La Violetta
Great Southern, Western Australia
Founded by the legendary AJ Hoadley, grapes are sourced from a handful of trusted growers across the Great Southern with exceptional vineyards and some amongst the oldest in the state. The idea is to keep production at a small scale so that each wine is personally hand-crafted.
AJ's idea is to keep production at a small scale so that each wine is personally hand-crafted and he achieves this balance between a business and beautiful wines perfectly. Before being taken hostage west by the mind blowing Great Southern grapes, winemaker Andrew Hoadley worked all over Australia’s cool and hot zones and in Piedmont, Abruzzo and Washington State. His wines are a breath of fresh air, some playful, fun and light-hearted, others more serious and structured.
2024 Muscat/Riesling 'Patio Nat'
A special single vineyard fizz from the black-skinned Muscat grape. Feels so good delving into the soul of this ancient variety and its irresistible allure. It always takes winemaker AJ back to the Autumn days he whiled away shovelling Moscato skins in the Alta Langa; the delicate, refreshing wines of that region providing a stepping-off point for this more laidback, watchin’ roos lazing in the backyard expression. Flavour ripeness comes at relatively low sugars, so Muscat holds beautiful acidity until harvest in the cool, high Ferguson Valley.
Winemaking:
Skin contact for 20 hours, before pressing to tank and old puncheons to ferment slow and wild for eight weeks - then onward to bottle with no fining or filtration, to seal in the last frothy gasp of fermentation. As always, a splash (around 5%) of Great Southern riesling contributes citrus focus to the finish. This was a contented little ferment and it shows in the bottle, with pristine aromatics and a refreshing palate.
Tasting Notes:
It’s fresh and bright-fruited, sitting clear and pink in the glass, with a fine, meringue-like froth. All the perfumed grapiness of moscato, a lick of grapefruit-skin citrus, notes of barrel ferment complexity; gentle mineral phenolics, sweet-fruited and textural, finishing clean and dry. Out on the patio we sip, baby.
2023 Riesling ‘Das Sakrileg’
This wine is crafted for those with inquisitive palates and an appreciation for diversity. Produced in small quantities from a selection of the best barrels from the vintage. The single vineyard fruit was handled in an oxidative way, fermented in wild barrel, and matured on lees without sulphur, and even underwent partial malolactic fermentation.
Winemaking:
The wine fermented slowly at ambient temperature in a cool hillside cellar and remained on lees in old puncheons for 11 months before racking and bottling without filtration.
Tasting Note:
“The 2023 release shows great phenolic presence and depth of savoury characters, with scents reminiscent of quince, petrichor, beeswax and complex characters derived from wild ferment and extended lees contact. On the finely textured palate, acidity is tempered by the richness of fermentation in seasoned oak and time on lees. It has lip-smacking intensity and juicy, textural glide. There is a fine-boned tautness here with a long future ahead, but even in its youth the bottle just slides on down like it had someplace else to be.” AJ Hoadley, La Violetta
2023 Riesling ‘Little Sak’
Born out of a lightbulb moment when AJ decided to make a normal Great Southern Riesling, something he’d never done in the 15 years of La Violetta’s existence. He chose to use fruit off one of Mt Barker’s oldest and most distinguished vineyards. It’s a little less oxidatively handled, didn’t see as much barrel during fermentation, is a little more fruit driven, and was less influenced by lees.
Winemaking:
The Mt Barker old vine fruit was wild fermented; 80% tank, 20% old oak. The wine spent 6 months on fine lees prior to bottling, unfined.
Tasting Note:
“Pure delight straight out of the bottle, expressive and focused, with classic Barker aromatics of cool slate, lime zest, off-the-tree-fresh red apples. Take a mouthful, and the succulence takes hold. There’s plenty of acid in here, but it’s stitched into the wine and you can’t really see how, it just glides along like a crazy flavour train tossing out bouquets of wildflowers and coastal herbs. Choo choo. So I would say drink it now, drink it in ten years. Please yourself. But do drink it now.”
AJ Hoadley, La Violetta
2022 Riesling/Gewürz/Vermentino ‘Yé-Yé Blanc’
Great Southern riesling is always at the heart of this blend, sourced from two distinguished sites west of Mt Barker. It shows loads of pure floral intensity, a conversation starter with the other varieties that contribute aromatic complexity and textural elements: old vine, dry-grown Gewürztraminer and a splash of skin-contact Vermentino from Swinney’s vineyard adding texture to the blend.
Winemaking:
Around 25% was fermented in old oak on solids to round out the Riesling linearity with some lees-derived richness, giving context to the structural phenolics. 2022 was a splendid vintage for Riesling and other aromatic whites in Great Southern, a ripening season with mild to warm days, bringing ripeness and fruit intensity while retaining purity, drive and natural acidity.
Tasting Note:
Freshness, balance and aromatic intensity typical of the region, with scents of citrus, stone fruit and white flowers. Natural acidity carries the fruit weight, providing a canvas for phenolic textures, lees contact, barrel fermentation and the uniquely skinsy slide of Vermentino. Fully drinkable, glass after glass.
2021 Vermentino ‘FAV’
Favorita is the Piedmontese name for Vermentino, so FAV, obvs. The fruit was harvested on 14th March from International Hill vineyard, west of Frankland in Great Southern.
