AFTER being shut down in 2014 and up for sale since 2015, the historic Dalwood-Wyndham wine estate at Branxton may be on the cusp of a new lease of life as part of the Iris Capital group of Sydney hotelier and developer Sam Arnaout.
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The site of Australia’s oldest continuous winegrowing operation, the estate joins Iris Capital’s burgeoning Hunter wine industry acquisitions, that began in July 2016 with the 48-hectare Sweetwater estate in Sweetwater Rd, Rothbury, and followed up last November with the prestigious Hungerford Hill venture in Broke Rd, Pokolbin.
The Branxton Hunter River frontage site, once the venue for celebrity concerts, was sold by the French Pernod Ricard wine and spirits giant.
Iris Capital has so far been silent on its plans for the estate, with its beautiful old winery building, vineyard, tasting cellars, picnic grounds, restaurants and function rooms.
The property surrounds Dalwood House, the original 1828 National Trust-listed family home of George Wyndham, who - by virtue of his Branxton plantings - is credited with establishing Australia’s first commercial shiraz vineyard.
Pernod Ricard acquired the estate in 1990 as part of its $73 million takeover of Brian McGuigan’s Wyndham Estate company and its sale to Iris Capital late last December was negotiated by Jurd’s Real Estate of Cessnock.
Pernod Ricard Australia’s global communications manager Sarah Descher confirmed the sale and declined to disclose the price because it was “commercially sensitive”. It is, however, believed the purchase will boost by about $3 million the Arnaout group’s Hunter wine and tourism investments, with the Sweetwater sale price said to be near $12 million and Hungerford Hill having an asking price of $6 million. The 16-hectare Sweetwater vineyard’s grapes have produced a string of trophy- and gold medal-winning wines and the property has a lavish mansion with a seven-bedroom main residence.
The Hungerford Hill purchase from vendor James Kirby gave Iris the wine brand, 300-tonne crush capacity winery, vineyard, function rooms and leased Muse Restaurant.
Last November Iris Capital bought Newcastle CBD’s 1.66-hectare Hunter St Mall site, extending over two city blocks from the old David Jones building to the corner of Newcomen Street.
Earlier in August 2016 Iris purchased through Jurd’s Real Estate the Wyndham Ridge residential estate in Greta, formerly owned by Duncan Hardie, the originator of the Huntlee new town project and the vendor of Sweetwater Estate.