Blood Moon Autumn Moon Shivers Nero d'Avola 2025

This is a bright, perfumed expression of the famed Sicilian grape, which has found an affinity for the red Cambrian soils of the top block of the Chalmers vineyard in Heathcote, where it was first planted by the Chalmers family in 2001. Matt Aulich from Blood Moon has made a deliciously drinkable Australian Nero d'Avola from this responsibly grown fruit. Silky cherry juice and plums in a plush frame, with a savoury whiff of dried herbs, game meat, liquorice, and white pepper. 

A quarter of the fruit was left as whole bunches, with the rest gently destemmed over the top. After wild fermentation, during which the cap was gently turned by hand once a day, the wine matured in old French oak for 10 months.

Musician and winemaker Matt Aulich started Blood Moon wines with some mates in 2014, before going solo in 2019. He works with fruit sourced from responsible growers in northern, western, and southern Victoria. Small quantities means he can keep an eye on things in the winery, producing wines that require minimal intervention, but are expressive of time and place. He occasionally plays guitar to the vines and the barrels.