You see, the town is actually pronounced Seh-vull, named after the daughter of a long-forgotten Mayor who was taken early in somewhat tragic circumstances.
Seville Estate was a part of the Yarra Valley’s early renaissance. Despite the establishment as Victoria’s first recognised wine region, the combined challenges of phylloxera, along with general economic decline, saw to its decline by the 30s. Roll forward some 30 years to the early 60s when Wantirna was founded.
And so it was in 1972 that Dr Peter MacMahon and wife Margaret established the first plantings for Seville Estate, and it was the establishment of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir plantings, somewhat pioneering back in the day, that have ushered in the varieties that the region is now known for.
The MacMahon’s hung around until retirement in 1997, selling to the Hunter Valley’s Brokenwood who subsequently offloaded to the Van der Meulen family some 8 years later. And whilst the core Yarra varieties have remained a constant presence at Seville Estate, so ownership changes have been a constant, with the Van der Meulen’s selling up to Chinese investors in 2016.
Like many things in wine, it is also somewhat a case of back to the future for Seville Estate, for Dylan MacMahon - grandson of the estate’s founders - has been winemaker there since the Brokenwood days and continues to raise the bar for this South-Central Yarra icon.
Wine Reviews
Blanc de Blanc 2014
Aggressive, minerally, quite coarse. Zero dosage. Grapefruit/ citrus acidity does flow, but it lacks finesse 89
Estate Chard 2016
Peach and Melon with a little cashew, familiar and present throughout. Fresh and clean, a little of that cashew creaminess and spice. Long and dry. 92
Reserve Chardonnay 2015
White peach, delicate citrus; delightful minerally acid, vital. Zesty. 94
Estate Riesling 2014
Riesling was present on the property until the mid-90s when it was grubbed out. A block was grafted back in 2006. Barrel fermented - giving that textural mid-palate richness. Florals, a little kaffir, good length. 91
Rosé 2016
Shiraz, Cab, Merlot: strawberry aromatics. Palate shifts more to savoury and spice. Good length. 92
Estate Pinot Noir 2015
25% bunch, 30% new oak for 8m. 1996 plantings. Bramble red fruit, savoury, great tannin and acid. 93
Old Vine Shiraz 2013
Brambly fruit, underlying black fruit, concentrated. Less savoury, but that shifts more to savoury nuances, peppery spice in the palate. Soft, gossamer body, grains tannin. Subtly mintiness perhaps 94
Old Vine Cabernet 2015
Leafy, tobacco, green olive; structured, medium, well trained tannin.
Tasted on: Sunday 26th March, a Flower day
Residual oak, dark, creosote, rum 'n' raisin. Thick, sludgy, almost tarry; the oak - even at five years is very obvious. 
Recommended to be served over ice. 
If this wine an episode of Friends, it would be billed as somethign akin to: "The one that's impossible to resist". A single barrel 'reserve' Mataro, admittedly $65 is a big ask for a relatively new label. Still the wine holds up to it.
Essentially a barrel selection: from 3 standout barrels that were kept aside from that which went into the Grenache/Mataro blend.
"So why's it called Seville?" I asked of CEO Grahame Van der Meulen, "it looks nothing like the brown, dusty plains of Spain". 
Billed as a BdN but pours a very distinct blush, more Rosé like - that intent flows through the wine, a very fruitsome individual all about strawberry and cherry.
Jammy, pretty high octane (admittedly at the wrong temp initially); correctly served: medium bodied, lighter in approach, possibly too much so. No shortage of fruit driven flavour, if not as driven. 90 
From vines planted in 1971. Two years in oak (25% American, 25% Hungarian, the balance being French) shows on this wine. Less Pyrenees, more rich, sweeter, hedonistic if you like. 
The herbal Sauvignon Blanc clearly leads here, it comes across as unequivocally Margaret River in its presentation. Tinges of citrus, faint passionfruit, like a neighbourhood pet marking its territory.
Beurre Bosc pear over creamy slithered almond and faint spiced hints.
Carries the dried grass/straw, citrus of the constituent varieties, 67% and 33% respectively. 
Very pronounced citrus here: lemon, lime, lemon butter. There's even something a touch more tropical: suggestive of pineapple juice
Real burst of mixed berry goodness. A little oak, pepppery spice. Nothing's dominating, or jockeying for prime position. Balanced. 
Black fruit, fudge, licorice and spice. Fairly non-descript; medium - and perhaps veering to full - a touch of earth in the middle. 
Has an old school feel to it: less of the funk and more of the oaky hunk. There's citrus, stone fruit and more oak present on the palate via spice and cedar. 
A little right bank blend thing going on here (Merlot, Cab Sauv, Petit Verdot) that sings of its constituent parts: plum, leaf, tobacco hints 
Ripe blackcurant sits proudly on the nose of this one. A little violet floral.
Stone fruit, more peach than anything, nicely spiced with woody hints - celeriac, fennel perhaps. 
It really is a textural wine, 2 years on gross lees might do that. Spice - cinnamon, a little ginger - zest, and cleansing acidity that cut nicely through the dairy of the Risotto that I paired this with. 
Lychee, citrus, barley, faint pineapple juice, black currant leaf.
I do like a little off-dry Riesling, something with just a little retained sugar (here 10g residual), just works wonders at cutting through some devilish spice.
Blend of Viognier (58%) and Viognier (42%). Carries an interesting herbal edge on opening, kinda like a cold Jasmine tea perhaps. Requisite florals, a little apricot nectar.
Unmistakably Sauvignon Blanc, yet with more twists and turns than a Riviera hairpin. Your senses are greeted with preserved citrus, lime brûlée, stonefruit.
Greets you with a grilled nut, meaty vibe that sits over a little red fruit. 
Choc-fudge, berry fruit, smidge of oak. A fine Footbolt, regional and varietal in composition. 
Floral, honeyed, snow pea and a little sea spray overlaid. 
Somewhat generic in its aromatic profile: plummy, damson. You get the drill.
Ripe, red, berry fruit - cranberry primarily. Hints of wild strawberry. 
Alcohol dialled back a notch in this ’14 (14.7% compared to the 16.2% of 2013). It shows. Not such a bombastic, powerhouse comparative to its prior year stablemate. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still rich and carrying that potent line of plum in the glass.
Malbec from Langhorne Creek and those wily Willson sisters, Rebecca and Lucy.
Long history of winemaking down at Robert Stein, marking 40 years. This superb Reserve Riesling comes off vines just shy of that milestone. Marvellous vinous heritage.
Lemon, bath salts, lemongrass perhaps.
A little dried grass, peach skin.
