Blue Pyrenees Estate was established in 1963 after an Australia-wide search for optimum cool-climate vineyard conditions by the French company Rémy Martin, led by the Heriard-Dubreuil family. Originally named Château Rémy, the estate was planted with the classic French varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Merlot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The estate won world-wide plaudits over the years for its reds, whites and méthode traditionnelle sparkling wines. In 2019, Blue Pyrenees Estate was added to the existing vineyards of the Richmond-Smith family, who have been agricultural pioneers since 1839, forming the Vinesmith Wine Group.

The diverse range of soils across the Blue Pyrenees 150-hectare estate leads to a complex array of flavours. Different from Bordeaux and northern Rhône, very different from Barossa, these wines offer their own rich and special elegance. The alluvial gravel beds left after the Gold Rush on the valley floor are reminiscent of the south of France, suggesting southern Rhône varietals. Both vine vigour and yields are low, with both factors contributing to the quality, strength and structure of the red wines. Whites are grown on well-drained sites with limestone gravels, sandstone at depth and reddish-brown, sandy loam subsoil.

The winery combines more than sixty years of French winemaking heritage with spectacular vineyard views of Victoria’s Pyrenees region.

Climate conditions echo Coonawarra to the west, with warm days and cool nights in the ripening season. The Vinesmith Wine Group’s Glenlofty Estate and Decameron Station vineyards, on the west side of the Pyrenees Ranges, are consistently about three degrees Celsius cooler year-round, a difference that is easily discernible in the wines. The Avoca cellar door is open daily for wine tastings and sales at special rates.

The estate offers you to explore its winery and vineyard through guided tours, which are available via appointment. The enthusiastic staff also offer interesting food and wine pairings at Café Blue, which serves grazing platters, desserts, cheeses and coffee, while the ‘Estate Platter’ offering is well known.

With perhaps too many award-winning wines to explore, the team invites you to stay at its three-bedroom Lake House nestled in native bushland, which overlooks the property’s large lake, where the wild ducks disport and the cockatoos and wallabies run wild.