2021 ROSE & BRAMBLE ROSÉ

Andrew made a great Rosé, Margan Shiraz Saignée, for about 20 vintages and then got bored with it so declared he wouldn’t make it anymore. Just as the Rose’ boom hit! Lisa decided to take over the project and with our winemaker Nicole Wilson and daughter Alessa Margan they re-worked the style, renamed the wine Rose & Bramble and designed a new label. Since we launched it in 2018 it has won medals, trophies and fans. Andrew is still part of the picture – he grows the grapes – and reluctantly acknowledges that he is also a fan of the new style.

GROWING SEASON

With much welcomed spring rain in 2020 we saw excellent canopy balance through all vineyards for our 2021 vintage. A mild summer allowed for excellent acid retention and a long ripening period resulting in elegant fruit character and seamless acid balance in white wines coming from 2021.

VINEYARD

This wine is mostly sourced from our Ceres Hill Vineyard (Merlot and Barbera) with these grapes grown on the parcels of red volcanic soils. We add a small volume of Pinot Grigio grown on our Saxonvale Vineyard on the Fordwich Sill which adds texture to the palate.

WINEMAKING

Our Rosé is made using a combination of varieties and winemaking techniques. A blend of Shiraz, Merlot and Barbera picked and pressed off skins immediately to achieve a faint salmon blush and encourage floral aromatics and elegant fruits. The Pinot Grigio component Is handpicked and fermented on skins to contribute texture to the palate.

TASTING NOTES

The wine has lifted berry aromas and a rose petal perfume with mulberry, strawberry, and pink grapefruit on the palate. The finish is dry and refreshing and the palate has lots of texture. An eclectic approach to winemaking has produced a dry wine packed with mouthfeel and fresh fruit.

WINE COMPOSITION

pH                                                                  3.25

Titratable Acidity                                       7.5 g/L

Alcohol                                                         12 %

Residual Sugar                                           < 2g/L

VINE AGE/CLONE

50 years / Busby

FOOD MATCH

Kangaroo steak tartare with quails’ egg and toasted brioche

CELLARING POTENTIAL

2-3 years

These two varieties are planted as a Field Blend on the Saxonvale Vineyard. The entire Hunter has Shiraz vines, but we are not sure who had the foresight to plant the Mourvèdre back in the late 1960’s. However, we now have this vineyard and are glad they did. The original plantings were trained as ‘bush vines’ and the variety mix is about 85% Shiraz and 15% Mourvèdre. We first released this wine in 2005 and it is a consistent favourite with a real cult following.

Growing Season

Low yielding, high quality, clean fruit at full ripeness was a hallmark of the excellent 2018 vintage. Mourvèdre is a late ripening variety making this field blend one of our last picks every year. In 2018 this vineyard was picked in the last week of February.

Vineyard

Planted as a field blend, the grapes were picked from a 3 hectare block on our Saxonvale vineyard. Mourvèdre thrives in a hot, dry climate and produces small bunches of intensely flavoured berries. The Mourvèdre ripens later than the Shiraz so we wait until it is ready and pick it all together. The Shiraz is very ripe at this stage, so the style of wine is bigger and has a higher potential alcohol than our other reds.

Winemaking

The grapes were picked and co-fermented under cool conditions using cultured aromatic yeast. The wine was then placed in new and old French oak barriques where it matured for 12 months prior to bottling. The intense tannins of the Mourvèdre help lift the spicy notes of the Shiraz.

Tasting Notes

Aromas of blackberry and black currants, followed by a palate of cocoa and rich forest fruits. Fine tannins and subtle oak frame the fruit providing a fuller style of Hunter Valley Shiraz with lifted aromatics from the Mourvèdre.

