Tyrrell’s

In 1858 Edward Tyrrell took possession of 320 acres of prime Hunter Valley land. Shiraz and Semillon take up residence as Tyrrell’s Wines maiden vines.  Over the span of 160 years and five generations this family winery helped introduce 2 of the areas now popular varieties- Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. 

Tyrrell’s developed the Private Bin system, where fruit from the best vineyard blocks is matured in individual oak barrels or vats, with the resulting wines named after the vats from which they came. Tyrrell’s Private Bin Club became Australia’s first mail- order wine club.

Vat 1 Hunter Semillon shines as Australia’s most awarded white wine, with almost 5,500 medals and more than 330 trophies, and is arguably the world’s finest Semillon. 

Tyrrell’s Vat 47 Chardonnay became Australia’s first commercial Chardonnay in 1968. 

To prove a point, Bruce Tyrrell cleverly hid 1,000 cases of Vat 1 Semillon from his father in 1989. The cases were “found” in 1996. The newly released aged wines showcased the extraordinary change that Semillon can experience as it ages.

All Tyrrell’s estate parcels are well established, many with old vines. 36 percent of the vines are more than 50 years old and 11 percent are more than 100 years old. Bruce Tyrrell introduced the Sacred Sites range in 2004  to highlight wines made solely from these 100 year old vines.

Sustainability is a high priority for Tyrrell’s. Long term practices are in place and constantly being refined for water, energy, soil and packaging conservation. 

Tyrrell’s are constantly looking to innovate and stay ahead of the curve. As Chris and his father, Bruce, say, “it’s all about keeping half an eye on the past and one and half eyes on the future”.