the whole show out, but what would I do with the money? What would I do with the rest of my life?”Dan Tyrrell, 1957
15
Opposite page: Dan Tyrrell saw in the centennary of the family wine business and offi ciated over 69 vintages. This page: Avery Tyrrell’s vineyard management still pulls punches today. His vines continue to produce fruit 130 years after they were fi rst planted.
16
Many things have been written about Murray
Davey Tyrrell: “larger than life”, “the King of
the Hunter Valley”, and “The Mouth of The
Hunter”. The last was a name coined by wine
writer Frank Doherty in 1983.
Murray had plenty of views and he shared
them vociferously with those who would listen
(and those he thought needed to listen.) They
are views that have helped shape the modern
Hunter Valley and revolutionised the drinking
habits of the Australian public.
But for the twists of fate, Murray’s impact on
Australian wine may never have happened. He
was a devoted cattleman, and worked as a
jackeroo until World War II when he joined the
Australian Armed Forces. After the war, he
returned to Pokolbin with wife Ruth, and settled
on a property called “Vioka”, from where he ran
his cattle business. (Murray would later develop
Chapter ThreeThe Mouth of The Hunter
that site as The Rothbury Estate wines with
good friend and Australian wine legend Len
Evans). He and Ruth had two children, Ann
(1948) and Bruce (1951).
Murray learnt through Dan’s insistence on
letting things take their natural course: “No
great wine was ever made in a rush,” Dan would
say. Murray noted it was a lesson that was on
occasion taught in harsh ways: “If you were
pumping wine too quickly, and in those days we
used hand pumps, you’d be sent to the vineyard
to do a bit of weed chipping to steady you
down.”
Murray did not work full time at the winery
until after Dan died in 1959; in the years before
this he had spent only very limited time learning
from his father and uncle, mainly during vintage.
The next 20 years in the Australian wine
industry was a period of evolution, and new
technologies were introduced to make the
winemaking process faster and more economic.
Hand labour was phased out where possible, and
refrigeration introduced, forever changing the
way wines (particularly whites) were made.
Murray Tyrrell was never convinced the wave
of the new was the answer. Initially, submitting
to the march of technology (between 1969 and
1977), he later referred to it as “an era best
forgotten”, and returned to the traditional
methods taught to him by Uncle Dan.
“Once you add anything to wine, you never
improve it. If you’ve got good grapes, hygiene
and a little common sense, it’s pretty easy to
make good wine,” believed Murray.
His rejection of technology ran as far as the
simple thermometer. Murray regularly sported
one arm with a disturbing shade of red,
cultivated from years of plunging into open vats
17
This page: Murray Davey Tyrrell was a man of many opinions, eventually earning himself the moniker “The Mouth of The Hunter”. His work in his early years was intense. He ran his own cattle farming operation as well as helping run the family vineyards. In 1959 he took on the winery.
18
“If you haven’t got the common sense and you’re not observant, you’ll never get on and that’s the big trouble with the industry at the moment – too many people run it by computers. Too much science, far too much science. You can’t beat nature – nature’s there to stay and no way can you beat it.”Murray Tyrrell, 1999
to measure temperature: “Why muck around
wasting time reading thermometers? You test a
baby’s bottle with your arm, so why not wine?”
Some technology, Murray would pursue. After
hail destroyed the crop in 1960, as it had in
1958, Murray employed a radical solution to
disperse further hail clouds – he fi red large sky
rockets (imported from France) into the clouds,
turning potential hailstones into harmless sleet.
Throughout his 41 years in the winery, this
cattleman turned winemaker learned much
from experience and following his instincts. In
1986, Murray was made a Member of the
General Division of the Order of Australia (AM)
for his services to the Australian wine industry.
(His son and Tyrrell’s CEO, Bruce received a
similar honour in 2006, 20 years after his father.)
Murray’s enthusiasm for Hunter wines could
provoke the ire of wine traditionalists. Year in
and year out he would proclaim each vintage
better than the one before. The “Vintage of the
Century” was his mantra and although the
traditionalists did not appreciate his tongue-in-
cheek attitude, it was a hit with the wine
consumers. The last time he made this claim,
nobody could prove Murray wrong. The last
vintage he saw was the fi rst of the new
millennium. Murray Tyrrell died on
October 2, 2000.
THE BIRTH OF THE PRIVATEBIN SYSTEMWhen Murray assumed control of the family
business in 1959 the wine industry was in a
state of decline.
The economic slump of the 1930s led to a
dramatic fall in demand, and in turn,
production. In the 1950s, land under vine
at Tyrrell’s was only 50 acres – down from 130
acres 20 years earlier.
Murray was mindful of the critical and
commercial success Uncle Dan’s wines had
reaped for other wine merchants, and was
confi dent in the future of table wine – despite
the fact that most Australian wine drinkers
were more interested in sherry than Shiraz then.
One of his fi rst goals was to redirect show
accolades back to where they belonged, not just
simply as a matter of pride but to build loyalty
to the Tyrrell brand. Cash fl ow at Tyrrell’s was at
crisis point. Hail storms in 1958, 1960 and 1962
annihilated the crops and, in addition to the
economic strains of the day, there were
substantial death duties following Uncle
Dan’s passing.
In 1961, Murray set about formalizing a
system to build the value of the wine Tyrrell’s
19
Clockwise from top: Winery staff, Alf King and John Scott, launching rockets in an effort to minimise hail damage to the grape crops, circa 1960. Tradition marked Murray Tyrrell’s winemaking philosophy. Wine expert and friend Len Evans tasting and noting the characterisitics of wines with Murray Tyrrell.
20
made, setting a benchmark for production, and
building a market for the new wines which
would be sold in bottle, proudly under the
Tyrrell’s label.
The plan was simple: take the fruit from the
best vineyard blocks, make individual wines
matured in individual oak vats (2250 litre casks),
and number them to identify the wines.
This began the Private Bin System for which
Tyrrell’s is world renown. New vat numbers
were introduced as the system increased in
popularity. In 1969, more than 20 red vat
numbers were released, and by 1972 nine white
vat wines joined the portfolio. At its peak there
were 55 red vat numbers. The best fi ve or six
were labelled as “Winemakers Selection”.
Visitors to the winery would try the wines
directly from the vats, and if they liked it, would
pre-order for delivery when it was time for
bottling. This practice continued until the early
1980s. Sales boomed, and a stream of wine-
lovers came to Tyrrell’s to taste and buy. It was
wine they couldn’t get in the cities. If you
wanted something different, you had to go direct
to the winery.
The popularity of the Private Bin System gave
rise to the Private Bin Club. Loyal customers
gained access to small production wines
available only from the winery. The Tyrrell’s
Private Bin Club was Australia’s fi rst mail-order
club, and remains one of the most successful
with more than 10,000 members.
Of course, the Private Bin System has evolved
over the years and the main wines – Vat 1, Vat 6,
Vat 8, Vat 9, Vat 47 – are no longer single
vineyard wines. The fi rst Tyrrell’s wines to
achieve a public profi le, these Private Bin
System wines are now blends of select, but
similar vineyards, and made to embody Tyrrell’s
winemaking philosophy in a consistent, ultra-
premium style.
“Good wine preserves you.”Murray Tyrrell, 1983
21
Murray Tyrrell claimed every year to have the “Vintage of the Century”. Purists and traditionalists may not have appreciated his tongue-in-cheek manner but there is no denying these big statements appealed to the wine-drinking public.
22
In the 1960s, wine production was categorized
as “fortifi ed” or “table wine”. Fortifi ed
dominated, with sherry and port accounting for
80 per cent of consumption. “Table wine” (a
term used for wine products containing 18 per
cent alcohol or less) was a fl edgling market.
Murray Tyrrell was only ever interested in
“table wine”. He wanted to take it way beyond
the table with an affordable, accessible red wine
that would sit under the benchmarking Private
Bin wines, each of which required 18 months in
the cask.
Identity was important to Murray, but it had
to be understood.
French names were viewed as too
pretentious, varietals as too scientifi c,
and marketing constructs were too ‘airy-fairy’ in
Murray’s eyes.
His solution, call it “red”.
