Grosset Wines

Grosset Wines was established in 1981 when Jeffrey Grosset purchased an old milk depot in the historic township of Auburn, at the southern tip of Clare Valley, South Australia, approximately 100 kilometres north of Adelaide. The small family-run operation employs just eight staff and produces exclusively from four estate-owned, ACO-certified organic and biodynamic vineyards that Jeffrey personally selected and planted. From the outset, his philosophy has centred on placing the right variety in precisely the right site, and then staying out of the way — a principle he describes as winemaking beginning before the first vine is planted.

• Established 1981 in Auburn, Clare Valley; winery housed in a former milk depot
• Entirely family-run operation with just eight staff, including two in the vineyard
• Four estate-owned, ACO-certified organic and biodynamic vineyards, all personally selected and planted by Jeffrey Grosset
• Vineyards span 460-560 metres elevation across Clare Valley's coolest sub-regions, Polish Hill River and Watervale

Grosset has done more than any other single producer to establish Australian Riesling's international credibility. Jeffrey championed Riesling varietal integrity in the 1980s, leading a successful campaign to prevent non-Riesling grapes from being labelled as Riesling in Australia. In 2000, he was a driving force behind the decision by Clare Valley producers to switch to screwcap closures, a move that transformed Australian and New Zealand wine packaging. His Polish Hill Riesling became the only Riesling in Langton's 'Exceptional' category — the highest tier of Australia's most respected secondary-market classification — cementing the wine's status as a genuine first-growth equivalent.

• Led the 1980s campaign for Riesling varietal labelling integrity, preventing misuse of the term in Australia
• Driving force behind the Clare Valley's 2000 collective shift to screwcap closures; established the Australian Closure Fund for ongoing closure research
• Polish Hill Riesling: the only Riesling in Langton's 'Exceptional' tier, alongside Penfolds Grange and a handful of other Australian icons
• James Halliday describes Jeffrey Grosset as 'Australia's foremost riesling maker'; Jancis Robinson as 'Australia's acknowledged king of Riesling'

All four Grosset estate vineyards are ACO-certified organic and biodynamic, a transition that began with the removal of all chemicals from vineyard operations from 1992 onwards. Hand-harvesting and hand-pruning are standard across every block; canopy and fruit thinning are applied vine-by-vine where needed. In the cellar, Grosset's approach is intentionally gentle and uncomplicated: grapes are gently pressed, free-run juice is fermented with neutral yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, wine is settled on lees, and no fining agents are used. Sulphur is the only addition. All wines are bottled under screwcap.

• ACO-certified organic and biodynamic viticulture; all chemicals removed from vineyard operations from 1992
• All grapes hand-harvested and hand-pruned; canopy and fruit management tailored vine-by-vine
• Cellar approach: gentle pressing, free-run juice only, neutral yeast fermentation, lees aging, no fining agents, sulphur the only addition
• All wines bottled under screwcap closure since the 2000 vintage

Polish Hill Riesling is Grosset's most celebrated wine, made from an eight-hectare vineyard on 500-million-year-old blue slate where low-fertility soils force the vines to produce tiny, intensely flavoured berries. Springvale Riesling, from a 5.3-hectare Watervale site purchased in 2000 and planted in 2001, is more open and approachable in youth but equally serious. Gaia, a Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc blend from the two-hectare highest vineyard in Clare Valley (planted 1986, first vintage 1990), is considered one of Australia's finest Cabernet blends. Alea is an off-dry Riesling sourced from a specific corridor of the Rockwood vineyard; first released in 2012. The portfolio also includes Apiana (Fiano), Nereus (Shiraz-Nero d'Avola), Piccadilly Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir.

• Polish Hill Riesling: eight-hectare hard slate site planted 1996; Langton's 'Exceptional'; steely, tightly wound, built for two decades or more
• Springvale Riesling: 5.3-hectare Watervale site purchased 2000, planted 2001; red loam over limestone and slate; Langton's 'Outstanding'
• Gaia: two-hectare Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc vineyard at 560 metres, planted 1986, first vintage 1990; included in Langton's Classification from 2014
• Alea (off-dry Riesling from Rockwood, first vintage 2012), Apiana (Fiano), and Nereus (Shiraz-Nero d'Avola) complete the Clare Valley range

Grosset has earned exceptional and consistent critical recognition over four decades of production. Polish Hill and Springvale regularly achieve 95-plus points from James Halliday, The Wine Advocate, and international critics. James Halliday awarded Grosset 'Australia's Best Value Winery 2018' and the estate is a regular in Halliday's Top 100 Wineries list, including 2025. Jeffrey was voted inaugural Australian Winemaker of the Year by Gourmet Traveller WINE in 1998 and is recognised as one of Decanter's 'Top 10 White Winemakers' and one of Wine and Spirits' '50 Most Influential Winemakers.' Grosset Polish Hill 2024 ranked third on Wine Ark's Most Collected Australian Wines of 2024.

• Polish Hill Riesling: sole Riesling in Langton's 'Exceptional' tier; Springvale: Langton's 'Outstanding'; Gaia: Langton's Classification from 2014
• James Halliday: 'Australia's Best Value Winery 2018'; consistently listed in Halliday's Top 100 Wineries
• Jeffrey Grosset: Gourmet Traveller WINE inaugural Australian Winemaker of the Year (1998), Decanter 'Top 10 White Winemakers', Wine and Spirits '50 Most Influential Winemakers'
• Polish Hill 2024 ranked No. 3 on Wine Ark's Most Collected Australian Wines of 2024; Grosset wines served in Qantas First and Business Class

Grosset Rieslings are benchmark examples of Australian age-worthiness. Young Polish Hill and Springvale display piercing lime and lemon citrus with floral aromatics and taut minerality; with a decade or more in bottle, these wines develop honey, stone fruit, and increasingly complex mineral intensity while retaining freshness. Low alcohol (typically around 12-12.5%), high natural acidity, and mineral structure support graceful evolution over 15 to 25 or more years. The Springvale 2019 showed a total acidity of 7.3 g/L and just 0.9 g/L residual sugar, illustrating the bone-dry, high-acid profile underpinning the aging curve. Gaia Cabernet similarly rewards patience, gaining complexity and softening structure over a decade or more.

• Polish Hill and Springvale age 15-25-plus years; piercing citrus and mineral youth evolves to honey, stone fruit, and deeper mineral complexity
• Springvale 2019: 0.9 g/L residual sugar, 7.3 g/L total acidity — typical of the bone-dry, high-acid structural profile across the range
• Typical alcohol 12-12.5%; no fining agents and minimal sulphur additions preserve freshness through long aging
• Gaia Cabernet: structured tannins and high-altitude concentration support 10-20 years cellaring from top vintages