The Rare Shelf: Four Thousand Bottles Below the Podium
Behind museum glass at a constant 12°C, the Lodge's vault holds a Grange vertical reaching back decades — and a tasting room where the sommelier opens what most cellars only list.
Most hotel cellars are a list. Ours is a room — glass-walled, climate-held at 12°C and 70% humidity, and arranged less like storage than like a library: eighteen regions, four thousand bottles, and one shelf the sommeliers call 'the argument'.
How the Vault Was Built
The collection began with a conviction: that Australian wine deserved the same archival seriousness the old world takes for granted. The Grange vertical is the spine — consecutive vintages reaching back decades — but the vault's depth is in the Barossa single-vineyard shiraz, the Margaret River chardonnays and the rieslings held against the day they peak.
The old world is present as counterpoint, not centrepiece: first-growth Bordeaux, grand cru Burgundy and a Mosel riesling shelf that has converted more shiraz loyalists than any argument could.
A cellar is a promise made to the future — every bottle here was bought to be opened.
Aurelia Fontaine, head sommelier
The Tasting Room
Eight seats, glass walls, the cellar as the décor. Flights run six pours across ninety minutes — the Australian Icons, the Old World Counterpoint, or the Rare Shelf session drawn from bottles that never reach the restaurant lists. The lineup reads the table's palate; the kitchen sends cheeses cut to match.
Five bottles that explain the vault
- Penfolds Grange — the vertical that anchors the collection.
- Henschke Hill of Grace — the single-vineyard argument.
- A first-growth Bordeaux in a drinking window, chosen annually.
- Mosel riesling at fifteen years — the vault's quiet convert.
- Margaret River chardonnay — the counter to every prejudice.
Buying from the Cellar
Bottles tasted may be taken home, shipped interstate, or held in a private locker — members of the Black Tier keep their own rows, so a cellar in Barangaroo becomes a cellar that follows you between stays.
How to Taste Like the Vault Intends
Arrive with a region or a question rather than a request — 'show me why Margaret River' produces better flights than 'the usual'. Ninety minutes is the design; two hours is the reality. The vault room books out on weekends a fortnight ahead.
Vault notes
- Ask for the Rare Shelf — it is not listed, only offered.
- Sessions run 90 minutes; book the post-tasting dinner late.
- Lockers hold purchases at cellar conditions between stays.
Frequently Asked
The cellar is visible through its glass walls from the podium level; the tasting room itself seats eight and books ahead — walk-ins are welcomed when the room is free.
The Rare Shelf session draws from bottles not on the restaurant lists — opened for the flight, shared across the table, and the reason the room exists.
Private lockers hold members' bottles at cellar conditions; purchases from tastings may also be held until your next visit or shipped interstate.
Related from the Journal
Book a Vault Session
Name your date and your curiosity — the sommelier team will build the flight around it.