Chapter FourChanging the Way We Drink
THE LONG FLAT SPELLTyrrell’s entry into the affordable wine market
came in 1966 with a red blend named after the
Long Flat vineyard, which made the softest and
easiest drinking of all the Tyrrell estate
vineyards. Thus it was known as Long Flat Red.
It became the most successful wine in the
portfolio. Murray turned to South Australian
growers to help meet demand and keep the
price down. Long Flat became a stand-alone
brand with production reaching 350,000 cases by
2002. The Long Flat White was introduced in
1984 and Long Flat Chardonnay in 1991. The
brand was sold in 2003.
THE WHITE REVOLUTIONMurray Tyrrell believed the Hunter Valley could
produce world-class whites. In the late 1960s,
the challenge lay in getting people to drink
them. Murray saw the potential: they suited our
climate, and as social mores continued to relax,
increasing numbers of women were discovering
the joys of chilled wine.
White wine production became a priority at
Tyrrell’s in the 1970s, at which time 65 per cent
of all production was red. Bruce Tyrrell offers
another aspect to the decision to build white
wine production:
“Dad gave up smoking in 1970, and his red
wine palate never came back. His white wine
palate, however, became razor sharp.”
Semillon was Tyrrell’s principal white variety,
and while Murray was in no doubt it was a truly
great wine, he wanted to stretch his potential as
a winemaker further while offering wine
consumers something new.
Murray’s winemaking skills developed
through tasting the wines of the world. With
“If you can’t make a good Semillon from the Hunter Valley, you shouldn’t be making wine at all.”Murray Tyrrell
23
Clockwise from top: The Sales Bar at Tyrrell’s cellar door 2008. Wrapping it up in Tyrrell’s branded paper, circa 1960. The Sales Bar 1967, fortifi eds were an important part of the fi nancial success of the winery but the 1960s marked the beginnings of the Long Flat juggernaut and Murray Tyrrell’s goal to make table wine for the people.
24
fellow Australian and wine expert Len Evans
and art dealer Rudy Komon, he tasted many
hundreds of bottles over the course of the years.
From all the world’s wines, it was those from
Burgundy that most captured Murray’s
imagination.
Chardonnay was an unknown in Australia in
the 1960s, and access to cuttings was the only
thing preventing Murray from proving his
theory correct.
The South Australian company, Penfolds, a
major force in the Hunter Valley during this time,
had its Hunter Valley Distillery (HVD) Vineyard
as home to a number of different varieties.
Murray knew there was Chardonnay (or White
Pineau, as it had been known) at HVD. As a boy,
he would pick bunches to eat, proclaiming them
to be the “sweetest and best fl avoured of the
wine grapes.”
When he asked the Penfolds’ manager if he
could take some cuttings during pruning season,
his request was fl atly denied. So Murray hatched
a plot to “liberate” a selection of cuttings during
the night.
The year was 1967, and Murray’s “Midnight
Leap” over barbwire to secure the vines has
become part of Hunter folklore. (In 1982, Murray
purchased the HVD vineyard from Penfolds.)
The cuttings were planted, and the fi rst
Tyrrell’s Chardonnay was made in 1969. In 1971
the fi rst release was called Vat 47 after the cask
in which it was fermented. It was the fi rst
Chardonnay commercially released in Australia.
The fi rst Tyrrell’s Chardonnay was labeled
Pinot Chardonnay, which was at the time the
correct name. The 2000 vintage was the fi rst to
be called Hunter Chardonnay.
In 1973, Murray incorporated new small
French oak fermentation and maturation in his
winemaking regime for the fi rst time. New oak
was rare in those days in Australia, but he
believed that new wood was an important part of
the complexity of great white Burgundies.
From Murray’s notes: “My great love for
French Burgundy with a touch of sweetness
makes me believe that the future of this style, in
Australia, lies in the wood treatment as much as
the growing area.”
His passion was not shared. Indeed, when the
Vat 47 1973 was entered in the Brisbane Wine
Show, it has been reported the judges spat it out.
The score? Six points out of 20. The chief judge,
it is said, pronounced the wine as either volatile
and oxidised or the best Australian white he had
ever seen. The education process had begun,
however, and inside a year, Vat 47 was winning
trophies around the country.
25
This page: Tyrrell’s great whites – a testament to the winemaking skills and tenacity of Murray Tyrrell. To the right of the brown bottle is the Vat 47 Pinot Chardonnay.
26
The 1973 Vat 47 Chardonnay remains one of
Tyrrell’s most signifi cant releases. Its place in
history has been assured even in the art world.
The 1981 Archibald Prize (Australia’s foremost
art portraiture prize) was awarded to Eric Smith
for his portrait of Sydney art dealer Rudy
Komon. Rudy said that the smile on his face in
the portrait was because he was drinking
Tyrrell’s Vat 47, 1973.
The 1973 Vat 47 was followed by three more
outstanding vintages – 1976, 1977 and 1979. The
critical acclaim did little to allay Murray’s fear
that ‘Chardonnay would always be perceived by
the public as a fad wine’. In a magazine article
published in 1983, he said Chardonnay would
never be a commercial success. At that time,
only 60 Chardonnays were being marketed in
Australia, but according to Murray “fewer than
20 are worthy of the name.”
Chardonnay in fact went on to fi ll an
enormous gap for wine consumers – a white
wine for red wine drinkers. History has proved
Murray Tyrrell’s concerns about its commercial
viability unfounded. Today, Chardonnay
accounts for more than 22 per cent of all grapes
grown in Australia.
MURRAY TYRRELL – THE WINE OLYMPICSChardonnay wasn’t the only new variety Murray
Tyrrell experimented with at Ashmans.
Burgundy’s other hero, Pinot Noir, was
introduced to the vineyard and the fi rst Tyrrell’s
Pinot Noir was made in 1973. Local winemakers
scoffed at the choice of variety, claiming the
Hunter’s warm climate and rain patterns would
prevent “great Hunter Pinot” ever entering the
vocabulary.
If convincing Australian winemakers wasn’t
hard enough, Murray went a considerable step
further. John Avery, an English wine-merchant
then entered the 1976 Tyrrell’s Vat 6 Pinot Noir
in the 1979 Wine Olympiad in Paris. It was
tasted blind alongside wines from Burgundy –
the wines Murray had always dreamed of
emulating. There were 650 wines from 58
different countries entered in this competition
and Vat 6 1976 was awarded the top wine of the
entire competition. The connection with the
Avery family went back into the 1950s and John
played a major role in setting the initial styles of
Vat 47 and Vat 6.
After the Wine Olympiad, Time Magazine published its “World’s Top Dozen”, which
included Vat 6 Pinot Noir 1976, and that
story also featured on the front page of The New York Times.
And the response from the Hunter?
“Slow. We made it to the front page of The New York Times, but only managed page 12 of the
local paper,” Murray said at the time.
“Chardonnay will always
be perceived by the public
as a fad wine.”
Murray Tyrrell, 1983
27
Clockwise form left: Belford Chardonnay handpicking day 2008. Chardonnay went on to fi ll a gap in the Australian wine market, proving Murray Tyrrell wrong – it was no fad wine. The World’s Top Dozen, featuring Tyrrell’s Vat 6 Pinot Noir. Bruce with UK wine-merchant John Avery and father Murray Tyrrell.
28
This page: Cattle grazing next to the Short Flat vineyard. New Shiraz vineyard in front of the winery. Edward Tyrrell’s land choice on the edge of the Brokenback Range was fortuitous, sheltering the vines from the worst of the hot westerly winds.
29
Clockwise from top left: Awards are part and parcel of the Tyrrell’s success story. Pokolbin Grape Growers and Winemakers Association dinner, circa 1900. Pokolbin Grape Growers and Winemakers Association, Dan Tyrrell is the tallest man standing up and facing side on.
30
This page: Marked by tradition, visitors to the Tyrrell’s winery leave having experienced a piece of unique winemaking and vineyard history: the old cellar with large barrells and traditional earthen fl oors.
31
This page: Alf King and Ivy Taff, 1962, work the hand press built in Morpeth for Edward Tyrrell in 1863. The press is an ongoing part of the Tyrrell’s winemaking tradition.
32
This page: Freddie Stewart and Stan Brown work the hand press, 1960 (“Note the safety boots,” says Bruce Tyrrrell). The hand press, 2008.
