Hoosegg Mountain Dragon Merlot 2018

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Philip Shaw's long and extraordinary career has seen him running some of the country's largest wineries, pioneering Orange as a serious wine region and finally founding Hoosegg, a tiny high-quality, hands-on venture.There are of course many gaps to fill in.

Philip started working at Penfolds and Wynns Magill at the age of 14 and post-school attended Roseworthy College, graduating as a winemaker in 1969. At the age of 23 he was employed by Lindemans, at the time Australia's largest wine company, to build their massive 200,000 tonne capacity Karadoc winery, the biggest in the country. In 1982 Philip was appointed winemaker for Rosemount and oversaw an increase in production from 20,000 to 6 million cases. When Rosemount was taken over by Southcorp in 2000, Philip became head of production for Southcorp (think Penfolds, Lindemans, Wynns, Rosemount, Seppelts, Coldstream Hills... and more). At this time, Southcorp was producing 23 million cases of wine from 17 wineries across the globe, making it the largest premium wine company in the world. Mind boggling.

During this time, accolades included:
- Twice wining the coveted International Winemaker of the Year at the London International Wine & Spirit Competition (1986 & 2000).
- Awarded 1999 Qantas Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine’s Australian Winemaker of the Year.
- Awarded the 2000 Graham Gregory Trophy for his outstanding contribution to the Australian wine industry.

In 1988/89 whilst still at Rosemount and after considerable searching for what he considered to the best site to make premium wine, Philip planted the Koomooloo vineyard at Orange at an altitude of around 900m. In the initial years Rosemount took fruit from the vineyard, but by 2004 having left Southcorp and moved to Orange, Philip released the first vintage of his own Philip Shaw Wines. In 2015, after sigificant success and growth, Philip handed the reins of Philip Shaw Wines over to his two sons, Damian and Daniel, and started Hoosegg, with HOO being Philip and EGG symbolising a new beginning.

Hoosegg is the distillation of Philip's 60 year career in wine. It's hard to fathom all that experience and knowledge! From overseeing some of the largest winemaking facilities in the world, Philip now literally hand-tends fruit from the best sites in the now 30 year-old Koomooloo vineyard, to make a range of extraordinary wines from his tiny, but state-of-the-art winery.

Hoosegg Mountain Dragon Merlot 2018

Hand picked fruit and micro-fermented in small open pots, 30% whole bunches, fermented with natural yeast and aged in barriques (75% new) for 20 months. 13.4% alcohol and sealed with cork. 1,350 bottles produced. I have to say... this was my favourite wine of the lineup. Smooth, ripe and complex. Absolutely delicious.

"A deep vibrant red. Amazing rich varietal aroma very bright with very integrated oak adding complexity. The wine has amazing rich fruit palate, but still maintains its vibrance with a mass of soft tannins and varietal red fruits character - fabulous wine."
Winemaker Philip Shaw.

The 2023 Global Merlot Masters competition was judged on 2 February at 28-50 Chelsea, London, employing experienced judges and a unique sampling process. The top wines were awarded Gold, Silver, or Bronze medals according to their result, and those expressions that stood out as being outstanding received the ultimate accolade – the title of Merlot Master - presented to HOOSEGG Mountain Dragon Merlot.

Double Gold - Global Fine Wine Challenge 2022.

“Hand picked and micro-fermented in small open pots, 30% whole bunches, fermented wild and raised in barriques (75% new) from quality French cooperages. Make no mistake, the qualitative barometer is set to aspirational. The pricing and monikers, reflective. Very good merlot. Plummy, with a subtle underbelly of tomato leaf and scattered garden herb. The mocha-cedar oak, a welcome addendum. A smooth operator with a salubrious sheen.”
94 points, Ned Goodwin, Halliday Wine Companion.

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