Mother Block Red Blend 2022, Chalmers

Seven Italian grape varieties meet in this juicy, savory red from the Chalmers family’s Merbein vineyard in Australia’s Murray Darling region. Sagrantino and Nero d’Avola lead the blend, with raspberry, cherry, and plum rounded out by cola, licorice, and pepper. It’s medium-bodied and supple, with lively acidity and fine, sandy tannins that give it a little grip.

The wine takes its name from the vineyard’s mother vines, which supply planting material for growers across Australia. Fermented with native yeasts and aged for eight months in stainless steel, the 2022 keeps its fruit and spice up front. Pour it slightly cool alongside sausage and fennel pasta, crumbed lamb cutlets, mushroom pizza, or a plate of salami and cheese.

About the Winery

Chalmers is one of the great “future of wine” stories in Australia, though the family has been quietly building that future for decades. Bruce and Jenni Chalmers began as growers before developing one of Australia’s most important grapevine nursery operations, eventually helping introduce a wave of Italian varieties that are now reshaping what Australian wine can look and taste like.

Today, the family operation includes Bruce and Jenni’s daughters, Kim and Tennille, along with Kim’s husband, winemaker Bart van Olphen. Together, they work across two key Victorian sites: Merbein, in the Murray Darling, where the nursery, winery, and mother vine material are based, and Heathcote, where many of the estate wines are grown. The big idea is simple but ambitious: match the right grape to the right climate, farm thoughtfully, and let these varieties show what they can do in Australian soil.

Chalmers has played a major role in championing Italian grapes that thrive in warm, dry conditions—varieties like Nero d’Avola, Aglianico, Sagrantino, Vermentino, Fiano, Pecorino, Ribolla Gialla, and plenty more that make wine nerds start gesturing wildly at dinner. These grapes aren’t just novelties. Many are naturally well-suited to drought pressure, heat, and the realities of a changing climate, which makes Chalmers’ work feel both delicious and practical.

The Montevecchio range is the family’s more relaxed, everyday-drinking side: fresh, approachable wines inspired by the simple table wines of Italy. The name means “old mountain,” a nod to the ancient Cambrian origins of Heathcote’s famous red soils. Montevecchio Rosso captures the whole Chalmers project in one glass: Italian grapes, Australian dirt, gentle winemaking, and a strong belief that “easy to drink” should never mean “forgettable.”