33
Clockwise from top left: Avery and Murray Tyrrell. Murray Tyrrell and Ruth. Astley, Ian and Murray Tyrrell. Avery and Bruce Tyrrell (on horse).
34
Clockwise from top left: Visiting the winery in the 1970s. Murray Tyrrell diversifying into aquaculture, mid 1970s. Local paper coverage of events in the Hunter Valley region, Murray Tyrrell right corner.
35
Clockwise from left: The family winery is one of Australia’s biggest users of large French oak casks. Bruce Tyrrell, 1954. Bruce and Ann Tyrrell, circa 1970. Bruce with daughter Jane, wife Pauline and father Murray Tyrrell, 1981.
36
2008, general picking shots at the beginning of vintage.
37
Winery grape picker fi nishing the last of the hand picking for the 2008 Belford Chardonnay.
38
Since Edward Tyrrell planted vines at
“Ashmans”, each consecutive Tyrrell generation
has staked a reputation on a different variety.
For Dan, it was Shiraz, followed by Murray with
Chardonnay. For Bruce (Murray’s son), Semillon
is king.
The wine journalist Campbell Mattinson said
“Great wines have a way of haunting you for the
rest of your life.” For Bruce, “the greatest was
the 1972 Vat 1 Semillon.”
Bruce was always interested in the business
side of winemaking, and was the fi rst member of
the winemaking family to go to University,
studying Agricultural Economics at The
University of New England.
He joined the family company on a
full-time basis in 1974. It was during this time,
while his father was educating Australia about
Chardonnay, Hunter Valley and Tyrrell’s wines,
Chapter Five“It’s a bloody obsession” (Semillon)
that Bruce fell in love with Semillon.
You need only consider the Private Bin
System to understand the signifi cance of
Semillon to the Tyrrell’s story. The fi rst wine of
the Private Bin System – Vat 1 – was a Semillon.
Tyrrell’s Vat 1 was released in 1962 as Vat 1
Riesling, a misnomer common in the industry in
those days for a wine that had nothing to do with
the Riesling grape. Over the years, Hunter
Semillon has been called Hunter River Riesling,
Hunter Valley Dry White, Chablis White
Burgundy and Leo Buring’s creative
contribution to the list, Rhinegold.
The fi rst Vat 1 (as suggested by the name) was
matured in old oak, a practice that continued
until 1990. From then it has been fermented and
matured in stainless steel.
“Semillon is a wine of two lives; the fi rst
where it is young, fresh and racy; then the
second after about fi ve years when bottle age
takes over.”
In 1989, Bruce put away the fi rst quantity of
Vat 1. His father didn’t agree with the plan, so
Bruce ended up literally hiding 1000 dozen from
Murray in the corner of the warehouse.
“Dad said keeping Semillon would be a waste
of time. Of course, much of the 1989 Vat 1 was
sold in the year of its production as it had done
for the previous 27 vintages.”
In 1996, Bruce released the hidden, bottle-
aged dozens. His Semillon was an entirely
different wine. After seven years in the bottle,
the wine that started life as fresh, racy and citrus,
evolved to become a honeyed, toasty wine with
mouthfi lling richness.
“We’ve had a fair track record of show success
since,” Bruce understates.
Tyrrell’s Vat 1 Semillon is among a handful of
39
This page: Bruce Tyrrell, Managing Director Tyrrell’s Wines. A passion for sport and wine marks the family company.
40
Australia’s most successful show wines, with 86
trophies, 315 gold medals to its name.
International wine judge and author Jancis
Robinson is one of Hunter Semillon’s great
advocates. On a trip to the Hunter Valley from
her London, UK base in 2006, she asked Bruce:
“Mr Tyrrell, is your passion for Semillon still
as strong?”
Bruce responded: “… it’s not a passion. It’s a
bloody obsession.”
A SPORTING CHANCEWhile wine is ceratinly priority number one at
Tyrrell’s, sport runs a close second. Records from
Edward Tyrrell note games of cricket, tennis
and football with neighbours on days off at
“Ashmans”. Considering the physical demands
of running a vineyard in those days, it is anyone’s
guess where they got the energy.
“Semillon is all about patience. Put it away, and show it with bottle age.”Bruce Tyrrell, 2008
Today, there is a rumour (which Bruce Tyrrell
maintains is incorrect) that you have to have a
passion for football or cricket if you want a job at
Tyrrell’s. If such a rule did exist, nearly all staff
members would be safe. Sport is a religion at the
Tyrrell’s winery.
Pauline Tyrrell, Bruce’s wife, is living proof of
the code. Pauline worked in the ABC Sporting
Department in Queensland in the early 1970s.
Apart from sport, she had an interest in wine,
leading her to the 1975 Brisbane Wine Show
dinner where she met Bruce Tyrrell. Their
conversations about sport and wine laid the
foundations for the fi fth generation of the Tyrrell
dynasty. They married in 1977, and their three
children – Jane, John and Christopher – are
unsurprisingly all mad about sport and wine.
Both Murray and Bruce Tyrrell had talent to
match their passion for sport. Representative
careers were already set in place for father and
son: Murray was an opening batsman in NSW
schoolboys cricket; and Bruce made the shortlist
for selection in the NSW under-18 team Rugby
League team. The outbreak of war put Murray’s
cricketing career on ice, and injury brought
Bruce’s football days to a premature end.
If the Tyrrell name was not going to be
prominent on the scoreboards, Murray and
Bruce made certain Tyrrell’s Wines would
support Australian sport at all levels.
The highest profi le sponsorship has been
with Cricket Australia, for which Tyrrell’s was
wine sponsor for the decade between 1991 and
2001. And in true Tyrrell’s character, “wine
sponsor” meant far more than just providing
wine. Bruce Tyrrell became the unoffi cial wine
educator for the Australian team, bringing a new
dimension to the training regime.
41
Clockwise from left: Murray and Bruce Tyrrell, a combination of tradition and innovation set the family wine business apart. 150 years of vine growing and winemaking. Tyrrell’s was wine sponsor for Cricket Australia 1991-2001; Ian Healy and Mark Taylor in India.
42
“These guys travel around the world
representing Australia.
“Wine is one of our best exports, so the
Manager of the Australian XI at the time, Ian
McDonald, agreed that the team should learn
that wine is much more than a drink,” explains
Bruce, who spent a number of sessions with the
world champions, and convinced them to start
cellars of their own.
“As members of the Australian team, they are
at the peak of their income earning years. I
suggested they each put $5000 toward wines I
recommended, put it in a cellar and wait at least
fi ve years.
“Glenn McGrath and Michael Bevan told me
in 2001 they had opened the fi rst bottle they put
away – and were pleased with the reward.”
Closer to home, Tyrrell’s has been one of the
longest running sponsors in the history of the
Hunter Rugby League competition, supporting
the Cessnock Goannas for 12 years. “It makes
sense – two-thirds of the team worked here,”
points out Bruce.
Tyrrell’s also supports the Parramatta Eels
Rugby League team, and the Melbourne
Football Club in AFL.
Individual athletes in fi elds ranging from
boxing to hang gliding have also been part of
Tyrrell’s sports sponsorship program.
If the Tyrrell’s name was not going to be prominent on the scoreboards, Murray and Bruce made certain Tyrrell’s wines would support Australian sport at all levels.
43
This page: The start of 2008 vintage. Hand pressing Belford Chardonnay.
44
Chapter SixTaking Wine to the People
Selling wine direct from the winery is a
cornerstone of the modern Tyrrell’s operation,
and the side of the business with which Bruce
Tyrrell grew up.
As a young boy, Bruce displayed an aptitude
for numbers. Murray harnessed these talents at
cellar door, and Bruce’s fi rst signifi cant role with
the company was looking after takings and
dealing with customers. It was 1960, Bruce
Tyrrell was nine years old and his father was ill.
“Mum drove me up to the winery, and on
my own I took 60 quid – all of it on fortifi ed
wine”.
“Business was slow in the early ‘60s. On a
Saturday, dad would literally plough and look
after cellar door at the same time. From 1966,
the place started to go, and then there was no
stopping it,” Bruce says.
