Our Review
Cyril and Jan Ciavarella's vineyard was begun in 1978, with plantings being extended over the years. One variety, aucerot, was first produced by Maurice O'Shea of McWilliam's Mount Pleasant 60 or so years ago; the Ciavarella vines have been grown from cuttings collected from an old Glenrowan vineyard before the parent plants were removed in the mid-'80s. Tony Ciavarella left a career in agricultural research in mid-2003 to join his parents at Ciavarella. Cyril and Jan retired in '14, Tony and wife Merryn taking over management of the winery. -JAMES HALLIDAY
About
Ciavarella Oxley Estate is a family-owned winery nestled in the lower reaches of the King Valley in the scenic north east of Victoria.
We established our vineyard in 1978 and sold grapes for a number of years prior to crafting wines under our own label. In our vineyard, no single variety of grape exceeds a plot of around one and a half acres. Among our vines is a tiny patch of the rare grape aucerot, of which we are the sole custodians in Australia.
Oxley Estate has been described as ‘a tiny gem.’ Our focus is quality and our philosophy is to make quality wines that we love and are proud to have bare our name. We handcraft every wine, working to no fixed timetable, but preferring to keep a close watch as the wines progress at their natural pace. All grapes from our estate vineyard are hand-picked, which helps to maintain quality from vineyard to the glass. We are also passionate about developing our own unique blends, such as White Port made from aucerot and verdelho, and our Dolcino, a sweet cabernet-merlot with a dry finish.
Details
| Rating |
|
| Winemaker |
Tony Ciavarella |
| Established |
1978 |
| Dozens |
3000 |
| Vineyards (area) |
1.6 ha |
| Viticulturist |
N/A |
| Opening Hours |
Mon–Sat 9–5, Sun 10–5 |
| Address |
17 Evans Lane, Oxley, Vic 3678
|
| Telephone |
(03) 5727 3384
|
| Website |
www.oxleyestate.com.au
|