Mount Majura Vineyard — Attraction in District of Majura

I am a fan of the Canberra District’s cool climate wines. With it taking less time to drive to Canberra from Sydney than it does for us to get to the Hunter Valley, I’m always surprised I don’t see more people choosing to drive southwest to make their winery visits. Standout wineries like Lark Hill Winery and Collector Wines are just a hop skip and a jump from the Federal Highway, so they’re also easy to include as produce stops on your way home from Canberra. On my last visit to our nation’s capital, I added Mount Majura Vineyard into my wine stop short list...

Mount Majura Vineyard sits on the east-facing slopes of Mount Majura. The soil – in case it sitting upon Lime Kiln Road didn’t give it away – is rich in limestone, which is prized by winemakers. The cellar door offers up indoor and outdoor tables. Tasting their considerable range of whites and reds will set you back $10, with an additional $5 if you want to taste their single-vineyard Tempranillo wines (and you want to taste these wines), but it’s waived upon your purchase of wine.

While they don’t have a restaurant, you can make an afternoon of it with a cheese tasting plate. Knowledgeable staff rotate between seated groups, so you’re left to yourselves to discuss the wines. My standouts included the 2017 Mount Majura Chardonnay ($29), that kicks off with zesty grapefruit. As it warms in the glass, malolactic fermentation brings up creamier, nuttier characters. It’s not a bad drop at the price, so I bought one to take home.

The most interesting wine I tried was the 2017 Mount Majura Lime Kiln Red ($25) that’s a blend of peppery shiraz, mondeuse noire, and a Portuguese grape called touriga. It’s got an oregano-like salty lick, and an aromatic nose that reminds me of chesterfield leather. The acid is lip-smacking but it’s light on tannins, meaning it doesn’t grip your throat. I could imagine myself enjoying throwing it back at a red sauce diner with classic pizza and pasta.

The best wine I tried was their flagship 2017 Mount Majura Tempranillo ($48). This is a blend of their three single vineyard Tempranillo wines, and when you taste each of them, you can start to see what each location brings to the blend. The violet aroma comes from 2017 Little Dam ($48), the silky body comes from 2017 Rock Block ($48) and the intriguingly Australian eucalyptus characters come from the 2017 Dry Spur ($48). It’s easily the most interesting and layered Tempranillo I have tried, and the opportunity to taste it alone is well worth making the stop on your drive...

Mount Majura Vineyard turned out to be a hidden gem! We originally planned to visit another place down the road, but when we arrived, it was unexpectedly closed. Luckily, we stumbled upon this vineyard by chance—and what a great find it was!

The vineyard is beautifully set up, offering a relaxing and scenic experience. One of the best parts is that they allow you to walk through the vineyards, giving you a chance to take in the stunning surroundings. The walk around the property is peaceful, and if you make your way to the top, you’ll find what looks like an overnight camping area, which adds to the charm.

While there isn’t a traditional café, the venue itself is well-designed, with lovely furniture and a picturesque setting. It seems like they host events there, which would be a fantastic experience in such a scenic location. The wine selection was excellent—smooth, rich, and definitely worth trying. They also offer crackers, which pair nicely with the wines.

We arrived at the end of the day, so we didn’t get the full experience, but it’s clear that if you visit at the right time, you could enjoy a proper wine-tasting session. They had 12 wines available for tasting that day, and from what we sampled, the quality was top-notch.

Initially, we thought we’d only spend about 20 minutes there, but we easily could have stayed another hour just soaking in the atmosphere. It’s such a relaxing place, perfect for unwinding and enjoying some boutique wine. If you’re in the area, it’s definitely worth stopping by—whether for a quick visit or a longer, more leisurely experience.

Highly...

Disappointing service. I could not tell you what the wines are like unfortunately. We arrived at 3.45pm (they close at 5pm), noting the sign as we walked in that said "walk ins welcome". We were "greeted" by a young fellow behind the bar, who we told that we would like to do the tasting. He asked if we had a reservation, which we did not. He informed us that we could not do the tasting, as it was too late. I was surprised, as we had a good 70 minutes until closing, which I pointed out to him. He reiterated, strongly, that we could not do the tasting, but we could buy a glass of wine. Not what i wanted. I got the impression he just could not be bothered. I checked the web site, there is nothing mentioned along the lines of "while we state we are open until 5, you need to be here by 3.30 to order a tasting", and if you do book a tasting on their web site, the last available time is 4pm. Perhaps we should have booked, but then don't have a sign that says "walk ins welcome" as we were definitely made to feel totally unwelcome. There are plenty of options to do wine tastings in the Canberra region, where you are made to feel welcome, try one (or...