There was no magical event in 1966, it was
purely the result of Murray Tyrrell’s hard work
and characteristic common sense.
“In those days, there was no real wine trade,
and the only way to sell wine was to get people
to the winery. And that’s what my father did –
he invited them.”
Bruce, sister Ann and his mother Ruth
would spend days on end with the telephone
directory, sending out letters of invitation to
visit Tyrrell’s Wines in the Hunter Valley.
From the original invitations, visitors began
to fl ow through the doors, and a mailing list
was built from the happy customers eager to
hear more about – and buy – Tyrrell’s wines.
Bruce took the invitation concept a step
further, and created Australia’s fi rst wine
direct mail order system, bringing Tyrrell’s
wines to an entirely new market. The mail
order system created a line of communication
between wine producer and consumer that had
never been tried before.
TASTING CHANGEA new tasting bar was built in 1966 to coincide
with the new marketing strategy. The bar
remains virtually unchanged, as does the
strategy. And nor have the faces changed much.
In 1968, Murray Flannigan arrived fresh from
Scotland looking for a job. He came to the
Hunter Valley to play soccer, and ended up at
the Sales Bar at Tyrrell’s. He is still there
running it, and, according to Bruce, “has taught
more people to drink wine than any other 10
people in the country put together.”
When Flannigan arrived, the biggest selling
table wine was Long Flat Red at 85 cents a
bottle, and “claret” was 50 cents a bottle.
In the 1970s, the impact Chardonnay would
45
Clockwise from top: Tyrrell’s, one of the fi rst wine brands to communicate directly with its consumers. Charting the history of wine sales at Tyrrell’s Sales Bar. Murray Flannigan in the Sales Bar, 1969.
TOP SELLERS
1968 Sherry1971 Sparkling Moselle
1978 Blackberry nip1988 Chardonnay
2008 Lost Block Semillon
46
ultimately have on the national market was
being felt at the cellar door, and Flannigan was
at the front line.
“It was a white wine for red wine drinkers –
it went off like a rocket,” Flannigan says.
The family nature of Tyrrell’s cellar door has
never been abandoned. Bruce and Pauline’s
children, Jane (1980), John (1981) and
Christopher (1982) have all cut their teeth at
the Sales Bar – it’s a rite of passage of sorts.
“In my mind, inviting people to the winery is the single most important thing Murray Tyrrell did. He was the father of wine tourism.”Bruce Tyrrell, 2007
47
Opposite page: A mud map of Tyrrell’s wines and vineyards. An excerpt from an early direct mail fl yer inviting the public to taste and buy at Tyrrell’s. This page: Murray Flannigan has spent his life educating the wine drinking public at Tyrrell’s Sales Bar, 2008.
48
Walking into the winery at Tyrrell’s is an
experience of contrasts: one part museum, one
part laboratory, the rows of stainless steel vats
wouldn’t seem out of place in a modernist art
gallery. But it is neither museum nor gallery.
Every single piece of equipment on display is
used in the winemaking process, including the
original hand press Edward Tyrrell installed
when he built the winery in 1863. It is still
used today for pressing the Vat 47 and Belford
Chardonnays.
A large part of the Tyrrell’s identity is about
mixing resources accumulated over the years: in
particular the dirt (or “earthen”) fl oors.
When Edward Tyrrell built the winery in
1863, the inclusion of earthen fl oors wasn’t a
winemaking choice – it was fi nancial necessity.
Concreting was out of the question.
When Dan Tyrrell took over, he never
considered playing catch-up with neighbouring
Chapter SevenDirt Floors and Big Wood
wineries, even when concreting became more
reasonable. He believed in absolute terms that
hard earth fl oors made a positive contribution to
both cask maturation and wine fl avour.
In turn, Murray and Bruce Tyrrell proved
over years that Dan’s theories were spot on.
Health inspectors, on the other hand, thought
otherwise. In 1977 Murray’s bête noir – “the
bloody bureaucrats” – arrived and demanded
the fl oors be cemented in the name of public
health. It was red rag to a bull, and Murray
and Bruce embarked on a series of controlled
scientifi c experiments to prove that the fl oors
posed no risk.
The winery had been checking bacterial
counts for some years. The count with the dirt
fl oor and wooden casks was much less than
where there was stainless steel and concrete.
When that didn’t work with the
“bureaucrats,” they [the bureaucrats] were told
that it was classifi ed by the National Trust, and
they went away.
Needless to say, the original fl oors remain,
giving Tyrrell’s the distinction of saying their
wines are truly made from the earth.
The winery is punctuated by rows of oak
casks standing over two metres high. They are
the style of casks Edward and Dan made wine
in, and are a rarity in modern wineries. Holding
more than 2500 litres, the size of the French oak
casks ensures the oak infl uence is subtle, letting
the fruit speak for itself. Tyrrell’s is today one of
the biggest customers of large oak in Australia,
and the practice is as much a part of the winery’s
history as Edward’s ironbark hut.
Tyrrell’s Hunter Valley red winemaking
is – and always will be – based on large oak
maturation, because as Bruce Tyrrell puts it:
“We want our wines to taste like grapes. We
grow grapevines, not oak trees.”
49
Clockwise from top left: Oak is imprtant to the Tyrrell’s winemaking tradition but not at the expense of the grapes. Modern laboratory techniques run hand in hand with traditions of oak casks and earthen fl oors. A study in contrasts the winery utilises both the old and the new, wood, stainless steel, earth and concrete.
50
“Lead from the top.” That’s the short and sharp
version of the Tyrrell’s winemaking philosophy.
“90 per cent of our thought processes go into
making wines that account for only 10% of our
total production,” Bruce Tyrrell says. “But what
we learn through experimentation and practice
with our top wines ultimately benefi ts every
wine that we make – from $150 to $10.”
There is an organic approach in the winery
today that follows the path Edward, Dan and
Murray set: more art, and less science.
The commitment to this doctrine is best
exemplifi ed by the divestment of Long Flat to
focus on the prestige end of the market in 2003.
“We have an unbroken 150 year history of
winemaking. Five generations of us haven’t
been in this to hang our hats on homogenized
mass-produced wines.”
The benchmark wines in the range are those
that fi rst brought Tyrrell’s to prominence: the
Private Bin System Vat numbered wines, and
the small production/big reputation wines from
special vineyards throughout the Hunter Valley
idiosyncratically referred to by Bruce Tyrrell as
“sacred sites”.
THE PRIVATE BIN SYSTEMThe Private Bin System introduced by Murray
Tyrrell in 1961, changed the way wine was
sold in Australia (see Chapter Three). Tyrrell’s
Vat numbered wines now enjoy icon status in
each varietal the range encapsulates: Semillon,
Chardonnay, Shiraz and Pinot Noir. These
wines are all released with an excellent starting
bottle age, but have the ability to develop
further in the bottle for many more years.
Chapter EightThe Wines and Winemakers
Vat 1 SemillonFirst produced in 1963 from Semillon grapes
grown on the Short Flat vineyard across the
road from the winery, Vat 1 is fermented in
temperature controlled stainless steel tanks.
After bottling, the wine “rests” for fi ve years
before being released as a classic example of
aged Hunter Semillon. Vat 1 Semillon is the
most awarded white wine of the Australian wine
show circuit.
Vat 6 Pinot NoirMurray Tyrrell released Australia’s fi rst Pinot
Noir in 1973. It was a full, ripe, warm climate
style of Pinot Noir which gained world
recognition in 1979 by winning the Gault
Milleau World Olympics of Wine.
The wine has continued to remain close to
the French Burgundy style, and is made from
top fruit grown on the HVD (Hunter Valley
Distillery) and 4 and 8 Acre Vineyards. The
Vat 6 Pinot Noir is sourced from vines dating
back to the 1970s, which are unirrigated and
extremely low yielding.
Vat 8 Shiraz CabernetThe resurrection of a traditional wine style,
Vat 8 is the only varietally blended and inter-
regional wine within the Private Bin range.
Hunter Valley Shiraz from the Brokenback
vineyard is blended with Cabernet Sauvignon
from Mudgee.
The Hunter Shiraz adds length and richness
to what is already a complex and full fl avoured
wine style.
