Punt Road
About Punt Road
Tim Shand heads a dynamic, progressive young winemaking team at this James Halliday five star-rated winery. Punt Road is a standard-bearer for wines of character, drinkability and a clear, proud Yarra Valley stamp. It has history on its side and cards stacked in its favour for a very bright future. The property was founded on site of the St. Huberts Vineyard planted in the 1860s by Paul and Hubert de Castella – some of the first vines in the Yarra Valley and one of the cornerstones of Australian fine-wine tradition. Punt Road owners the Napoleone family took advantage of a tremendous head start when they planted vineyards here in the 1980s. All these years later, Tim and the team bring restless perfectionism to this intimately understood site and its mature vines. The Punt Road wines have never been better.
About Jarrod Johnson
Jarrod took over winemaking responsibilities at Punt Road in 2022 and it’s an incredibly exciting next stage of evolution for both Punt Road and this charming and affable Yarra Local.
Having completed a bachelor’s degree in Agriculture and Technology, majoring in Winemaking and Viticulture from Latrobe University and Melbourne Polytechnic, Jarrod spent several years at Domaine Chandon learning the ropes, predominantly focused on making serious sparkling wine whilst being mentored by a phenomenal team of legendary Yarra winemakers. It was at Chandon that Jarrod learned the more ‘technical’ side of the winegrowing business before his talent and skills saw him lured away and onto a successful and fruitful stint at the Yarra icon that is Seville Estate. Working side by side with Dylan McMahon, together they made some incredible wines for the next 5 vintages.
Spending a significant time in the vines was an inspiring time for Jarrod, further cementing his belief that all great wines are made in the vineyard. The time at Seville Estate helped him to not only refine his palate and winegrowing skills, but also laid the foundations for the next stage of his winegrowing journey that has seen him land the exciting role at Punt Road and we can’t wait to see him continue the quality driven path that the Punt Road team have forged over the last few decades of dedication to their patch of dirt up in the Yarra.