St Agnes Distillery
About the distillery
St Agnes Distillery is located in Renmark in South Australia and is one of Australia’s oldest continuously operating craft distilleries. The house is especially famous for its long-aged brandy, but it also has whisky and gin in its portfolio. What’s special here is continuity: the distillery is still working with the original copper pot stills from 1910, and with a house style that has been carried forward through generations.
History
The story begins in 1910, when Carl Angove traveled to Renmark in South Australia to establish the region’s first winery and distillery. The plan was to use Riverlands table grapes to distill a clean spirit for the fortified wines that were popular at the time. In 1922, Harry Ronald “Ron” Haselgrove went to Montpellier Agricultural College and then on to Bordeaux and Cognac, where he learned the craft from some of the strongest names in the brandy world. When he returned home in 1925, he became part of St Agnes, and together with Carl Angove helped shape St Agnes Brandy through distillation, oak aging, and blending.
Since then, the house has been defined by unusual continuity. Over more than 100 years, only six master distillers have carried the house style forward, and the original H. Jennings copper pot stills from 1910 are still in use. In 2014, the distillery expanded with Blind Tiger Organic Gin, and in 2016 the first whisky spirit was laid down; it later became Camborne Single Malt Whisky. In 2025, St Agnes marked 100 Years of Distillation with releases such as St Agnes XXO 50 Year Old Exceptional Reserve and St Agnes XO 30 Year Old Centenary Reserve, as well as a range of single cask, cask strength, and limited releases.
Ingredients and production
St Agnes works within a classic pot still tradition, where the spirit is double-distilled in the historic copper kettles from 1910. It’s a distillery where patience is a guiding principle: the house itself talks about time as the decisive factor for both distillation and aging. For the brandy, the work starts with selected base wines, which are distilled and then aged in small oak casks. VS is described as aged for at least three years, while VSOP is aged for at least five years.
The whisky Camborne Single Malt Whisky was laid down for the first time in 2016 and matures in tawny, sherry, brandy, and premium red wine casks. This points to an aging practice where different previously filled casks are used to build complexity and depth over time. Overall, it’s a house where the products are shaped by slow development, double distillation, and a clear respect for casks and age rather than speed.
Aging and cask types
Aging is clearly tied to oak and very long timeframes. The brandy expressions rest in small oak casks, and the oldest versions lift the age significantly: XO 15, 20, 30, 40, and 50 Year Old show just how much the house style is built on patient aging. In whisky, tawny, sherry, brandy, and premium red wine casks are used—each of which provides the opportunity to build depth and imprint character into the spirit. Centenary Reserve 30 Year Old also includes single cask and cask strength expressions, underlining that the house works with both large, older blends and more concentrated single-cask solutions.
Whiskies
The portfolio is centered around St Agnes Brandy, from VS and VSOP to XO 15, 20, 30, 40, and 50 Year Old. In addition, there are rare single cask and cask strength bottlings, as well as the Ultimate XO Collection. The whisky segment is smaller, but clear, with Camborne Single Malt Whisky as the distillery’s whisky expression. Blind Tiger Organic Gin sits as a third pillar in the range. The overall character is luxury-driven, age-led, and clearly oriented toward long aging and special reserve releases.
| Whisky | Type / series | Age | Cask and style | Tasting profile | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camborne Single Malt Whisky | Single Malt Whisky | Tawny cask, Sherry cask, Brandy cask and Premium red wine cask | The distillery’s single malt whisky, laid down for the first time in 2016 and matured in tawny, sherry, brandy, and premium red wine casks. | Current; Core range; For sale | |
| St Agnes VS (Very Superior) | Brandy; St Agnes Brandy | Minimum 3 years | Small oak casks | Double distilled, pot still brandy from selected base wines aged in small oak casks for at least 3 years.; Nose: Smooth and elegant.; Palate: Classic Aged Australian Brandy. | Current; Core range; For sale |
| St Agnes VSOP | Brandy; St Agnes Brandy | Minimum 5 years | Small oak casks | Double distilled, pot still brandy aged for at least 5 years in small oak casks.; Nose: Rich Australian Aged Brandy.; Palate: Richness, elegance and depth of flavour. | Current; Core range; For sale |
| St Agnes XO 15 Year Old | Brandy; St Agnes Brandy | 15 Year Old | Australia’s oldest and most awarded craft distillery in South Australia.; Nose: Award winning Australian Luxury Brandy. | Current; Core range; For sale | |
| St Agnes XO Imperial 20 Year Old | Brandy; St Agnes Brandy | 20 Year Old | Minimum spirit age 20 year old. Oldest component distilled in 1970.; Nose: Rare luxury Australian Brandy.; Palate: Complex and pure. | Current; Core range; For sale | |
| St Agnes XO Centenary Reserve 30 Year Old | Brandy; St Agnes Brandy | 30 Year Old | Single cask and cask strength launches in connection with the centenary release.; Nose: St Agnes Single Cask 1993 Brandy – Rare Australian Collector’s Release. | Current; Core range; For sale | |
| St Agnes XO Grand Reserve 40 Year Old | Brandy; St Agnes Brandy | 40 Year Old | 40 Year Old minimum spirit age and a rare Australian spirit.; Nose: Ultra Aged Australian Prestige.; Palate: A spirit that shows its historic concentration and character. | Current; Core range; For sale | |
| St Agnes XXO Exceptional Reserve 50 Year Old | Brandy; St Agnes Brandy | 50 Year Old | 50 Year Old minimum spirit age and one of the greatest achievements in Australian winemaking and distilling.; Nose: Australia’s oldest craft spirit.; Palate: Rare Australian Spirit. | Current; Core range; For sale |
General tasting profile
St Agnes’ style ranges from smooth and elegant to rich, complex, and pure, with clear depth from long cask aging.
fruitiness is described as Concrete fruit notes are not documented in the material. oak is described as The cask provides depth, concentration, and character through very long aging.
Visit the distillery
The Renmark distillery is open daily for tastings and sales. Monday to Friday, opening hours are 10:00–17:00, and on Saturday, Sunday, and public holidays 11:00–16:00. Visitors can enter the historic barrel halls, experience over 100 years of distillery history, and take part in guided tastings. Brandy flights, whisky tastings, gin experiences, and full behind-the-scenes tours are also available, so the place functions as a true destination for both collectors and curious whisky lovers.
The stated opening hours are Monday–Friday 10:00–17:00; Saturday, Sunday, and public holidays 11:00–16:00.
Philosophy and craft
St Agnes builds its identity on time, patience, and continuity. The house highlights that great spirit takes time, and that it is through long aging and careful craftsmanship that character emerges. At the same time, emphasis is placed on authenticity, provenance, and uniqueness rather than global uniformity. The same house style has been stewarded by only six master distillers over more than a century, and that says a great deal about how the distillery understands its own craft.