![Andrew Duff among the Briar Ridge Vineyard vines in Mount View. Andrew Duff among the Briar Ridge Vineyard vines in Mount View.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/324VkdtvqnBSp7aYw6KyqmM/36e675ee-043e-4dcc-b30d-60defbdf38b9.jpg/r0_0_6240_4160_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Hunter Valley is a small world, and the winemakers who call it home live in an even smaller circle. So it was probably destiny that winemaker Andrew Duff would eventually take over the top post at Briar Ridge Vineyard at Mount View.
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Raised in Maitland, his first vintage in making wine was with John Reynolds at Yarraman in the Upper Hunter in 1995. He's done vintages in New Zealand, Adelaide Hills, Barossa, Coonawarra, Hilltops, Tumbarumba and various wineries in the Hunter, spending more than 10 years working for Tempus Two.
But Mount View has always felt special to him. Years ago, he hired a helicopter to surprise his girlfriend with a flight that ended at Bistro Molines, perhaps the most famous restaurant in the Hunter (and one she had never visited) to propose marriage to her on Valentine's Day.
"I tricked her," he says with a grin, as we chat from the vineyard just below Bistro Molines.
"It was Valentine's Day. She said she couldn't imagine anything worse that getting engaged on Valentine's Day. So I thought, that's the day to do it then. We got a helicopter up along the ridge line, landed at Bistro Molines, she'd never been there before. I snuck one in. I got a yes."
With the departure of Alex Beckett last year, Duff has taken over the reins at Briar Ridge, owned by Jaclyn Davis, who has put a great deal of energy, time and money into lifting the profile of the boutique property that makes some outstanding wines. Last year Halliday Wine Companion named its albarino the best in Australia.
Duff, a true Hunter Valley local, was pretty happy about the Briar Ridge appointment.
"It's a little slice of Europe," he says of Mount View. "I mean, probably not my words, but people from who visit and dine at Bistro Molines, the views are sensational. The views are across Tallavera Grove, as it was formerly known as, and then on to Briar Ridge hill. It's just its own little microclimate. It's completely separate, quiet, tranquil. It's often forgotten about as part of the Hunter Valley.
"You obviously have have your more prominent subregions like Pokolbin and Lovedale. We have this lovely little spot up the hill, a bit of a well-kept secret."
Briar Ridge was established in 1972, and boasts about 2000 loyal wine club members. The first vines were chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. Current production includes shiraz, semillon, pinot gris, verdelho, merlot, pinot noir, albarino, viognier, cabernet franc, fiano, sauvignon blanc and malbec.
The shiraz and semillons from Briar Ridge have a rich history, and Duff has an award-winning resume of his own, so there is plenty of reason to be excited by what's to be bottled this vintage.
2024 vintage
Briar Ridge was one of the first to pick fruit for the 2024 vintage, with the first chardonnay coming off on January 3.
"This vintage was a bit of surprise," Duff says. "It was early, it sprung up on us, but that always happens when we get an early Easter. Chardonnay came off first, the third of January. And it's looking quite good. Quite boney here at first, but I think the quality is there. There's a lovely elegance to it.
"Verdelho started coming in pretty soon after that. We had some wonderful semillons come off."
![Andrew Duff prepares for a vertical tasting of shiraz and semillon inside Briar Ridge winery. Picture by Jim Kellar Andrew Duff prepares for a vertical tasting of shiraz and semillon inside Briar Ridge winery. Picture by Jim Kellar](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/324VkdtvqnBSp7aYw6KyqmM/06c943a0-48db-4182-9cb2-57b90a411c89.jpg/r0_0_4032_3024_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"The Dairy Hill sems' came off first, which is a more clay soil profile sem. Generally semillons in the Hunter are either sand-based, or clay-based. Sand-based are a lot more austere, a lot more driven. Clay is a little bit more generous and has a little bit more lusciousness to it. We got it off, it was about 12.3, so it will ferment out to about 12.5 per cent alcohol. So generally a little bit higher alcohols, but will still age gracefully.
"We've got some really cool whites coming in after that. And that's progressively how it works, the fiano, the albarino. Not much of it. There's a little less than a thousand litres of albarino in total, so it will be released in September and I'm really excited to play with that..."
There's also a new restaurant operator at Briar Ridge. Estancia Osteria, operated by James Orlowski and Gabriel Rodrigues, is serving up smoked seafood and meats, grilled vegetables, and intense creamy cheeses with a priority on informality and fun.