Good Soul Wines

14/06/2026

Never thought I'd writing about a winery in Mernda, the home of 'value' house and land packages, but here we are!

The Valla family began planting vines on the family cattle farm in 2019 with the focus on Chardonnay, Shiraz and Pinot Noir. Predictable enough but of course these varieties have a proven track record in this part of the world. Five Vineyard doesn't sit in any particular GI although it is ~5km from the western boundary of the Yarra Valley and 10km east of the Sunbury region.

A recent tasting with Sam Valla proved to be quite the eye opener. I didn't have huge expectations (young vines, unproven terrior) but happy to report that I was taught a lesson on making assumptions (again!). The Estate Range, in particular, demonstrates a well handled balancing act of value, drinkability and competent winemaking.

The standout was the Reserve Shiraz 2022 $54, built from vines a mere 3yrs old (first commercial crop). Juicy fruit that never mis-steps with mineral streaks and great purity and lift. More than a hint of Craiglee here I reckon (true d***s!).

Full range on the website.

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02/06/2026

I was fortunate enough to try the Lambert and Salo 24s recently as a side-by-side comparison. Both wines retail in the mid 40s to mid 50s bracket so I guess they could be called 'mid-market' these days.

Both wines are available on the website and The Grape & Hop Wine Bar in Montmorency.

To me 2024 seems like a more expressive and powerful chardonnay vintage, not double helped by the fact 2023 was very cool and bordering on cold which result in crisper and more subtle profiles.

Lambert Chardonnay 2024 $41

Although Luke Lambert is no longer the winemaker at Denton he still sources fruit from the stunning granite infused slopes from this site b/w Yarra Glen and Healsville. All fresh fruit here, seemingly simple at first, but progressively works through the complexity gears. Little to no oak impact. This is immediately atractive and ready to drink.

Salo Chardonnay 2024 $55

Salo is a real personal favourite of mine and a strong contender for most under-rated white wine from the whole of the Yarra Valley. The wine is the result of a colab project between Dave Mackintosh (Afrion) and Steve Flamsteed (Giant Steps, Eldredge). Fruit is sourced from the Full Moon vineyard in Gladysdale, located in an elevated area in the south of the Valley. The wine is somewhat more controlled and structured than the Lambert and again mininal oak impact. No doubt elevation is talking here as the cooler site has likely knocked the juicy edges off the. Taking into account structure this appears to have good cellaring prospects and I'd recommend drinking from late 2027+.

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12/05/2026

Hot off the press!

Leading Melbourne wine distributor Joval (via the Mezzanine and Red & White portfolios) held an invitation-only tasting covering 60 of their leading wines from Australia and New Zealand. Needless to say the average rating was high and indeed I rated very wines below 'very good'. Turns out reputation counts!

We've hand picked a half dozen pack to highlight our 6 favourite wines. We've not made any consideration to price, as you will see, rather just selected wines that stood out on the day. Quoted retail price is what you could reasonably expect to find in the broader market.

Save $32 on realistic retail pricing.

Search "mixed cases" on the website.

04/05/2026

01/05/2026

All wines available in-store at the Grape & Hop Wine Bar in Montmorency and online at the Good Soul Wines website.

The Next Hundred 100yrs Riesling 2024 $38

A single site Riesling from the Frankland River region. Was immediately impressive when we tasted recently - controlled acid and balanced fruits, savoury hints and excellent length. Yet another wine from this region that proves just how good the broader Great Southern GI is for Riesling. 

Turon Adelaide Hills Pinot Gris 2025 $30

Best Oz Gris I've had for some time. Smart, mostly dry, good depth in the palate. Very serious style for Australia. Not fruity when compared to the likes of Mornington Peninsula examples, rather this is very textual.

"It does justice to the naming of 'pinot gris' with its Alsace bent of slippery texture, fleshy pear characters and adornment of sweet spices. A plush feel but controlled with chalky edges and a tight, squeaky finish. Balanced, refreshing and spot on." 93pts | Mike Bennie | Halliday Wine Companion

Mishrit Pinot Noir 2025 $36

We are very very lucky to get our hands on a small allocation of uber-micro start-up Mishrit. The 2025 Pinot Noir is a single vineyard offering from 27yr old vines from the well established Coombe Farm in the Yarra Valley. Left on skins for 2 weeks before pressing off to 2/3/4yr French oak. Some warmth early but very pleasant. Sseems light early but really grows on the palate; mildly spicey finish. Easy going. Only 55 cases produced.

Fighting Gully Grenache 2023 $33

Mark Walpole has graduated from being arguably one of Australia's greatest viticulturalists to become one of its greatest vignerons. His interest in cool climate viticulture led him from his home in the Ovens Valley to the elevated Beechworth plateau at the top of the Escarpment above the Murmungee basin. He is on record stating his concern about Beechworth becoming too warm for Pinot Noir and this is likely a driver behind his increasing focus on warm climate suitable varieties like Grenache. Somewhat different to SA examples; this is all about dry savoury notes and hints of spice. Quite a grown-up wine really.

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29/04/2026

Without doubt Marc Bredif's 'Classic' Vouvray Chenin Blanc is one of my all time favourite whites. It was the first wine I ever tried over 50yrs of age (the 1959) and I have enjoyed vintages from the 70s and 80s over the years. We have assembled 10 different vintages (2006 through to 2024) and these are available for purchase via the Good Soul Wines website. All things considered these wines are remarkable value.

We also have each vintage available at our neighbourhood wine bar (The Grape & Hop in Montmorency) via drink in bottles or takeaway. We will honour the online price for takeaways.

Good Soul Wines is Australia's leading online retailer for Vegan Friendly and Organic wines and beer. Hundreds of Vegan Friendly, Organic, Biodynamic & Sustainable Producer wines & beer for sale.

27/10/2025

Recognise these names? Rockford, Glaetzer, Sam Odi, Soul Growers, Eisenstone, Izway, Torbreck, Two Hands, Standish, John Duval.....Sure you do.......All out-and-out superstars of the Barossa Valley.

What you might not know is that all these producers source shiraz from the Hoffmann Family Vineyards, particularly the Dallwitz Block, to produce high quality (& high priced) single vineyard Shiraz.
The first vines were planted on the Hoffmann Vineyard in the 1880’s and sold to the Seppelt family at Seppeltsfield. Today the oldest surviving vines on the property exist on the Dallwitz Block, a 20-hectare block considered to be the jewel in the crown. Adrian Hoffmann’s grandfather, Gordon, purchased this block in 1954, and it came with treasured old Shiraz vines, planted between 1888 to 1912.

We are very lucky to have Adrian in the Grape & Hop Wine Bar this Thursday 30th pouring his various own label Hoffman wines (complete with story telling). The tasting is free and we’ll be popping the corks from 5pm to 7:30pm. Would love to see you there! Cheers Stew & Jo