Seville Hill Wines – A Gem of the Yarra

It has been our experience that the smaller/boutique wineries currently produce many of the best and MOST of the truly interesting wines in Australia. We write about these wineries frequently. Seville Hill, located in the Yarra Valley, is one of our elite top picks of this category.‍‍‍‍‍‍ 

John and Josie D’Aloisio purchased what would become Seville Hill Wines in 1985. At that time, the property was dedicated to fruit production and covered with various fruit trees. In 1991, noting the trends in the Yarra and wanting to pursue their passions, the D’Aloisios planted their first vines, and thus was Seville Hill Wines born. The first vintage using Seville Hill grapes did not come until 1998, and the first wines under their own label were not produced until 2001 (knowing this now, we are sad we drank the last 2004 bottle we had last year!) The cellar door was finally opened in 2004. Truly, good things come to those who wait!

‍‍‍‍‍‍What makes Seville Hill so great? The people, the place, and of course, THE WINE! John, who has done all but one of our many tastings, and his team are great. Soft spoken, John D’Aloisio is a warm and generous man, whose passion for his wine is immediately clear. (John insists that his wines are meant to complement specific foods, but we have found they go just fine on their own 🙂 As for the place, Seville Hill’s deck is one of the most stunning we have seen. You simply must go there on an autumn morning. As a camellia-crested vineyard valley falls off in front of you, beautiful hills roll into the background, framed by mountains even further back. Marshmallow clouds often float in the sky, but if they’re not about, the elms offer ample shade.
‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍
And then there are the wines. “Plump”, “juicy”, “deep”, “structured”, and “satisfying” are adjectives that describe Seville Hill’s whole range of wines. And that, for us, is what makes the place so special. It is so, so difficult for any winery to produce an entire range of wines so consistently satisfying. John claims he achieves this by laser focusing on the sweetness and ripeness of the fruit he harvests. Held to a rigorous enough standard, this method leads to consistently plump, fruit-driven wines (which will usually also come with a slightly higher alcohol content). All of Seville Hill’s red wines spend at least 16 months in oak for depth, structure, and maturity. To further ensure peak tasting quality, Seville Hill regularly holds back its wines for two or more years until they are well and truly ready. The result of all of this is something magical. When you go, PLEASE TASTE THE ENTIRE RANGE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT. Most of Seville Hill’s wines sell for $35 or less … thank you Seville Hill 🙂

Seville Hill is without doubt one of the finest wineries (in terms of quality of wine) in all of the Yarra Valley. If the numbers of times we’ve returned is the measure, it must also be our favourite in the Yarra.