Terra Mãe, Our Love Letter to Rutherglen
What Is Terra Mãe?
Terra Mãe means motherland in Portuguese and it's the perfect name for a wine built entirely around the place that shapes it. Made from the Portuguese varieties that have called Stanton & Killeen home for decades, including Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz and Souzão, Terra Mãe is our tribute to Rutherglen itself: expressive, grounded and full of personality, vintage after vintage.
These are the same varieties sixth-generation winemaker Chris Killeen began planting in the 1990s, drawn to the drier, more savoury style of wine they could produce. He used them only in his fortifieds during his lifetime. Terra Mãe, developed by his daughter, and Stanton & Killeen General Manager, Natasha Killeen, gives those same vines another way to speak, this time as a modern, food friendly table red that changes character with every season.
A Label Designed to Change With the Weather
Most wine labels stay the same year after year. Terra Mãe was built to do the opposite.
Working with designer Claudia at Cloudy & Co., Natasha developed a label concept inspired by climate stripes, the visualisation used by climate scientists to show how conditions shift over time through bands of colour. Each Terra Mãe label draws its palette directly from that year's actual growing season in Rutherglen, so no two vintages ever look quite the same. Long shadows from a setting sun move across the label, the Stanton & Killeen winery roofline is traced in gold foil, and Portuguese tile patterns nod to the heritage of the varieties inside the bottle.
The result is a label that functions almost like a diary. Line up a run of vintages side by side and you're looking at a visual record of the seasons that shaped them, warmer years, cooler years, and everything in between.
Do You Have These Vintages in Your Collection?
Since its first release in 2021, Terra Mãe has grown into a genuine collector's wine, and looking back through the range is a little like flicking through a weather diary of Rutherglen. Here's what each vintage was telling us, and what's in the glass to match.
2021: The One That Started It All
The debut vintage arrived after a gentle, milder season, cooler and wetter than a typical Rutherglen year. The label reflects exactly that: lush green growth, the gold of surrounding wheat and canola crops, and the terracotta of our rich, productive soils.
Tasting Notes: Aged in oak for six months before bottling, this is a light to medium bodied wine made to enjoy young and fresh, though it will continue to develop and integrate in the bottle for up to five years. Rich fruit of cherry and plum melds with soft spice and elegant tannins. Enjoy with grilled foods or a fragrant paella.
2022: The Cool, Quiet Season
2022 was a La Niña year, cool and damp at flowering, with a large rain event late in January ahead of a harvest that came in at relatively cool temperatures. It was a lower-yielding vintage, but one that rewarded patience with quality over quantity.
Tasting Notes: This lively blend of Tinta Roriz, Tinto Cão and Tinta Barroca bursts with vibrant red berries and rich black plum, balanced by fine, delicate tannins for a smooth, lingering finish. Aged for 12 months in large format French oak, it's fresh, fun and perfect to enjoy young.
2023: Grown Through the Storms
This is the vintage that tells the most dramatic story. Well-publicised flooding through the Murray River system cut off access to parts of the Rutherglen vineyards for weeks, some of it completely underwater. A long, cool spring with abundant rainfall pushed harvest three to four weeks later than usual, but that slow ripening paid off with excellent colour and flavour development. It's a wine grown through genuine adversity.
Tasting Notes: Lifted and fragrant, the nose opens with lavender, rose petals and a gentle hint of dried herbs. The palate is bright and expressive, layered with wild berries, red currants and ripe plum. Medium bodied and beautifully balanced, it carries fine, velvety tannins and lively acidity through to a long, graceful finish. Perfect with tapas, grilled meats and anything tomato based.
Introducing the 2024 Vintage
The 2024 Terra Mãe is bolder and more brooding than the vintage before it, a deeper and more generous expression of the land.
Tasting Notes: Deep ruby with a vivid purple rim, the nose draws you in with dark red fruits and enticing notes of baking spice. The palate is medium to full bodied with a richly savoury and spicy character that sets this vintage apart. Fine, supple tannins meld seamlessly with a bright acidity, lending length and structure through to a long, satisfying finish. This is a wine built for the table. Try it alongside slow roasted meats, hearty pasta dishes, or aged hard cheeses.
Winemaking Notes: The 2024 Terra Mãe was matured for 12 months in large format French oak, adding subtle structure while allowing the fruit to speak for itself. Made to reflect the personality of each growing season, it leans into depth, spice and dark fruit generosity. Every release of Terra Mãe celebrates our connection to the land and the evolving label that gives each vintage its own character.
2024 Terra Mãe 750ml | 14% alc/vol
Start or Add to Your Collection
Whether you're discovering Terra Mãe for the first time with the 2024 release or adding it to a run of vintages already lined up in your cellar, this is a wine that rewards both drinking now and watching the label story unfold over the years to come.