Vat 9 ShirazVat 9 is Tyrrell’s fl agship Hunter Valley red
wine. The fruit for Vat 9 is handpicked from
Tyrrell’s old red vineyards on the ridge that runs
through the winery – heavy, volcanic clay with
underlying limestone. Some Shiraz vines date
back to 1879, creating a wine with distinctive
characteristics of leather and spice. Vat 9
has a particularly “hands-off” oak regime to
complement the unique fruit.
Vat 47 ChardonnayAs Australia’s fi rst commercial Chardonnay, Vat
47 holds an important place in Australian wine
history. Only three of Tyrrell’s vineyards are
ever used for Vat 47 – HVD (from the original
Penfolds Clone fi rst planted in 1908 and which
Murray Tyrrell “liberated” in 1967), the NVC
(New Vine Cuttings) vineyard Chardonnay
vines and Tyrrell’s Short Flat.
THE PRIVATE BIN SYSYTEM
51
This page: The red wine fermentation record – a Tyrrell’s tradition.
52
SACRED WINE SITESHaving been spared the phylloxera epidemic
that wiped out the great vineyards of Europe
in the 19th century, the Hunter Valley is home
to some of the oldest vineyards in the world.
Within the boundaries of the region, it boasts
some of the most unique pockets of vineyard
land in Australia.
Bruce Tyrrell has identifi ed a selection of
these “sacred sites” for their ability to produce
fruit that is “so good, and so different” they
warrant individual bottling. Released as Tyrrell’s
Individual Vineyard wines under the name of
the vineyard, they are only ever bottled if the
vintage stands up to the quality of the site.
These wines are made to capture the nuances
of vineyard and vintage. “No two will ever be
the same,” Bruce Tyrrell says. “That is their
charm.”
STEVENSFather and son, George (who died in 2007) and
Neil Stevens own two iconic Hunter vineyards
on Marrowbone Road in Pokolbin. These
hillside vineyards, called “Glenoak” and “Old
Hillside”, feature rich and unusually coloured
purple ochred clay loams. The vines, some of
which were planted in 1867, may in fact be the
oldest still producing vines in the Hunter, yet
still yield a crop of incredibly rich fruit.
In 1993, Bruce Tyrrell struck a deal with the
Stevens family. The backbone of the deal was
the friendship and history between the two
Hunter families. It was, and is still today, a deal
that is sealed by a handshake.
Stevens Shiraz The Stevens Shiraz was fi rst released in 1993,
and has earned a reputation as a benchmark
Hunter Shiraz. Released with four years’ bottle
age, Stevens Shiraz is an elegant example of
a Hunter Shiraz. It is on the lighter side with
body, but has underlying complexity that only
vines of this age can offer.
Stevens SemillonThe fruit for this wine comes from the Stevens
“Glenoak” vineyard. The age of the vineyard
(80 – 130 years) combines with Tyrrell’s
winemaking style to produce a truly remarkable
wine. Released after four years’ bottle age,
Stevens Semillon is a classic Hunter Semillon.
HVD
The HVD vineyard was planted by the Hunter
Valley Distillery Company, which was formed in
1903 when the local wine industry had problems
with wine disposal. The distillery was designed
to take excess grapes for distillation into
fortifying spirits for the manufacture of fortifi ed
wines, especially port. Penfolds bought it in
1948. Murray Tyrrell always said it was one of
the fi nest white wine vineyards in the Hunter,
and it was a coup for Tyrrell’s when he bought
it in 1982.
HVD Semillon This is the fullest and softest of the Tyrrell’s
Semillons, made from fruit from the original
1908 plantings in sandy soils between two
creeks. Like Vat 1, HVD Semillon is released
with a minimum of four years’ bottle age.
BELFORD The Belford Vineyard, located 15 kilometres
from the winery, is owned by the Elliot family,
who have been making wine in the Hunter
Valley since 1893. The fl at site is home to vines
planted in 1933. The very fi ne “talcum powder”
like soils consistently produce wines with
intense fl avour profi les.
Belford ChardonnayThis is a full, rich wine with labour-intensive
winemaking techniques, such as hand pressing
still used in its production. Clean, vibrant, with
an acid fi nish and the ability to take bottle age,
this wine is minimally handled and may develop
a natural deposit during its evolution.
Belford SemillonBelford produces the bigger, softer, style of
Tyrrell’s premium Semillons. With age, it
develops honey characters but maintains its
natural fresh acid.
4 ACRESThis block next to the winery was planted in
1879. In 1964 every second row was pulled out
to allow cultivation by tractor after the draught
horses were retired. After three vintages the
vineyard returned to its original cropping level.
This great vineyard was the source of the
famous Maurice O’Shea Mt Pleasant Richard
Hermitage 1954, made by Dan Tyrrell.
4 Acres ShirazThis is a traditional Hunter Burgundy style,
medium to lighter bodied, long sweet, complex
fruit with acid rather than tannin base. Proven
ability to live and develop in bottle.
TYRRELL’S INDIVIDUAL VINEYARD
53
This page: Tyrrell’s chief winemaker, Andrew Spinaze: Spin.
54
BEYOND THE HUNTERIn the early 1990s, Bruce Tyrrell was reading
consumer signs: good Hunter Shiraz was in
increasingly short supply, and prices for the
grape were rising dramatically. He saw a boom
in red wine around the corner, and knew that
Tyrrell’s had to look further afi eld to meet the
demand.
In 1994, Tyrrell’s vineyard expansion program
kicked in with land purchases in McLaren Vale
(South Australia) and Heathcote (Victoria).
The McLaren Vale vineyard offered an
immediate supply of Shiraz fruit from 30-year-
old vines. The Heathcote purchase was Bruce
Tyrrell’s leap of faith – 80 acres of bare land in
a region he believed could one day produce
some of the best Shiraz in the country. It’s fi rst
vintage was in 1997, and successive vintages
from Tyrrell’s (and other Heathcote producers)
are proving him correct.
A new label was created to herald Tyrrell’s
expansion beyond the Hunter Valley – Rufus
Stone. It’s a name linking the latest chapter in
the Tyrrell’s story with one of its very fi rst.
The story of the Rufus Stone dates back to
medieval England, and refers to the death of
King William 11 (known as Rufus). Rufus was
believed to have been mistakenly killed by
an errant arrow fi red by Sir Walter Tyrrell – an
ancestor of the Tyrrell family. Today, the site in
England of the infamous accident is marked by
the Rufus Stone.
THE WINEMAKERS SpinChief winemaker Andrew Spinaze has been
at the front line of Tyrrell’s move from a small
family winery to serious industry player. When
he joined in 1980, a massive growth phase was
underway, and production has continued to
double every fi ve years until the sale of Long
Flat in 2003.
The pressures of growth clearly haven’t
inhibited his winemaking abilities: in 2004 he
was named Winemaker of the Year by the two
most important wine magazines in Australia:
Australian Gourmet Traveller Wine, and Winestate.
RichoMark Richardson is a born and bred Hunter
Valley man. He joined Tyrrell’s in 1994 as the
red wine expansion phase in McLaren Vale and
Heathcote began. Today, he is in charge of all
red wine production at Tyrrell’s, and as such is
the custodian of the big oak vats.
ALUMNITyrrell’s has been a training ground for young
winemakers for many years. The fi rst non-
family winemaker to join the company was
Ralph Fowler, who worked with Murray as the
business expanded from 1971 to 1980.
Tyrrell’s was always a calling point for
students from Roseworthy Agricultural College
in South Australia, keen to get their practical
experience in the Hunter. Many of them
returned to Tyrrell’s at the end of their degrees.
The Tyrrell’s winemaker alumni is a roll call
of great names including: Mike de Garis, John
Cassegrain, Andrew Margan, David Hook,
Andrew Thomas, Trevor Jones, Andrew Noon,
Gordon Gebbie, Chris Archer, Nick Paterson,
Dave Mavor, Phil Leggett and three members
of the Glaetzer family: Colin, Ben and John.
“We have an unbroken 150 year
history of winemaking.
Five generations
of us haven’t been in this
to hang our hats on
homogenized mass-
produced wines.”
Bruce Tyrrell, 2008
55
This page: Specialist red winemaker Marck Richardson: Richo.
