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| The marvelous S1 block is a sheltered, relatively warm site within the splendid vistas of Seaview Vineyard, on a north facing plateau at 160m above sea level, refreshed by maritime winds that blow in from the Cludy Bay coast. Fruit is crushed and destemmed, chilled and gently pressed, the clearest juices are racked off for a long, cool ferment to capture the full opulence of S1 vineyard grapes on the vine. Yealands Estate» |
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| After twenty years of the most distinguished winemaking, having amassed over sixty trophies and three hundred gold, including a Jimmy Watson and twice International Red Wine Maker of Year, David O'Leary and Nick Walker came home to Valley Clare. Two heart surgeons from Adelaide own the Doctors Vineyard at Polish Hill River. OLeary Walker» |
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| John Glaetzer is the winemaker behind Australia's most legendary sequence of Jimmy Watson Trophy winning vintages. Langhorne Creek is a place of spectacular editions Cabernet Sauvignon, powerfully structured, beautifully aromatic wines of edifying regional eloquence, gorgeous dark fruit flavours and lusciously gummy tannins. Gipsie Jack» |
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| There's a single block of Montepulciano along Bird In Hand Road at Woodside in the northern Adelaide Hills, a warmer site with rocky, well drained soils, perfectly suited for Italians. The seaside influence of Gulf of St. Bird In Hand» |
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| Serafino Maglieri came to McLaren Vale in 1968 and devoted his life to wine. From picking to pruning to cellarhand, he worked his way up to plant his own vines and build his first winery. Serafino» |
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| Amherst is a town rich with colourful history and local folklore, site of the first official gold find in 1851, it launched a mining rush which expanded throughout central Victoria. The district's long association with viticulture is also prolific and colourful. Amherst» |
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| Enthused by a consuming desire to make great wine, Andrew Nugent honed his craft as viticulturalist and winemaker amongst the vines of McLaren Vale before returning to the Adelaide Hills, where he established his very own wineworks at Woodside. Hand crafted from fruit grown to mineral rich soils above the historic Bird in Hand gold mine, a pure Pinot Noir with superb effervescence, dominated by red berry characters, adorned by a lift of stonefruits and floral.. Bird In Hand» |
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| Of particular importance to Shadowfax are the very close relationships with a select group of growers who provide harvests of the most intensely flavoured fruit. A prolific trophy winner, Shadowfax are a refreshing new wave, vigorously fruit driven, livelier than her Victorian siblings, characterised by slatey, flavoursome acidity, a touch of lees complexity and judicious dryness. Shadowfax» |
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| The top cut, off a mere four hectares Pinot Noir, eighteen different rootstock and clone, all picked by hand and separately fermented. Parcels are treated to minimalist vinification and the extravagance of a Vaslin Bucher basket press, followed by a year in the finest French oak barriques and three years cellaring before release. Pressing Matters» |
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| The High Trellis paddock has been yielding the most splendid vintages of wine since the late 19th century, so nicknamed as the vines were the first to be trained above knee height following acquisition of the property by dArenberg. For decades, High Trellis Cabernet Sauvignon has been released to unanimous critical acclaim by the wine industry press and international cognoscente. dArenberg» |
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| Stella Bella have won resounding critical acclaim and a reputation for producing artisanly crafted Margaret River wines of great expression, personality and quality. Stella Bella have established an almost peerless reputation after receiving numerous accolades at significant competitions, including coveted Gold and Mission Hill Trophy at the London International, the only southern hemisphere Chardonnay to win such a prestigious award.. Stella Bella» |
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| Daniel James Wilson would write DJW rules on school book covers, desks, garden edgings and wet concrete whenever the opportunity arose. In 1997 DJW established a small 5½ acre plot of Riesling in the highest and most fertile corner of the family property. Wilson Vineyard» |
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Rockburn
About Rockburn - the Winery
Rockburn
Rockburn is situated in the world’s most southerly grape growing region, producing Central Otago wines of intense varietal character
Central Otago's wine industry symbolizes success and its continental climate rivals Europe's best. The region has a long viticultural tradition. French migrant Jean Desire Feraud, who pioneered grape growing and wine production over 100 years ago, left a strong legacy. Today more than 1,000 hectares of grapes flourish in unique growing conditions. The skills of talented winemakers produce quality boutique wines to compete with the country's finest. At 45º south, Central Otago has a climate similar to Burgundy. It enjoys a semi continental climate and experiences greater daily and seasonal extremes of temperature unknown elsewhere in New Zealand. The area’s unique soil types have a marked influence on vine growth, the flavours of the grapes and ultimately the wine.
Rockburn takes its name from the rugged, rock strewn, burn scarred landscape of Central Otago. The region is renowned for its stunning scenery of rugged mountains and picturesque lakes. Rockburn's vineyards are bounded on the west by mountains on whose seaward slopes are rain forests, which receive 5000mm of rain a year. To the east is a barren, moon-Iike landscape that receives less than 25mm of rain a year. Situated between these extremes is Rockburn, produce not only Pinot Noir of stunning quality (gold medals at New Zealand Wine Society Royal Easter Wine Show, Bragato Awards, Air New Zealand, and Winestate Wine of the Year) but also medal winning Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Gewurztraminer.
All Rockburn wines exhibit strong varietal characteristics, highlighted in the white varieties by crisp acids, which are typical of the region. It has also become apparent that like Burgundy there are distinct appellations within Central Otago. One has only to taste a Gibbston Valley Pinot Noir to experience its perfumed nose, typically violets and earthy, forest floor sensations on the palate.
Compare the effusiveness of Gibbston with a Lowburn/ Bannockburn Pinot Noir, exhibiting darker colour and fuller, sweeter fruit. Hand picked grapes from the Parkburn and Gibbston Valley Back Road Vineyards reflect Rockburn’s unique terroir. For this reason, to fully exploit the potential of the region, it is a distinct advantage to have vineyards in different appellations. The finished wines fully express the complex subtleties in New Zealand's one true continental climate.
Nevertheless, the evoving wines are encouraged to enjoy themselves. The ferments enjoy listening to loud rock music during vintage, yeasts are having the most debauched party of their lives, but in later months they are played classical strains to ease them into their mature years in the bottle. Knowing this may inspire you to visit Cromwell during vintage!
The philosophy at Rockburn is to treat the fruit and wine as gently as possible, with minimum interference and maximum ease of use, vintage workers commonly only have one hand available as the other is usually holding a beer or coffee. To this end, the destemmer is uniquely mounted above the Pinot Noir fermenters. The fruit travels up to it on a slow conveyor, allowing sorting and removal of any sub-standard fruit, leaves or earwigs, to be destemmed directly into the fermenter, minimizing damage to the whole berries and thereby retaining the delicate fruit aromas and flavours that typify great Central Otago Pinot Noir. The removed stems are collected behind the fermenter and returned to the vineyard compost pit, eventually to further enhance the organic life of our soils.
White varieties are all gently whole bunch pressed, 3 tonne at a time, reducing extraction of bitter phenolics and retaining delicate aromatics. The white juice of each variety is pumped into one or two fermentation tanks, which are all of different volumes to allow for the different tonnages of each variety. The pressed bunches are then returned to the compost pit, as are the Pinot Noir skins which are pressed once they have imparted enough colour, tannin and flavour. All fermentation tanks and the two barrel cellars, red and white, are fully temperature controlled and carefully humidified as well. Pinot Noir lives in barrel for 10 months, going through malo-lactic as it naturally warms in the spring, and is brought out and bottled shortly before (or during!) the ensuing vintage.
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