Winemaking:
Grapes were destemmed and had six days skin contact before pressing to seasoned French oak for wild fermentation at ambient cellar temperature. After this, the wine rested undisturbed on lees for nine months, before racking and sulphite addition prior to bottling on 14th December, 2021; unfined and unfiltered.
Tasting Note:
Intensely fragrant, with scents reminiscent of nashi, white flowers and honeydew melon. On the palate, the slippery delights of skin contact bring a pleasing succulence, yet the overall impression remains savoury and delicate, with lees contact and barrel ferment contributing complex notes on the finish.
2023 'Lounge Chill' Grenache
An easygoing, high-drinkability Grenache from Frankland River bush vines. Aromatics of bright raspberry, cherry, dried rose and sweet herbs glide into a light-to-mid weight palate with slippery tannins and a lick of earthy spice. Chill it down for maximum enjoyment.
Winemaking:
Hand-harvested bush vine Grenache. Mostly whole bunches and wild ferment, pressed early to preserve brightness. Aged briefly in neutral oak. Bottled without fining or filtration. Vibrant, minimal-intervention wine.
Tasting Note:
Light, juicy and fragrant, this chillable Grenache bursts with red cherry, raspberry, and dried rose petal. Gentle spice and soft tannins round out a breezy, refreshing palate.
2023 Cabernet Franc ‘Fric Frac’
A joyful, aromatic take on Cabernet Franc from the cool Mount Barker subregion of WA’s Great Southern. Fric Frac is an ode to Loire Valley reds — all perfume and prettiness, but with an Australian edge. The 2023 vintage brought a long, even ripening window, allowing for early picking with plenty of flavour at low alcohols. The result is Cabernet Franc unchained: fresh and fragrant.
Winemaking:
Cabernet Franc (with splashes of Pinot Noir and a local curiosity, Balzac Noir) was harvested early for freshness, destemmed but left largely whole-berry. Fermented wild in open bins, with gentle hand plunging to coax out colour and aroma without excessive tannin. After fermentation, it was pressed to seasoned oak barrels and matured for a short élevage to preserve purity and vibrancy. Bottled unfined and unfiltered, with minimal sulphur.
Tasting Notes:
Aromatics of raspberry, violets, crushed herbs and a whisper of white pepper. On the palate, it’s juicy and sleek: ripe red fruits, subtle graphite minerality, and a sappy crunch through the finish. Silky tannins make for immediate drinkability, while a line of acidity keeps things fresh and food-friendly.
2022 ‘Nova Syrova’
AJ Hoadleys joyous oddball, featuring a number of different elements and a lot of whole bunch.
Winemaking:
39% Syrah, 30% Grenache, 14% Pinot Noir, 11% Mataro, 6% Meunier. Whole bunch carbonic Syrah and Grenache parcels pressed off to finish ferment in old barriques, whole bunch Pinot Noir left on skins to start wild carbonic ferment, before pressing off and a splash of our old favourite Meunier. Unfined, the only addition being sulphur dioxide just prior to bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Bright and fresh, red and black fruits, before opening to savoury, earthy notes; blood, game, spice and charcuterie come to the fore as the wine breathes up in the glass. The palate rolls out with liquorice-florals and red fruits set to a ferrous, mineral backbeat. Vibrant expression of place.
Review:
“There’s quite a bit to unpack here, with notes of brooding stalky smoke and dank herb amongst the wash of bright cherry-lift red fruit aromas. En bouche, a soft approach - quite a juicy little number, give it a chill if you like - but loaded with vibrant flavours in a fascinating weave a bit like a black cotton knit sweater with a parrot and floral motif from Olivia Newton-John’s private collection (pictured). In other words, timeless, ultimately indescribable, and utterly irresistible.”
93 pts. Kasia Sobiesiak, The Wine Front
2023 Pinot Noir ‘Penury’
Sourced from the same little Denmark vineyard where the Chardonnay and Meunier are grown.
Winemaking:
This is a blend of three different pinot noir clones, wild fermented and barefoot massaged. Made in small, open fermenters, with 100% whole bunch carbonic, wild yeasts, traditional pigeage and hand plunging.
Tasting Notes:
An intriguing study in contrast—earthy and mineral-driven, yet alive with the brightness of spice, dried flowers, and tart cherries. It’s a wine that dances between suppleness and savoury depth, offering a unique and unforgettable expression of the variety.
“Opens quite perfumed, with dark cherry and rose, earthy spice notes of cinnamon, musk, sandalwood. There’s a feeling of elegance here, with a light-medium weight frame but real depth and energy to the fruit. A pleasure to watch unfold over several days with a decant. Great drinking now in its youth, but has the concentration and depth for cellaring 10-15 years.” A.J. Hoadley, La Violetta
2021 Shiraz ‘Up!’
Sourced from distinguished sites in Great Southern, on gravelly ironstone loam with granitic sands, delivering the region’s unique characters with remarkable depth and intensity. The 2021 release is a blend of two sites: Mt Barker and newly grafted clones at Frankland River.
Winemaking:
Six separate small parcels fermented in open vessels for 14-28 days, worked only by hand plunging and barefoot pigeage. Whole clusters were included at around 25% overall. The wine was drained and pressed straight to French puncheons and barriques, 25% new, to age for 10 months before blending and bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Bright and fresh, red and black fruits, before opening to savoury, earthy notes; blood, game, spice and charcuterie come to the fore as the wine breathes up in the glass. The palate rolls out with liquorice-florals and red fruits set to a ferrous, mineral backbeat. Vibrant expression of place.