Seppeltsfield Estate owner, Randall Wine Group (RWG), has acquired the 230-acre Lyndoch vineyard in the Barossa Valley from Australian Vintage. Meanwhile, the sale of Belvino’s Balranald Vineyard releases Australian Vintage from its long-term lease of the property.
RWG owner and executive chair, Warren Randall, said the purchase was the first vineyard sale since China lifted its tariffs, and that it was a strategic decision to feed the renewed demand for luxury wine in China.
Lyndoch is planted to mature Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mataro and Grenache. The entire crop with be crushed through the 1888 Gravity Flow winery at Seppeltsfield in 2025. It had previously been part of the original Chateau Yaldara, which had been developed by Hermann Thumm in 1946.
June was “an intensive month” of Chinese VIP visits for Seppeltsfield, he said. Visitors included the premier of the State Council, Qiang Li, Chinese minister for Trade, Wang Wentao, chair of COFCO Corporation, Jun Lyu, chair of COFCO Great Wall wines, Feng Gao, chief winemaker of Great Wall wines, Zefu Li and chief winemaker of Changyu Pioneer wines, Dr Li.
Randall said the Lyndoch vineyard was a strong addition to its dominant position in the Barossa Valley.
“China’s demand for luxury Australian wines prior to the tariffs was very strong and the Lyndoch Barossa Valley vineyard acquisition offered Seppeltsfield an opportunity to fortify our supply volumes of luxury wines for a thirsty market.
“Since Chinese tariffs were removed from bottled Australian wines on 28 March, exports have skyrocketed, with Australian winemakers shipping $86 million worth of wine to China in the first month.
“Our vineyard holdings in the Barossa Valley now exceed 4000 acres, growing 10,000 tonnes, producing nearly 10 million bottles of luxury Barossa Valley wine every year,” Randall said.
In October last year, the group acquired organic wine company, Gemtree Wines, as is sought to become dominant in the organic market segment, which has grown 250 per cent in the last 10 years.
RWG owns Seppeltsfield Estate in the Barossa and Penny’s Hill Estate in McLaren Vale, with more than 9000 acres of vineyard holdings in eight South Australian wine regions. The company achieved 100% sustainable certification in early 2023.
Balranald Vineyard release
The sale of Balranald Vineyard by its owner, Belvino, has released Australian Vintage (AV) from its long-term lease of the property.
The Balranald Vineyard yields between 11,000-13,000 tonnes of mainly red variety grapes. AV said the release would give it more sourcing flexibility in a changing market.
The exit saves the financially beleaguered Australian Vintage $12.6 million over the remaining seven-year lease term. The winery said it had also factored in $2 million for development works at the Qualco, Jubilee, and Balranald Vineyards to maximise returns from the assets.
Chair retires
The news coincided with the resignation of AV’s chair, Richard Davis. Davis announced his intention to retire last month, once the company’s equity raise was completed.
He had been with the company for more than 15 years. John Davies has been appointed interim chair.
