In their 130th Anniversary, Château Tanunda is pleased to announce the promotion of Neville Rowe to the title of Chief Winemaker from 2020 in a restructure of its winemaking team to keep up with the rising profile of the company.
Neville leads a team of five qualified winemakers with James Luckie as 2IC and Sarah Squire in Production. The iconic winery cellar has more than doubled in capacity since Neville took over as senior winemaker in 2015. It has been a time of incredible growth in both the stature of the winery and the quality of the wines. Highlights under Neville’s stewardship include more than 43 wines rated 93+ points with James Halliday, and an incredible 75+ Gold Medals at the world-renowned ‘Berlin Wine Trophy’ on the way to 5 straight years named as “Australian Producer of the Year”.
Neville’s winemaking prowess has been the force behind Chateau Tanunda being only one of two Barossa wineries in the Top 20 of Huon Hooke’s Best Australian Wineries for three years in a row (2018-2020). The company has taken significant strides in the Australian market and traditional markets with demand growing in 45 countries.
In 2020 he was selected as a ‘Master Winemaker’ in the UK’s Drinks Business “World Top 100 Winemakers of 2020” alongside other international winemaking masters such as Michel Chapoutier, Michel Rolland, Peter Gago and Gerard Bertrand.
This recognition alongside his previous experience at LVMH, Hardys Tintara and Mitchelton have him well placed for the next challenge of a 100 point wine and an Eden Valley Cabernet amphitheatre project, working alongside consulting winemaker Ralph Fowler.
Château Tanunda owners, John and his daughter Michelle Geber, see this new winemaking team under Neville as the essential focus to achieve their vision to be the First Growth of Australian wine.
Neville is now preparing for the October release of the latest vintages of his iconic The Everest, Old Vine Expressions and Terroirs of the Barossa wines at the company’s annual Fine Wine Release, his first as Chief Winemaker. This year will see the usual popular release tasting event in Sydney replaced with a series of online tastings lead by Neville and the team.
On the restructuring, he said “I am looking forward to it. I couldn’t imagine a better fit for me in my winemaking style than here at Château Tanunda. I’m most proud to see my name on the incredible list of winemakers who have graced the cellars of Chateau Tanunda over its 130 years.”