56
Vat 1 Semillon 199816 trophies, 30 Gold medals
Vat 1 Semillon 199710 trophies, 26 Gold
Vat 1 Semillon 199411 trophies, 32 Gold
Vat 47 Chardonnay 19974 trophies, 9 Gold
Vat 47 Chardonnay 19873 trophies, 13 Gold
Vat 47 Chardonnay 19774 trophies, 21 Gold
Chapter NineTyrrell’s Star Wines
HVD Semillon 19956 trophies, 13 Gold
Belford Semillon 19975 trophies, 6 Gold
Eden Valley Rhine Riesling 19846 trophies, 16 Gold
Vat 6 Pinot Noir 19814 trophies, 15 Gold
House Block Shiraz 19982 trophies, 6 Gold
Vat 9 Shiraz 19923 trophies, 5 Gold
There are two trophy wins that are absolute
standouts for Tyrrell’s. They are:
Vat 9 Shiraz 1992Best Shiraz, International Wine and Spirit
competition, London, 1995
Vat 1 Semillon 1994 Tucker Seabrook Trophy, Best Wine Show Wine
of the Year, 2004
57
This page from left: A contemporary look at some of Tyrrell’s best wines.
58
Chapter TenThe Fifth Generation
Bruce Tyrrell and Pauline Tyrrell’s three
children – Jane, John and Christopher – have
grown up around the Tyrrell’s winery just as
their father and grandfather did. From
childhood days earning pocket money working
in the business, all three are now instrumental
in directing Tyrrell’s as a modern Australian
wine company, while maintaining the integrity
of continued family ownership.
Christopher Tyrrell, the youngest of the three
children, is ensuring that his grandfather’s
tradition of “a Tyrrell in the winery, making
wine” – remains unbroken.
Christopher began in sales and marketing, but
the lure of the winery caught up with him and his
hand can be seen in Tyrrell’s wines made since
2005, when he offi cially joined the team as
assistant winemaker.
“I have worked with some great winemakers
who have given me the best education I could
ask for,” Chris says.
Jane Tyrrell offi cially joined the business in
2002, working as an assistant Sales Manager.
From there she worked her way through the
ranks to build solid relationships with a new
generation of wine buyers, just as her
grandfather Murray did in the 1960s.
“Taking our wine to the people who buy it is
the most rewarding experience,” Jane says.
“What I learn from wine buyers and
consumers, I pass directly on to Bruce and Chris
and the winemaking team. The closeness of our
operation, and the family nature of it, means we
can consistently make wines that are relevant to
the drinking public.”
John Tyrrell also works in the winery in a role his
father, Bruce, refers to as “Minister for Morale”.
John “keeps things in line for the
winemaking team” and ensures crew members
always have a smile on their faces.
“The closeness of our operation, and the family
nature of it, means we can consistently make wines that are relevant to the
drinking public.” Jane Tyrrell, 2008
59
Clockwise from top left: Christopher Tyrrell, Jane Tyrrell and John Tyrrell.
60
Ear
ly
10
00
’s
Wal
ter
Tyrr
ell
com
es
to E
ngla
nd
wit
h W
illi
am t
he C
on
qu
ere
r.
11
00
AD
Kin
g W
illi
am (
Ru
fus)
II
(son
of
Wil
liam
th
e C
on
qu
ero
r) a
lleged
ly k
ille
d b
y a
n a
rrow
sh
ot
by S
ir W
alte
r T
yre
ll. S
ir W
alte
r fl
ed
En
gla
nd
to l
ive i
n e
xil
e i
n N
orm
and
y. H
e w
as l
ater
par
don
ed
by t
he n
ew
kin
g.
15
00
T
he T
yrr
ell
lin
e d
esc
en
ds
from
Rob
ert
Tyrr
old
an
d h
is w
ife, A
gn
es,
of
Hag
bou
rne, E
ngla
nd
.
He d
ied
in
Hag
bou
rne, 1545.
15
84
A
very
Terr
old
, so
n o
f R
ob
ert
an
d A
gn
es,
die
s.
16
05
W
illi
am (
Th
e E
lder)
Tyrr
old
, so
n o
f A
very
Terr
old
an
d h
is w
ife A
lis,
die
s. T
hey h
ave a
son
Wil
liam
Terr
il.
16
30
W
illi
am T
err
all,
son
of
Wil
liam
Terr
il a
nd
his
wif
e E
liza
beth
Wit
ney,
is
born
.
16
52
W
illi
am T
err
il, so
n o
f W
illi
am (
Th
e E
lder)
Tyrr
old
an
d h
is w
ife E
lin
or
Tir
old
e d
ies.
16
67
T
imoth
y T
err
ell
born
in
West
Hag
bou
rne, so
n o
f W
illi
am T
err
ill
and
his
wif
e M
arth
a.
16
86
W
illi
am T
err
all
die
s ab
ou
t Ja
nu
ary 2
6.
16
92
T
imoth
y T
err
ell
mar
ries
Eli
zab
eth
West
on
Sep
tem
ber
18.
16
93
T
imoth
y T
yrr
ell
, so
n o
f T
imoth
y T
err
ell
an
d E
liza
beth
West
born
ab
ou
t 9th
Novem
ber.
17
54
T
imoth
y T
yrr
ell
mar
ries
Eli
zab
eth
Tyre
ll o
n A
pri
l 15 i
n S
t. M
ary,
Read
ing.
17
55
T
imoth
y, s
on
of
Tim
oth
y a
nd
Eli
zab
eth
born
ab
ou
t F
eb
ruar
y 5
th. H
is f
ath
er
die
s in
1766 a
nd
his
moth
er
in 1
787. T
imoth
y b
eca
me t
he R
em
em
bra
nce
r of
the c
ity o
f L
on
don
. H
is s
on
Ed
war
d, al
so
beca
me t
he R
em
em
bra
nce
r.
17
89
T
imoth
y T
yrr
ell
mar
ries
Eli
zab
eth
Doll
on
d a
t S
t. F
aith
Lon
don
on
Jan
uar
y 2
4. T
hey h
ad
15 c
hil
dre
n.
17
93
F
red
eri
ck T
yrr
ell
- s
on
of
Tim
oth
y a
nd
Eli
zab
eth
- b
orn
30th
Dece
mb
er
at t
he G
uil
dh
all,
Lon
don
.
18
07
W
illi
am T
yrr
ell
- s
on
of
Tim
oth
y a
nd
Eli
zab
eth
- b
orn
31st
Jan
uar
y. H
e l
ater
beca
me t
he 1
st
Bis
hop
of
New
cast
le i
n A
ust
rali
a.
18
16
B
y t
his
tim
e F
red
eri
ck h
ad c
om
ple
ted
his
med
ical
stu
die
s an
d w
as a
dm
itte
d a
s a
mem
ber
of
the
Coll
ege o
f S
urg
eon
s. H
e w
en
t on
to b
eco
me a
Pro
fess
or
of
An
atom
y a
nd
Su
rgery
at
the R
oyal
Coll
ege o
f S
urg
eon
s an
d r
em
ain
ed
on
th
e s
taff
of
the R
oyal
Lon
don
Op
hth
alm
ic H
osp
ital
for
26
year
s u
nti
l h
is d
eat
h.
18
23
F
red
eri
ck m
arri
ed
Fra
nce
s (F
ann
y)
Su
san
na
Coop
er
on
5th
Ju
ne i
n L
on
don
, at
St.
Mar
tin
in
th
e
Fie
lds.
Th
ey h
ad 8
ch
ild
ren
over
the n
ext
17 y
ear
s; F
ann
y, F
red
eri
ck, L
ovic
k, T
imoth
y, W
alte
r,
Ast
ley,
Ed
war
d a
nd
Mar
y.
18
27
L
ovic
k T
yrr
ell
born
.
18
32
T
imoth
y T
yrr
ell
die
s Ju
ly 9
.
Tyrrell Family Timeline
61
18
35
E
liza
beth
Tyrr
ell
die
s 11th
Ju
ly.
E
dw
ard
Tyrr
ell
was
born
on
Oct
ob
er
24
in
Bro
adst
airs
, K
en
t, E
ngla
nd
.
18
43
D
r. F
red
eri
ck T
yrr
ell
die
s as
a r
esu
lt o
f a
fall
, 23rd
May
in
Lon
don
, ag
ed
49.
