Description
Damon Koerner is on a mission to bring the classic wine styles of the Clare Valley into the modern day.
He plays with a mix of 'classic' Clare Valley varieties such as Riesling, Cabernet and Malbec and a suite of alternate varieties that show a different side of this iconic Australian wine region.
With fruit sourced from the Koerner family vineyard known as Gullyview and a move toward more contemporary winemaking, utilising terracotta and ceramic for fermenting and making as little additions as possible in the winery, it's easy to see why Koerner star is on the rise.
As Mike Bennie recently wrote, "Some of the most interesting, delicious wines in Australia are emerging, and the reinvention and sexing up of Clare Valley is apparent."
- 2023 Koerner Watervale Riesling
- 2023 Koerner Adelaide Hills Savagnin
- 2023 Koerner Pigato Vermentino
- 2023 Koerner Adelaide Hills Gamay
- 2023 Koerner La Korse Sangiovese Blend
- 2022 Koerner The Clare
2023 Koerner Watervale Riesling
The Koerner Riesling is grown on the Koerner family vineyard, Gullyview, in Watervale, Clare Valley.
This vineyard has been farmed by the Koerners for 35 years, the sons Damon and Jonathan are intimate with the fruit and it shows. This is Watervale Riesling with more character and texture than the 'classic' styles of wine the region is famous for.
The fruit spent 6 hours on skins and was fermented and aged in a combination of stainless steel and ceramic amphora for 2 months. No fining, filtering or additions apart from a smidge of sulphur. It has texture and vitality and a load of interest. It's an alternative look at a staple of the Australian wine landscape by a family-owned operation. Great stuff.
95 points
"This was fermented wild in both stainless steel and ceramic amphora. In flavour terms, it's as classic as they come, with lemon and lime flavours given some extra bite courtesy of bath-salt-like characters. It hits up well but saves its most impressive burst of flavour for the finish, always the clearest sign of quality."
- Campbell Mattinson (Halliday Wine Companion)95 points
"A potency to this wine, texture and savoury elements with strong currency of green apple, tart lime and gingery spice woven through...It feels so distinct from run-of-the-mill Clare Valley riesling archetypes, delivering complexity through its various elements, and yet so composed. Excellent."
- Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)
2023 Koerner Adelaide Hills Savagnin
Koerner’s 2023 Adelaide Hills Savagnin is for the adventurous drinker who loves a wine that’s both seaside-crisp and deeply intriguing.
Damon leans into the variety’s natural acidity, picking early to keep things zesty, with notes of white peach, apricot, and a briny, coastal edge that feels like a refreshing ocean breeze.
Hand-harvested and whole bunch pressed, this Savagnin gets the Koerner treatment with a mix of barrique and stainless steel ageing, retaining purity while letting the stone-fruit aromas come alive.
It's Savagnin at its raw, natural best—an honest expression of Adelaide Hills terroir. Pair it with oysters, seafood, or light vegetarian dishes and let its clean, mineral finish take centre stage.
91 points
"It holds good texture, nearly medium weight, somewhat neutral overall. A mix of things quietly going on. A clatter of limey acidity on green apple, fresh and dried. A touch of green pear. Some slate-like mineral characters. A sizzle of very bitter tonic water a pleasing reset of the palate as it corkscrews through the finish. It’s got a decent bit of pulpiness and interest, though it feels pretty neutral and safe for the variety despite the drinkability and refreshment factor on hand. Worth a look."
- Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)
2023 Koerner Pigato Vermentino
Vermentino is one of those varieties that shines with some skin contact and a few winemaking tricks. It adds an extra dimension of appeal.
Case in point is this Pigato Vermentino from Koerner wines in the Clare Valley. Vermentino was planted around 10 years ago on the family vineyard in Watervale, a pocket on Terra Rossa soils selected as best for this variety.
The wine spent 20 days on skins in open vessels during fermentation before being pressed back to steel to age for 7 months. Bottled without filtering or filtration. It's a winning style, complete with slightly cloudy and grippy elements.
93 Points
"Thirst-quenching stuff here. Tightly wound, lots going on, fine-boned. Yummm."
- Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)
2023 Koerner Adelaide Hills Gamay
The 2023 Adelaide Hills Gamay is Damon Koerner’s love letter to the Gamay grape, showing off his deft touch and easy confidence with a variety that’s all about pure, juicy smashability.
Harvested by hand from the Deanery Vineyard in Balhannah, Damon goes for precision, destemming the fruit but keeping those whole berries intact to capture all the bright, crunchy character Gamay fans crave.
Naturally fermented in open-top steel and aged in a stunning 2000L Slavonian oak foudre, this wine spent 10 months soaking up texture and structure without losing an ounce of its energy.
It’s bursting with electric red berry notes, delicate florals, and an earthy, mineral backbone thanks to the sandy loam soils and Damon’s commitment to light-touch winemaking.
With no filtration or fining, it’s all about transparency and purity, sitting at a breezy 12.5% alcohol—perfect for sipping chilled on a warm day, letting those cherry-red flavours take the spotlight.