Wine Composition

pH                                                          3.48

Titratable Acidity                                7.1g/L

Alcohol                                                  14%

Residual Sugar                                     < 1g/L

Vine Age

60 years

Food Match

Slow cooked lamb shoulder, heirloom carrots, parsnip puree

Cellaring Potential

20 + years

Margan Barbera was the variety that established us as ‘pioneers of alternative varieties’. Andrew is a big fan of Italian varieties and we researched this grape to see if it would work here in the Hunter. Back in the late 1990’s the region mainly had the standard line up of iconic Hunters – Semillon, Shiraz and also Chardonnay- and we wanted to see what else would work. Barbera originates from the North West of Italy and we were the first to plant this red grape here in 1998. It’s a long story but the clone we have planted is an Italian original and produces wines of true varietal definition and Italian personality.

Growing Season

Small bunches and intensely flavoured fruit with bright aromatics were a characteristic of the 2019 vintage, resulting in beautifully ripe and healthy fruit that we handpicked early February. Fruit quality was exceptionally high.

Vineyard

Our Barbera vineyard was planted In 1998 with cuttings from an original Italian clone on our Ceres Hill vineyard, just behind the winery on a streak of red volcanic soil. The great thing about Barbera is that it holds its acidity while achieving full flavour (phenological) ripeness making It very suitable to growing In the changing climate.

Winemaking

We hand pick the grapes at optimal ripeness and ferment under cool conditions using cultured, aromatic yeast. The wine was placed in a mixture of small and large older French oak barriques (225 litres) and puncheons (500 litres) where it matured for 12 months prior to bottling.

Tasting Notes

The wine is vivid purple in its youth with lifted aromas of red fruits- strawberry, raspberry, cherry and red current. The palate reflects the nose but also has savoury bramble berry and fresh mulberry notes. Touches of spicy star anise add extra interest and the tannins are soft and silky. The bright acidity gives a long, refreshing finish.

Wine Composition

pH                                                          3.46

Titratable Acidity                                7.0g/L

Alcohol                                                  13.5%

Residual Sugar                                     <1g/L

Food Match

It is a great food wine as the acid cuts through richer red meats like lamb. It matches well with hard cheese and is lighter in body and alcohol than many red wines. 

Cellaring Potential

10-15yrs

2017 TIMBERVINES AGED RELEASE SHIRAZ
This range showcases the ageing potential of Hunter Valley Shiraz which is renowned for its unique style, elegance and capacity to age. We launched this range in 2003 as we really wanted our wine lovers to experience these wines with some extra age but know that sometimes patience runs out and the wines don’t make it until then. We decided to carefully mature these wines ourselves and then release them after five years ready to enjoy. Our aged release Shiraz is only made in limited quantities in exceptional years and is a true celebration of Hunter Valley terroir.

Growing Season

The 2017 Hunter vintage produced outstanding quality wines rivalling the renowned 2014 vintage. The hot dry ripening conditions provided us with clean, ripe flavoured fruit with firm tannins.

Vineyard

The grapes for this wine are carefully selected parcels of our heritage clone Shiraz from our Timbervines Vineyard, grown on the red volcanic soils of the Fordwich Sill. There are eight unique blocks, all grafted with different heritage clones on to 50yr old rootstocks, which we select the best performing blocks for each vintage.

Winemaking

The wine is a blend of the best press cuts from all our Timbervines Shiraz vineyards which is characterised by concentrated fruit intensity and higher tannins. These press cuts are pressed directly to new French oak barriques to go through secondary fermentation and continue maturation for 18 months. Tasting Notes

The wine is concentrated in colour, aroma and flavour. The nose is rich with blueberry, blackberry and tobacco, while the palate replicates this with additional cassis, blackberry and dark chocolate. The oak frames the fruit and adds tannin, spice and structure.  The finish is long and complex, this wine will continue to age.

Wine Composition

pH                                                    3.44

Titratable Acidity                             6.9g/L

Alcohol                                             14.0%

Residual Sugar                                  <1g/L

Food Match

Osso buco with paremesan polenta and gremolata

Cellaring Potential

20 years plus