18
48
W
illi
am T
yrr
ell
, F
red
eri
ck T
yrr
ell
’s y
ou
nger
bro
ther
app
oin
ted
as
fi rs
t A
ngli
can
Bis
hop
of
the
dio
cese
of
New
cast
le –
so b
egin
s th
e T
yrr
ell
fam
ily’s
ass
oci
atio
n w
ith
th
e r
egio
n. O
n t
he 2
6th
Jan
uar
y h
e w
as i
nst
alle
d i
n S
t. A
nd
rew
’s C
ath
ed
ral
and
on
th
e 3
1st
at
the N
ew
cast
le P
ro-C
ath
ed
ral.
He l
ived
at
Clo
seb
ou
rne, re
nam
ed
Bis
hop
scou
rt i
n M
orp
eth
, n
ear
Mai
tlan
d o
n t
he H
un
ter
Riv
er.
18
54
E
dw
ard
an
d L
ovic
k a
rriv
e i
n S
yd
ney o
n t
he 2
0th
Ju
ly.
Fra
nce
s T
yrr
ell
, th
e w
idow
of
Fre
deri
ck a
nd
moth
er
of
Ed
war
d a
nd
Lovic
k, re
mar
ries
2n
d A
ugu
st.
Her
new
hu
sban
d i
s S
ir C
har
les
Georg
e Y
ou
ng (
1795 –
1869).
18
57
L
ovic
k b
eco
mes
a p
riest
(even
tual
ly b
eco
min
g a
n A
rch
deac
on
) an
d w
ork
s cl
ose
ly w
ith
his
un
cle
Bis
hop
Tyrr
ell
. L
ovic
k a
lso m
arri
es
Em
ma
Hu
ngerf
ord
. It
is
her
sist
er,
Su
san
, w
ho m
arri
es
Ed
war
d
Tyrr
ell
in
1869.
18
58
E
dw
ard
tak
es
up
a s
ele
ctio
n o
f 320 a
cres
of
pri
me H
un
ter
Val
ley l
and
(on
e o
f th
e l
ast
avai
lab
le
pro
pe
rtie
s -
bas
ical
ly l
imest
on
e c
ou
ntr
y a
bu
ttin
g t
he B
rok
en
bac
k R
ange).
He n
amed
th
e p
rop
ert
y
“A
shm
ans”
aft
er
his
mat
ern
al g
ran
dm
oth
er’
s an
cest
ral
hom
e “
Ash
man
s H
all”
in
Becc
les,
Su
ffolk
.
Fir
st r
esi
den
ce i
ron
bar
k s
lab
hu
t b
uil
t (s
till
sta
nd
ing t
od
ay).
18
63
W
inery
bu
ilt.
18
64
F
irst
vin
tage.
18
69
E
dw
ard
mar
ried
Su
san
Hu
ngerf
ord
on
th
e 7
th J
un
e i
n M
aitl
and
. T
hey h
ave 1
0 c
hil
dre
n. S
usa
n
(Moll
y),
Ed
war
d (
Dan
), A
my,
Fre
deri
ck, R
ob
ert
(T
imoth
y),
Eli
zab
eth
(R
ose
), E
llen
(M
ay),
Dai
sy,
Flo
ren
ce (
Flo
) an
d A
very
.
18
70
E
mm
a H
un
gerf
ord
th
e w
ife o
f L
ovic
k T
yrr
ell
die
s on
Ch
rist
mas
Day
. S
he a
nd
Lovic
k h
ad 8
chil
dre
n.
Tota
l of
30 a
cres
of
Sem
illo
n, S
hir
az a
nd
Au
cero
t (t
he ‘
pri
nce
of
wh
ite w
ine’)
est
abli
shed
.
18
71
E
dw
ard
(k
now
n a
s D
an)
Georg
e Y
ou
ng T
yrr
ell
born
9th
Ju
ly a
t h
is m
oth
er’
s p
aren
ts h
om
e
“O
wlp
en
” i
n M
aitl
and
.
18
76
F
ran
ces
You
ng –
moth
er
of
Ed
war
d T
yrr
ell
– d
ies
on
21st
Novem
ber
1876 i
n E
ngla
nd
.
18
79
B
ish
op
Tyrr
ell
die
s 24th
Mar
ch a
t M
orp
eth
, ag
ed
72.
18
89
‘D
an’
Tyrr
ell
sta
rts
his
fi r
st v
inta
ge.
18
91
A
very
Ed
al T
yrr
ell
born
22n
d A
pri
l at
Pok
olb
in.
19
05
L
ovic
k T
yrr
ell
, b
roth
er
of
Ed
war
d, d
ies
in S
yd
ney o
n 6
th J
un
e, ag
ed
81.
19
09
E
dw
ard
die
s on
th
e 6
th D
ece
mb
er
in P
ok
olb
in.
19
16
A
very
Tyrr
ell
leav
es
Au
stra
lia
to fi
gh
t in
Worl
d W
ar I
, w
here
he i
s in
jure
d. O
n h
is r
etu
rn h
e t
akes
over
the r
esp
on
sib
ilit
y o
f lo
ok
ing a
fter
the f
amil
y v
ineyar
ds.
Left to right: Edward Tyrrell; Bishop William Tyrrell; slab hut; Susan Tyrrell (nee Hungerford); The fi ve Tyrrell women: Susan (Mollie), Amy, Florence (Flo), Daisy and Ellen (May).
62
19
20
A
very
mar
ries
Doro
thy D
avey o
n 1
9th
Ap
ril.
Th
ey h
ave 3
son
s, M
urr
ay, A
stle
y (
1922 –
2005)
and
Ian
(1924).
19
21
M
urr
ay D
avey T
yrr
ell
born
10th
Feb
ruar
y i
n C
ess
nock
.
19
29
S
usa
n T
yrr
ell
, th
e w
ife o
f E
dw
ard
, d
ies
on
20th
Ju
ne, P
ok
olb
in.
19
41
M
urr
ay e
nli
sts
on
17th
Novem
ber
for
serv
ice i
n W
orl
d W
ar I
I. H
is t
ime i
n t
he a
rmy i
s sp
en
t in
Au
stra
lia
and
New
Gu
inea.
In
th
e s
ame y
ear
, h
is b
roth
er
Ast
ley e
nli
sts
wit
h t
he A
ust
rali
an A
ir
Forc
e, an
d t
hen
lat
er
Ian
, al
so w
ith
th
e A
ir F
orc
e.
19
44
M
urr
ay m
arri
es
Ru
th C
hu
rch
on
3rd
Novem
ber
in S
yd
ney.
19
47
V
ineyar
d a
rea
was
work
ed
en
tire
ly b
y h
ors
es;
it
took
7 w
eek
s to
plo
ugh
th
e v
ineyar
ds.
19
48
A
nn
Tyrr
ell
, d
augh
ter
of
Mu
rray
an
d R
uth
, b
orn
15th
Ju
ne i
n C
ess
nock
.
As
at 2
002, A
nn
is
no l
on
ger
involv
ed
wit
h t
he c
om
pan
y a
s sh
e a
nd
her
hu
sban
d J
oh
n E
llis
ow
n
and
ru
n t
he H
angin
g R
ock
Win
ery
in
Vic
tori
a.
19
51
M
urr
ay B
ruce
Tyrr
ell
(k
now
n a
s B
ruce
) b
orn
on
17th
Oct
ob
er
in C
ess
nock
.
19
56
A
very
Tyrr
ell
die
s 4th
Ju
ne a
t h
is h
om
e i
n P
ok
olb
in, ag
ed
64.
19
59
‘D
an’
Tyrr
ell
die
s 13th
Ap
ril
at P
ok
olb
in, ag
ed
88. H
e n
ever
mar
ried
.
Mu
rray
Tyrr
ell
, th
e 3
rd g
en
era
tion
tak
es
over
as h
ead
of
the f
amil
y, a
ged
38.
19
61
T
he “
Vat
” s
yst
em
was
born
, re
ds
Vat
5, 7 &
9 r
ele
ased
.
