What started as a passionate hobby in 1993 for our Chief Winemaker Justin Ardill and his wife Julie, soon became a thriving business due to their commitment to consistently produce hand-made, premium quality wines.
From humble beginnings where the first vintages of wines were basket pressed and processed on the front porch of Reilly's Cottage, Justin now leads a team utilising state of the art facilities in our processing and storage shed down the road from our cellar door at Mintaro.
Justin's background in pharmacological and medical sciences, along with the critical acclaim of his wines, has proven his skills as a winemaker.
From the Winemaker...
Vintage 2010
Well, it's over for another year and we made it through with only a few 'Barking Mad' moments!
Our fruit, and the Clare Valley in general, was great quality although yeilds were lower on some of our premiums such as Dry Land Cabernet Sauvignon and Old Bushvine Grenache.
We had good rains throughout last Winter and into Spring and the heat wave in November accelerated the flowering and fruit set. A hot dry Summer ensured no threat of diseases and brought Vintage 2010 forward by about 3 weeks compared to 2009. The Shiraz and Riesling fruit were of particulary high quality and we expect some great wines as a result!
Now our work in the winery will involve keeping an eye on the reds we have in barrels, topping up barrels, tasting and blending - but for now I think its time for a well earnt drink, there is a bottle of 2005 Dry Land Cabernet calling my name! ...Justin
A word from the USA...
Reilly's Wines are exported throughout the world and we love to hear from fans far and wide who have tried and enjoyed our wines. We recently received the below email from Tom in New Jersey, USA who bought our Barking Mad Cabernet from his local wine store. Thanks for the feedback Tom! ....Justin
"Hi,
I came across your 2007 Barking Mad Cabernet recently in our local wine store in NJ [USA]. Great stuff! We bought a couple of cases to make it our 'house' wine, both because my wife's maiden name is Reilly and - perhaps more importantly - our golden retriever is named Reilly and he is, indeed, barking mad.
Congratulations on a wonderful wine. I've attached a photo of the barking mad Reilly in the family." Tom Callahan.
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