The Lyndoch vineyard. Image courtesy Seppeltsfield.

Australian Vintage has let go of another vineyard amidst its financial struggles, this time offloading a 230-acre Barossa Valley vineyard to Seppeltsfield. This comes after Australian Vintage provided an update yesterday on the cessation of its lease of Belvino’s Balranald vineyard, noting that Belvino had secured a buyer for the property.

The news also coincides with the resignation of Australian Vintage’s chairman Richard Davis, which is effective today. In early June, Davis announced his intent to retire once the company had conducted its equity raising.

Acting chief executive officer for Australian Vintage, Peter Perrin, thanked Davis for his over 15 years of “dedication and service” to the company. “He has made an invaluable contribution and will be missed,” said Perrin in an announcement released to the ASX this morning.

According to The Australian Financial Review, shares in Australian Vintage Limited (trading as AVG) have dropped more than 55% since the beginning of the year.

Seppeltsfield said its “strategic” purchase of the Lyndoch vineyard was specifically to feed the newly created demand for luxury Australian wine to China.

“The AVL Lyndoch vineyard acquisition is a strong addition to our already dominant position in the Barossa Valley landscape,” said Seppeltsfield executive chairman and proprietor, Warren Randall.

“China’s demand for luxury Australian wines prior to the tariffs was very strong and the Lyndoch Barossa Valley vineyard acquisition offered Seppeltsfield an opportunity to fortify our supply volumes of luxury wines for a thirsty market.”

The Lyndoch vineyard was previously part of the original Chateau Yaldara property, and is planted to mature Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mataro and Grenache. The entire crop will be crushed through the winery at Seppeltsfield in 2025.

“Our vineyard holdings in the Barossa Valley now exceed 4,000 acres, growing 10,000 tonnes, producing nearly 10 million bottles of luxury Barossa Valley wine every year,” said Randall.

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