19
63
V
at 1
Hu
nte
r S
em
illo
n, ar
gu
ably
th
e w
orl
d’s
fi n
est
Sem
illo
n w
as fi
rst
pro
du
ced
fro
m S
em
illo
n
gra
pes
gro
wn
on
th
e S
hort
Fla
t V
ineyar
d.
19
66
T
he h
ugely
su
ccess
ful
Lon
g F
lat
Red
is
rele
ased
.
19
68
T
yrr
ell
’s fi
rst
pla
nt
Ch
ard
on
nay
vin
es.
Mu
rray
Tyrr
ell
co-f
ou
nd
s T
he R
oth
bu
ry E
stat
e w
ith
Len
Evan
s an
d e
igh
t oth
ers
.
19
71
T
yrr
ell
’s fi
rst
rele
ase C
har
don
nay
- V
at 4
7.
Sp
ark
lin
g M
ose
lle fi
nal
ly o
ut
sell
s S
peci
al S
weet
Sh
err
y -
Tyrr
ell
’s b
iggest
volu
me s
ell
ers
.
19
72
F
irst
exp
ort
s to
US
A -
a c
on
tain
er
of
1000 c
ases.
19
74
B
ruce
Tyrr
ell
, so
n o
f M
urr
ay, is
th
e 4
th g
en
era
tion
to j
oin
th
e c
om
pan
y, a
ged
23.
19
77
B
ruce
mar
ries
Pau
lin
e B
uck
ley o
n 2
2n
d O
ctob
er
in P
ok
olb
in.
L
eas
e t
he W
ein
kell
er
Vin
eyar
d i
n P
ok
olb
in.
19
79
R
uth
Tyrr
ell
, w
ife o
f M
urr
ay d
ies
on
2n
d A
pri
l in
Cess
nock
.
Tyrr
ell
’s w
in t
he p
rest
igio
us
Gau
lt-M
illa
u O
lym
pic
s of
Win
e i
n F
ran
ce f
or
the 1
976 V
at 6
Pin
ot
Noir
– a
ccla
imed
as
Best
in
th
e W
orl
d.
Th
e ‘
Old
Win
ery
’ ra
nge i
s re
leas
ed
.
19
80
Ja
ne E
liza
beth
Tyrr
ell
, d
augh
ter
of
Bru
ce a
nd
Pau
lin
e, b
orn
27th
Feb
ruar
y, t
he 5
th g
en
era
tion
.
Doro
thy ‘
Doll
y’
Tyrr
ell
, w
ife o
f A
very
, d
ies
9th
Au
gu
st i
n C
ess
nock
.
Left to right: Dolly and Avery Tyrrell wedding; Astley, Ian and Murray Tyrrell; Bruce Tyrrell; Murray and Ruth Tyrrell wedding day; Family, back row, Dolly Tyrrell holding Ann, Murray, Avery; front row, Joyce Tyrrell (Ian’s wife), Ian Tyrrell and Ruth Tyrrell (Murray’s wife).
63
19
81
Jo
hn
Mu
rray
Ed
war
d T
yrr
ell
- s
on
of
Bru
ce a
nd
Pau
lin
e -
born
17th
Novem
ber.
19
82
C
hri
stop
her
Georg
e A
very
Tyrr
ell
- s
on
of
Bru
ce a
nd
Pau
lin
e -
born
11th
Dece
mb
er.
Tyrr
ell
’s p
urc
has
e S
he-o
ak v
ineyar
d.
19
83
T
yrr
ell
’s p
urc
has
ed
th
e H
VD
vin
eyar
d f
rom
Pen
fold
s.
19
84
L
on
g F
lat
Wh
ite i
s re
leas
ed
foll
ow
ing r
eq
uest
fro
m N
ort
h A
meri
can
mar
ket.
19
86
M
urr
ay T
yrr
ell
ap
poin
ted
a M
em
ber
of
the O
rder
of
Au
stra
lia
(AM
). H
e r
ece
ived
th
e a
war
d o
n
26th
Jan
uar
y.
19
88
T
yrr
ell
’s p
urc
has
e G
len
baw
n E
stat
e w
inery
in
th
e U
pp
er
Hu
nte
r V
alle
y a
fter
hav
ing l
eas
ed
it
sin
ce
1979.
Ap
pro
xim
ately
1500 t
o 2
000 t
on
nes
cru
shed
here
an
nu
ally
.
Als
o p
urc
has
ed
is
the B
rok
en
bac
k V
ineyar
d f
rom
Th
e R
oth
bu
ry E
stat
e.
19
93
F
amo
us
Lost
Blo
ck I
nci
den
t (p
ort
ion
of
HV
D v
ineyar
d w
as l
ost
lead
ing t
o t
he d
evelo
pm
en
t of
this
well
kn
ow
n b
ran
d a
nd
sty
le).
In
div
idu
al V
ineyar
ds
ran
ge i
s b
orn
.
19
94
T
yrr
ell
’s M
cLar
en
Val
e V
ineyar
d i
s p
urc
has
ed
gro
win
g m
ain
ly C
har
don
nay
an
d C
abern
et
Heat
hco
te p
rop
ert
y i
n V
icto
ria
is p
urc
has
ed
an
d fi
rst
Sh
iraz
vin
es
pla
nte
d.
19
95
S
har
e o
f S
t. M
ary’s
Vin
eyar
d i
s p
urc
has
ed
in
Lim
est
on
e C
oas
t, S
ou
th A
ust
rali
a, p
rim
aril
y r
ed
var
ieti
es:
Cab
ern
et
Sau
vig
non
, M
erl
ot
and
Sh
iraz
.
Tyrr
ell
’s V
ineyar
ds
vote
d A
ust
rali
a’s
Best
Win
ery
by A
ust
rali
an F
inan
cial
Revie
w T
im W
hit
e.
19
96
M
oon
Mou
nta
in a
nd
Ru
fus
Sto
ne r
anges
rele
ased
for
the fi
rst
tim
e.
19
98
R
ele
ase o
f n
ew
Lon
g F
lat
Ch
ard
on
nay
.
Tyrr
ell
’s 1
40th
an
niv
ers
ary.
20
00
M
urr
ay T
yrr
ell
die
s on
2n
d O
ctob
er
in S
yd
ney,
aged
79.
20
02
5th
ge
nera
tion
, Ja
ne, Jo
hn
an
d C
hri
stop
her
all
involv
ed
an
d w
ork
ing i
n t
he b
usi
ness
.
On
e t
hir
d o
f al
l p
rod
uct
ion
is
exp
ort
ed
.
Ap
pro
xim
ately
800 a
cres
un
der
vin
e.
20
03
T
he L
on
g F
lat
bra
nd
is
sold
to C
hevio
t B
rid
ge.
Bru
ce T
yrr
ell
nam
ed
Hu
nte
r V
alle
y’s
Bu
sin
ess
Pers
on
of
the Y
ear
on
14th
Novem
ber.
20
04
A
nd
rew
Sp
inaz
e, T
yrr
ell
’s c
hie
f w
inem
aker,
win
s b
oth
Au
stra
lian
Gou
rmet
Tra
vell
er
and
Win
est
ate
mag
azin
es
“W
inem
aker
of
the Y
ear
”.
Vat
1 w
ins
best
win
e o
f A
dela
ide S
how
for
seco
nd
year
ru
nn
ing.
20
05
V
at 1
win
s b
oth
Best
Win
e o
f S
yd
ney S
how
an
d B
est
Sh
ow
Win
e o
f th
e Y
ear
.
Tyrr
ell
’s c
urr
en
tly e
xp
ort
s to
30 c
ou
ntr
ies
worl
dw
ide.
Tyrr
ell
’s c
urr
en
tly p
rod
uce
s 500 0
00 c
ases
per
year
.
20
06
B
ruce
Tyrr
ell
ap
poin
ted
a M
em
ber
of
the O
rder
of
Au
stra
lia
(AM
), J
un
e 1
2, fo
r h
is c
on
trib
uti
on
to
the A
ust
rali
an w
ine i
nd
ust
ry, im
pro
vin
g g
rap
e q
ual
ity,
rese
arch
, to
uri
sm a
nd
exp
ort
op
port
un
itie
s.
20
08
150 y
ear
s of
the T
yrr
ell
fam
ily m
akin
g w
ine i
n t
he H
un
ter
Val
ley.