Australian Producers
Established in 2012 with purchased fruit and rented winery space, steady progress saw vigneron Daniel Balzer and wife Marije van Epenhuijsen purchase a paddock a short distance south of Beechworth township in 2017, today home to seven acres of vines, an off grid winery, substantial plantings of trees and native gardens, and a natural reed bed wastewater filtration system.
Daniel saw fit to establish his estate and plantings from scratch – “I didn’t want to take on the mistakes of somebody else,” in his own words, carefully planting an acre at a time. Vines of Chardonnay, Vermentino and Syrah are already yielding some fabulous wines, with first crops of Pinot Noir and Sangiovese due next year.
The undulating site of quartz flecked clay and loam allowed planting to multiple aspects (predominantly South West facing), and the proximity and size of the site permits Daniel to give meticulous attention to the vines and canopy management, in turn allowing low intervention winemaking which is raising some beautifully transparent and unforced expressions.
Quality is redolent here in the finished wines, and with the releases this strong off young vines, we’re immensely excited to see what future years will bring from this address.
The name Willem Kurt comes from the middle names of Daniel and Marije’s two sons, reflective of the couple’s German and Dutch heritage respectively.
All wines are fermented naturally and bottled without fining or filtration, and are hence vegan suitable. Quality is redolent in this whole stable, and with the releases this strong off young vines, we’re immensely excited to see what future years will bring from this address.
AVAILABLE WINES
The vineyard’s first Sangiovese release – we’ve long been excited to see what the variety will do here. Aged 10 months in seasoned French oak and bottled without fining or filtration.
Fresh and bright with sour cherry and red berry; time in the glass reveals elements of dark chocolate, roast meat/charcuterie and sarsaparilla. Tannins give a dusty and grainy texture, overlaid by beautifully lacy fruit, a pretty expression of the variety.
“They’re onto something here. This is so very good. It’s as meaty as it is fruity, as floral as it is spicy. It has plenty going on, a genuine juiciness to the fruit, good depth, and a fine spread of squeaky-savoury tannin. I could hardly be more impressed. In fact after a day of tasting this was the wine that I took home to dinner; always the best sign.” 94 points, Campbell Mattinson, Winefront
100% Shiraz. Bone dry with a beautifully nuanced gravelly mineral backbone. Flavours of strawberry, orange rind, watermelon, pepper and spice with a pleasing drive and weight. Refreshing and no doubt a great food wine, a style with enough individuality to sit in well among our sizeable collection of pink wine.
“Nutty, perfumed, redcurrant, tangerine and blood orange. It’s juicy and savoury, has a softness to it, but also a bit of Campari bitterness, and strawberry, a firm chalky grip to texture, with a juicy and saline finish of excellent length. A sophisticated style, and very good to drink.” 93 points, Gary Walsh, Winefront
A cool and wet season has raised a fine style here. Picked late in the season in May, weighing in at 12.6%. Extended maceration is key to the house style, with two clones grown, one seeing four weeks skin contact and the second three months before pressing. Matured 16 months in French oak, 20% new, bottled without fining or filtration.
“This is a lovely shiraz. Fine, peppery and light, but beautifully spiced, and detailed, and finessed, and ripe in a forest-berry kind of way. It tastes of both black and white pepper, cherries, aforementioned forest berries, purple flowers and aromatic herbs. It feels svelte. It feels fine. It smells alive. It’s shiraz in bone china mode, and it’s very good.” 93 points, Campbell Mattinson, Winefront
Raised in neutral oak, with some portions receiving extended skin contact. Beechworth’s only Vermentino, and what a solid foot forward. A more ‘on the fruit’ release to 2024’s linear style, absolutely loving this edition.
“Vermentino loves its high, cool-climate home in Beechworth, and each vintage sees more and more development. The ’25 is looking particularly smart and serious with its scents and flavours of apple blossom, acacia, chervil, citrus and pear skin. Delivers a vibrant, saline, juicy and gently phenolic texture. Love the grip on the middle palate, with light, savoury almond skin notes to close. On point and looking good!”
93 points, Jeni Port, Halliday Wine Companion
Fermented in French oak, approximately 25% new, with texture built by lees stirring half of barrels undergoing malolactic fermentation.
Archetypal Beechworth drive meets precision here – flavours in the citrus and stonefrut spectrum, leading to lemon butter and leesy brioche characters. The slightly warmer growing season sees this a little softer and rounder to previous vintages, with some textured phenolic grip giving the wine added length. Powerful and rich, but at the same time, fresh and bright.
“Willem Kurt wines are always impeccable.
“I love the cracked-wheat and hay-like characters here. In fact it’s wheat-hay-into-umami. This wine is built on yellow stonefruit, grapefruit, orange rind and nashi pear fruit flavours, but it also carries a weave of the most attractive savoury characters; and indeed florals too. All this comes with just the right amount of texture, and just the right amount of energy. It’s excellent, start to finish.” 94 points, Campbell Mattinson, Winefront
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