When you're around Campbell Burton it’s hard not to get caught up in his enthusiasm and general joie de vivre. He’s a dynamo, wordsmith, epic communicator, wine wizard and generally just the best guy on earth to share a glass with. He honed his craft as a sommelier in Melbourne and notably through his ground-breaking work at fine diner Moon Under Water at The Builder’s Arms Hotel, but his influence goes way beyond this annotation. Of course, he’s co-founder and co-director of the hugely important 'Soulfur' wine festival too. Around all this, his portfolio of imported wines is one of the most significant in Australia – it's a tome that emphatically celebrates great, artisan grower-producers whose work is completely aligned with the zero-zero philosophy (nothing added/nothing taken away in cellar or vineyard which means things like total organic farming and no added sulphur, etc… etc.). And, he is such a good fella. And, oh, that laugh! It's bloody contagious.
The Campbell pack is a striking and eclectic, high quality and rare-breed collection of cult wines (and an incredible farmhouse cider!). Fuente Guijarro’s balistically refreshing apple cider is followed by a macabeo/parellada of textural excitement from pint-sized producer Jordi Llorens. Then we come to a local beauty in the form of Manon Farm's piercingly fresh Forest White, a white blend that celebrates the extraordinary farming of Tim Webber and Monique Millton in the pastoral hamlet of Forest Range, Adelaide Hills. Next in line comes the almost Pop Art take on orange wine found in Bodega Cueva’s skin fermented, bouncy, crunchy macabeo/tardana blend which sits alongside Simon Busser's juicy, bright malbec. A wonderful expression of gamay rounds out the pack in the form of the lithe and succulent Vagabond from Benoit Camus. This is such a wicked good pack and such a good way of celebrating and supporting the brilliant human that is Campbell.
