Three Cask Special Release Australian Single Malt Whisky
This month, Barrel Lane brings you an exclusive taste from Cut Hill Wall Distillery. Produced at a converted winery in the Fleurieu Peninsula’s Hindmarsh Valley, this South Australian single malt is built around the rare influence of local mead casks, supported by carefully selected oak bringing balance, richness and depth. Development took months of blind tastings and trials, as the team meticulously worked through different cask ratios to create the perfect marriage.
ABOUT THE DISTILLERY
Every distillery has an origin story, but few begin with a question as simple as, “Why not?”. For Giuliano Ursini, the answer arrived during a memorable trip to Tasmania, where Australia’s modern whisky renaissance was taking shape. There, he visited the formidable Bill Lark (the doyen of the Australian whisky industry) who invited him to join a gathering of The Gillies Club, believed to be the oldest private malt whisky appreciation club in the world. Between long tastings, fireside conversation, fly fishing for trout, and evenings at Dark Mofo on Hobart’s waterfront, Giuliano immersed himself in a tight-knit whisky community built not on trends or quick success, but around the patient pursuit of excellence; a lesson he would carry back to South Australia.
If Australia’s whisky industry was still young, then here was an opportunity to help shape its future rather than simply participate in it. That ambition took form in 2021, when Giuliano established Cut Hill Wall Distillery. Its name reaches back to 1868, when a nearby hill was cut and a dry-stone wall built by hand in the traditional English style to carve out a safer route towards the Great Southern Ocean. More than 150 years later, the wall remains – an enduring example of patient craftsmanship and the perfect foundation for a vision that spans not decades, but centuries. “I am in this for 200 years,” Giuliano says.
“Australia’s whisky industry was still young; there was an opportunity to help shape its future rather than simply participate in it.”
That philosophy extends far beyond the name on the label. Nestled in Hindmarsh Valley, where warm summers, cool winters and fresh sea air from the Southern Ocean create ideal maturation conditions, every element of production is approached with patience and purpose. South Australian barley, carefully selected casks and an unwavering commitment to continual refinement all reflect the same mindset – one of craftsmanship over convenience. It is an approach that values steady progress, thoughtful experimentation and the belief that every decision made today contributes to the legacy being built for tomorrow.
ABOUT THE TEAM
Turning an ambitious vision into a working distillery takes more than one person’s passion. At Cut Hill Wall, complementary skills and shared curiosity have shaped one of South Australia’s most exciting young whisky producers.
Originally from the Dolomite Mountains in northern Italy, Giuliano came to whisky by way of architecture and entrepreneurship. After migrating to Australia and building a successful career, he purchased the former winery that would become Cut Hill Wall. Family connections and years spent exploring Australia’s emerging distilling scene drew him deeper into whisky. “Whisky is liquid architecture,” Giuliano says, and his architectural background shaped a distillery carefully planned, thoughtfully designed and built to endure.
Joining Giuliano in the distillery’s early days was Michael Griffiths, whose decades of experience in business and hospitality helped establish the foundations for sustainable growth. Under his guidance, Cut Hill Wall has expanded from its first barrels to a maturing warehouse of more than 450 whisky casks, alongside a growing portfolio of spirits now enjoyed across Australia and overseas.
Leading production is Head Distiller Brad Rehn, whose journey to Cut Hill Wall started in the Barossa wine industry before taking him to Tasmania’s renowned Hellyers Road Distillery. There, he progressed to Lead Distiller, helping craft award-winning Australian single malts and refining the technical expertise he now brings back to his home state. Since joining Cut Hill Wall, Brad has overseen production and product development while playing a central role in the distillery’s transition to steam-heated stills. For Brad, “great whisky is a result of tradition and innovation,” with every cask offering another opportunity to learn.
Perhaps the most unexpected journey belongs to Alex Farrow. While studying psychology, he was washing dishes at the neighbouring Lost Phoenix Farm restaurant before lending a hand with renovations at the distillery. Fascination quickly turned into vocation. Under Giuliano and Brad’s mentorship, and later completing formal distilling studies through the Institute of Brewers and Distillers, Alex has become an integral part of day-to-day production. His work spans Cut Hill Wall whiskies and Lost Phoenix Spirits – the distillery’s companion label for its broader range of gins, vodkas and other spirits. His story is a reminder that talent can be nurtured wherever it’s found.
ABOUT THIS RELEASE
For Cut Hill Wall, this exclusive bottling offered an opportunity to showcase a maturation style the team has spent years refining: South Australian single malt matured in ex-mead casks. Around 30 casks were assessed across three styles, with months spent trialling different proportions to place that distinctive mead character at the heart of a beautifully balanced whisky.
Mead – commonly known as honey wine – is made by fermenting honey with water and yeast. Once emptied, its casks retain traces of that character, bringing honeycomb sweetness, cinnamon and nutmeg to the spirit. Rarely encountered in Australian single malt, these South Australian mead barriques give the release its defining point of difference.
The supporting casks were selected to frame the mead influence rather than overpower it. Ex-bourbon oak contributes creamy vanilla and caramel, balancing its warming spice, while a parcel matured in 100-litre ex-red wine octaves builds body, structure and a savoury undertone.
“Honeycomb sweetness and delicate spice, framed by carefully selected oak.”
According to Brad, marrying the casks wasn’t about finding the boldest flavours, but the point at which each influence came into balance – creating something greater than the sum of its parts.
The winning combination is a layered sensory journey from start to finish. Vanilla and gentle oak lead on the nose before cinnamon, nutmeg and soft custard richness begin to emerge. On first sip, the palate is full-bodied and creamy, with a firm grip of tannin bringing contrast to the vanilla and warming spice. A comforting note of freshly baked Danish pastry rounds out the middle, before gentle oak and lingering baking spice carry through a long, smooth and buttery finish.
BEYOND THE BOTTLE
This month’s exclusive release offers an introduction to Cut Hill Wall’s approach to whisky, but it’s only one chapter in a much larger story. Across the distillery’s Hindmarsh Valley bond stores, an evolving collection of casks is quietly maturing as the team explores different grains, oak and maturation techniques. That curiosity takes a more playful turn under the Lost Phoenix Spirits label. Its Peated Pancetta Whisky – a smoky, savoury expression created through the cocktail technique of fat-washing – captures the team’s appetite for the weird and wonderful.
For those keen to get up close and personal, visitors to the distillery door can experience that philosophy firsthand. Housed within a beautifully restored winery, the venue sits just steps from the stills, offering a taste of the spirits where they’re made while overlooking the rolling Fleurieu countryside. It’s an intimate experience that reflects the distillery itself – welcoming, unpretentious and deeply connected to its surroundings.
For Giuliano and the team, every cask filled today is another piece of a much longer story, one measured in decades rather than years. It’s an ambitious outlook, but one that feels entirely genuine when you meet the people behind the stills. If this month’s exclusive whisky is any indication of what’s to come, Cut Hill Wall is laying foundations that Australian whisky lovers will be enjoying for many years to come. Cheers!
