A warmer than average late summer and early autumn, punctuated by some short, sharp cold spells made harvest date predictions difficult. Crop levels were low, probably due to the cold, wet summer in 2011. We had our earliest start to vintage this year with our first pick on 28/3 and final pick on 24/4.
Good sugar levels were achieved in most varieties.
At last we have 3 barrels of Malbec to work with and the new wine is quite wondrous with near black colour, staining the glass with every swirl, a tremendous aroma of rose and violets and fine soft tannins not usually seen in our young reds. We also had some Malvasia this year to ferment with the Chardonnay and Viognier and it has given this blend an exotic aroma I hope to build on in the future. This wine will now also be called Romanesque . . so we will have a white and a red Romanesque.
Across the range of wines we have in barrel, this has been a successful, above average quality vintage.
We are very happy to announce that Steve Naughton of PinotNow ( www.pinotnow.com.au ) is now our distributor in Melbourne and look forward to working with him to progress recognition of our label in the market place.
We have recently returned from a holiday in Croatia and must report on the high quality of food and wine in this fortunate country. Wine enthusiasts should not miss ‘Vinistra’ in Porec in late Spring, a celebration of the fine wines of Istria with the local Malvasia Istria as centrepiece. It’s a great event to try great wine and smallgoods/local cheese all under one roof.
A recommended restaurant experience is the degustation menu at Restaurant Kastell at Hotel Bastion in Zadar with matching wines.
It’s quite a unique experience as there is no printed menu. Instead each menu is tailored to the likes/dislikes of the diner, drawing on fresh local produce and matched with Croatian wines. Local grape varieties on the Dalmatian coast such as white Posip and red Plavac Mali have the highest quality expression and will eventually have international recognition in the same way that the Austrian varietals Gruner Veltliner and Blaufrankisch.
‘Taste of the Tamar’ will be on in Hobart at the Long Gallery at Salamanca on 21 & 22/7, noon to 5pm . . A great opportunity to taste & buy award winning Tamar Valley wines and produce . . come & try them!
www.tasteofthetamar.com.au
We are taking part in ‘Tasmania Unbottled’ again this year, so come and see our range of wines in Sydney on Wed 25/7 at Dockside, Cockle Bay or at a tasting event at The Oak Barrel on Thurs 26/7; Melbourne on Tues 31/7 at Zinc, Federation Sqr or at a tasting event at Prince Wine Store on Sat 4/8; Brisbane on Thurs 2/8 at Emporium Hotel, Fortitude Valley. Follow the link for more information and to register.
www.winetasmania.com.au/events/tasmania-unbottled