92 points
"This is tightly wound and compact with a slight haze to texture and a pleasing balance of sweet-sour-bitter of red berry fruit and herbal elements. It’s quite zesty as a red wine, succulent in texture too, a refreshing, if not crisp finish. Tart cherries, rose hip tea, a faint ginger element, dried basil and cardamom spice are the quarry. It feels very modern and bright. It drinks well."
- Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)
2023 Koerner La Korse Sangiovese Blend
The Koerner brothers are running head on at Clare Valley wine. They've put together one of the region's most dynamic ranges of wine, investigating unsung pockets of the area with energy and creativity. It's exciting stuff.
The La Korse is not your average Clare Valley red. Here the boys combine Sangiovese, Grenache and Sciaccarello with a splash of Carignan & Malbec to create a vibrant, mischievous red with epic drinkability.
This is a new look Clare Valley red.
2022 Koerner The Clare
'The Clare' is a wine designed to showcase both the history and the future of this great region, through the eyes of one of Australia's brightest young producers.
The base of this wine is a classic Clare Valley varietal marriage of Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Cabernet Franc, with a splash of Grenache, Carignan and Sciacarello adding plenty of spice, nuance and pizzaz!
Contrary to the classic Clare Cabernet blend, this is a lively, juicy red wine ready to be tucked into immediately. "Bordeaux varieties made in a Loire style", as the Koerner brothers put it.
Super wine!
94 points
"There's a confidence to this wine. It's firm, it's wild with intricate flavour, it's light but it's buoyant. Potpourri, peanuts, boysenberry, earth and sweet plum flavours all make appearances, though the truth is that every time you put this anywhere near your nose/mouth, you detect something different. In a word: it's joyous."
- Campbell Mattinson (Halliday Wine Companion)
Customer Reviews
| Price Bracket | $31 to $40 |
| Country | Australia |
| Region | Clare Valley |
| Australian State | SA |
| Size | 8 |
Koerner
Damon Koerner in his Adelaide Hills winery Koerner
Others also liked
Recently viewed
Shipping
Delivery is free on orders of $150 or more!
For orders under this amount, delivery is calculated at checkout based on your postcode. You can order in any quantity or combination of wines you like. Straight dozens are not required.
We will dispatch your order the same or next business day.
Estimated delivery transit time varies depending on your location. Please review this page for specific estimates.
Sydney (Our Vans): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions our driver will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so if not, they will return the item to us and hold your order until further instruction from you.
Melbourne (Anonymous Wine Freight): If no one is home and there are no special delivery instructions, the courier will try to call for instructions. If the driver believes there is a safe space to leave your wine they will do so. if not, they will return the item to their dispatch centre and hold until further instruction from you.
Australia Post: Australia Post will leave the parcel if they have been given authority to leave and it is deemed safe to do so. To give your Authority to Leave, please enter this in the 'SPECIAL REQUEST' box at checkout.
Ordering
We want Different Drop customers to always be getting the best price. If you see a lower price elsewhere, just get in touch and we will sort it out for you. We handle all our price-matching on a case by case basis.
Some things to keep in mind:
- Retrospective price-matching is available for 30 days after you have purchased from us.
- The price match cannot be used in conjunction with a coupon or one-off deal we are offering. The idea is for you to get the best price in the market so if that is already achieved through a coupon then we won't price match on top of that.
- We don't price match clearance or fire sales.
- We’ll match the listed price as long as it is a legitimate offer and the competing store is actually able to fulfil the order (they have stock or more stock is en route). Essentially we won't price match cheeky vendors listing wines they have no hope of actually getting for you...
- It must be a publicly listed price. We won't match a price that has been achieved through a coupon/cash-back arrangement, or through a non-advertised offer over the phone or otherwise.
- It is limited to a reasonable retail quantity.
We'll treat each price match request on its merit and reserve the right to refuse where we deem fit. For example, particularly rare wines, from non-trust-worthy vendors, in circumstances we deem illegitimate or if we feel our policy is being unfairly taken advantage of.
At the end of the day, we'll look after you and use common sense to ensure you're getting the best price, please just don't take the p%$$!
No, feel free to mix it up! There is no minimum requirement. You can order wines in any quantity or combination, 1 or 50+ bottles.
We stock three different sized gift boxes (single, three bottle and six), all are available for purchase for a flat rate of $8. They look great and make an awesome impression.
To add a gift box to your order, simply add at checkout. The special requests box is your friend, please give us as many details of what you are looking for and we will try our best, or get in contact to discuss it with you.
If you want to bulk order gifts or if you have any trouble please email hello@differentdrop.com or call and we can try and help.
If you can't add more wine to your cart it means we are low on stock of that wine. For example, if you are only able to 3 bottles and no more that means we only have 3 bottles left of that wine. If it's a must have, please contact us and we may be able to order more in for you.
Just want to talk to someone?
Please don't ever hesitate - we would love to help! Whether it's a problem we can fix, a wine you're not 100% sure on or if you simply want to talk about wine, food and the meaning of life, we are here for you.