Good friend and wonderful Melbourne-based sommelier Jasmine Wakely is studying winemaking at Melbourne Polytechnic in Epping. In 2015 she made her first wine, a cool-climate syrah named Le Timbre. She only bottled the wine in magnums, and she generously gave me one to open here on the Intrepid Wino channel. Let me know what you think!
Le Timbre Syrah 2015
My first real wine job was working in the cellar door at Domaine Chandon in the Yarra Valley, which I did for 18 months from the beginning of 2006. One of my colleagues there lived at Coldstream Hills as her partner was one of the winemakers. She very generously put together a mixed dozen of back vintages of their Reserve wines, many of which are still in my cellar. I decided to open the three wines from the 2004 vintage (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir & Cabernet Sauvignon), and these are my impressions. Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Coldstream Hills Reserve Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, & Cabernet Sauvignon 2004
Jane Faulkner is one of Australia’s most loved and respected wine journalists, with several decades of experience and countless tasting notes under her belt. She is also one of the most travelled wine writers, and is considered one of the foremost experts on Italian wine and alternative varieties in Australia. This is in part due to her role as chair of the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show. She (finally) joined me on this episode of The Vincast to talk about her background, her insights, her thoughts on wine communication, and the direction she hopes alternative varieties head in this country.
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Jane Faulkner
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If you haven’t watched Part One of The Sangiovese Project (processing the fruit), I suggest watching that first.
Part Two is all about fermentation. Two days after receiving the fruit, fermentation was under way in Bin X. It was important to plunge the cap of skins (and some berries) every day, partly for the gentle extraction of colour and tannin from the skins into the wine, but also to keep them wet to avoid spoilage.
Bin X converted the sugar into alcohol at a rapid pace. It went from 13 degrees baumé to one or two in the space of three days. By the fourth day you can see that there is a lot less activity in the ferment. With some advice I gave the bin a few more foot-stomps to squeeze more juice out of the remaining berries, which extended the ferment a few more days and extracted a bit more colour and tannin. After 10 days the ferment was finished, but daily plunging continued until pressing on the 22nd of March.
Bin Y had CO2 pumped into the bin and it was covered by cling-wrap. It was checked each day simply by smell, giving off a slightly candied fruit aroma. The weight of the berries gradually crushed the berries at the bottom of the bin, and the juice fermented dry. It was very crunchy and bright to taste.
The next part will focus on the pressing of the two bins, and their subsequent transfer into their vessels. Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments below.
If you haven’t already seen me share it on social media, I started my first winemaking project, tentatively called The Sangiovese Project. The idea was to purchase some sangiovese grapes from the Heathcote region that were of exceptional quality, and try some experimenting with it. This video, the first of several parts of the journey which I will be sharing, chronicles the processing of the fruit.
Two bins totalling one tonne of hand-picked grapes were delivered on a rainy Thursday evening (10th March). The fruit was grown by viticulture legend (and guest on Episode 65 of The Vincast wine podcast), Mario Marson. In this video you will see how the fruit was prepared for fermentation.
Iain Riggs is one of the most respected winemakers in Australia, with decades of experience making wine from regions across the country, as well as a wine show judge. He has been at the helm of Brokenwood Wines in the historic Hunter Valley for some time, elevating them to one of the top producers of semillon and shiraz in Australia. Having worked closely with the likes of Len Evans and his incredible tutorial, Iain took the reigns of this illustrious institution when Len passed away. Iain joined me on the podcast while he was recently in Melbourne, and we talked about his background and his views on Australian wine.
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Iain Riggs
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Josh got in touch with me via intrepidwino.com and offered me the chance to look at some wines from a brand that has recently been introduced into the domestic market, previously only being available overseas. The four Millon Estate wines I tasted are made from Eden Valley fruit, and are all from the 2014 vintage. Here are my impressions, let me know what you think in the comments below!
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Millon Estate 2014 Wines
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Walter Speller embraced wine in post-Cold War Berlin, particularly from Italy and Australia. After relocating to London, he was asked by Jancis Robinson if he would be interested in writing for her website, mostly as she admired him speaking his mind at a wine event. Since then he has become the main Italian correspondent, splitting his time between the UK and Padova. He has continued his interest in Australian wines, his opinion of Italian-variety-based wines in particular improving all the time. Walter was in Australia partly as a guest of the Melbourne International Food & Wine Festival, where I sat down with him to record this episode of The Vincast.
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Walter Speller
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On the way home I popped into my new favourite go-to wine shop/bar on the north-side of Melbourne, Cult of the Vine. I was after a nice bottle for sunny Saturday afternoon imbibing, and a bottle that stood out in the fridge. It was from a label I had put on my ‘to-try’ list a while ago, Simão & Co. I was intrigued to try the Ugni Blanc 2015 and share my impressions. Let me know what you think in the comments below.
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Simão & Co. Ugni Blanc 2015
Sam Underdown, owner of Samu Wines, contacted me recently after seeing some of my other Let’s Taste videos. He was down in Melbourne and hand delivered his two wines from the 2015 vintage for me to taste. Here are my impressions, let me know what you think in the comments.
Samu Nero d’Avola Merlot 2015
A podcast about wine, wine culture and wine people. Every week a different guest from the wine industry joins host The Intrepid Wino (aka James Scarcebrook) for a casual chat about the world of wine.
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