New Releases

We have a number of new vintage releases and these are now available for tasting and purchase from our Cellar Door. Robin Day our wine maker has written some background notes about each new release and these are included below.

2008 Riesling
Although 2008 is widely remembered as a vintage which included a formidable heatwave. Its impact was limited in the cooler climate of Mt Crawford. Adelaide experienced 15 consecutive days over 35 degrees in early March, but our vineyard only experienced five days over 35 in this period. The ripening period for the Riesling was after the peak of the heatwave in much more moderate conditions.
Our 2008 Riesling does have slightly lower acidity than most years, but it shows the hallmark fruit intensity we have come to expect. In part, we attribute this to the German clone 198, which now contributes about half of the production. It is likely that thirty-five years of experience in making fine Riesling has also made some contribution.

2005 Reds
Across all red varieties the 2005 vintage produced wines with excellent concentrated fruit flavour, largely as a result of an extended mild autumn, which was a classical “Indian summer.”

2005 Pinot Noir
This is our first vintage of Pinot Noir to include the highly regarded 777 clones. We find that it adds an extra dimension of varietal flavour, which helps to flesh out the complex aromatics of the other clones we use. This is certainly a serious pinot noir.

2005 Lagrein
This wine shows the biggest, richest berry flavours we have yet experienced in Lagrein. This wine now has an attractive spicy complexity, with a flavor note derived from wood ageing which we describe as “briary” in deference to its aromatic wood aroma. It is fuller in body than previous vintages but still has the characteristic softness of the variety.

2005 Sangiovese
A slightly smaller crop due to the proprietors mean-ness when it came to crop thinning has resulted in a wine with excellent fruit intensity. The mild autumn helped the sweet fruit intensity on the palate and the slightly lower acidity compared to earlier vintages has left a more generous lingering flavour on the finish.
We rate this as our best Sangiovese yet, but we are excited about seeing what can be done when we have really mature vines.

2005 Saperavi
We had excellent ripening conditions to take Saperavi through to full maturity, with the resulting wine showing bigger flavour than previous vintages. We have used just on 2 % added Viognier to give the nose a little fruit lift and add a dimension of sweeter fruit to its otherwise savoury palate. Although we have again spared consumers from alcohol anaethesia, this is truly a red drinkers red wine.