All Saints
Estate might rightly be considered a folly, a wonderful, grandiose bit of foolishness, perpetrated by a bunch of homesick Scots. But it works.
The mock castle – a copy of the Scottish castle of Mey from the parish of All Saints, where the families of the original winery owners worked for generations as carpenters – represents stability and permanence. They don’t come more enduring than something that started out in 1864, as All Saints Estate did. Living history has never looked quite so alive.
Since 1992 the second owners, Peter Brown of Brown Brothers fame and his children, have enhanced the site with a welcoming formal garden, a restaurant and have asked cheesemaker, Indigo Cheese Co., on board, which is all good, but I think it’s out the back where some of the biggest chances have been taken.
All Saints has always been known for its fortified wines but with the Browns it has considerably raised its profile as a maker of table wines led by some excellent new wave style shiraz, durif and marsanne. Long-time winemaker, Dan Crane (who has now moved on) set the style in place, eschewing boldness in favour of gracefulness. Jeni Port