Charles Melton Wines

34°33′38″S 138°58′06″E / 34.560612°S 138.968275°E / -34.560612; 138.968275

Charles Melton Wines
LocationTanunda, South Australia, Australia
AppellationBarossa Valley (wine)
Founded1986
Key peopleCharles Melton
Virginia Weckert
Cases/yr15,000
Known forNine Popes
VarietalsGrenache, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon
Websitehttp://www.charlesmeltonwines.com.au

Charles Melton Wines is an Australian winery based in Tanunda, within the Barossa Valley wine region of South Australia.

History

90-year-old Grenache vines at Charles Melton Winery

Charles Melton was first introduced to winemaking as a career at Hurlstone Agricultural High School.[1] He worked as a cellar hand at Krondorf Wines between 1974 and 1976 before moving to Saltram Wines to work with Andrew Wigan and Peter Lehmann.[1] In 1979, Saltram was sold to Seagram, and Melton followed Lehmann to work at the newly established Peter Lehmann Wines.[1]

Melton worked at Peter Lehmann Wines until 1986 when he and his wife Virginia established their own, Charles Melton Wines.[1] Charles Melton had been credited as of 1999 as "single-handedly reviving the grenache grape in Australia".[2] On 20 October 2007, Melton was inducted into the "Barons of the Barossa", an organisation that recognises people who have made a significant contribution to the Barossa Valley wine community.[1] In 2009, Charles Melton Wines had a new winery and barrel shed built. In 2017, its 2014 Nine Popes wine won awards at the International Wine Challenge London.[3]

Sophie Melton became winemaker in 2022.[3][4] In November 2025, 95% of the company's fruit was grown on its estate. Its three key varieties were Grenache, Shiraz, and Cabernet.[5]

Wines

About 15,000 cases of wine are produced each vintage.[6]

The best-known wine produced by Charles Melton is the Nine Popes. It is a blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre.[7] The first vintage of this wine was produced in 1988[8] and was the first GSM blend made in the Barossa Valley.[9] Langton's Classification of Australian Wine placed this wine at the level of "Excellent" in 2000 and "Distinguished" in 2005 and 2010.[10]

A rosé style wine made from Grenache, named Rose of Virginia after his wife,[8] "is regarded as one of Australia's best roses".[11][12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Charles Melton". Barons of the Barossa. 20 October 2007. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  2. ^ "New York Times – EN ROUTE: Australia; One Superstar Wine Deserves Another". The New York Times. 13 October 1999. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  3. ^ a b "History". www.charlesmelton.com. Charles Melton Wines. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  4. ^ "The 22 best Barossa Valley wineries". www.timeout.com. TimeOut. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  5. ^ "Interview: A Glass With: Charles and Sophie Melton". www.libertywines.com. Liberty Wines. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  6. ^ "Australian Wine Companion – Charles Melton". 34.5536730000,138.9530640000: Winecompanion.com.au. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  7. ^ "Barossa rides again". Independent.co.uk. 3 February 1996. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  8. ^ a b "Charles Melton". Langtons.com.au. Retrieved 21 September 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. ^ Halliday, James (2006). Wine Atlas of Australia. University of California Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-520-25031-4.
  10. ^ "Langton's Classification History". Langtons.com.au. 14 July 2003. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  11. ^ "Think pink: the future's looking rose for Australian wine". SMH. 13 August 2006. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  12. ^ Brook, Stephen (1 February 2002). "A welcome change". Decanter. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Melton_Wines