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Function Report - Macedon Wine Area Tour
25th
March 2007
The Guild’s first tour for 2007 was to the Macedon Ranges Wine Area and this turned out to be one of the best educational experiences for a long time. Three wineries were visited, and a short stop at a boutique brewery was also included. The Soltan Pepper Restaurant in Romsey was an inspired choice for lunch.
The following notes are taken from the respective wineries web sites, with some additional comments from your correspondent. The first winery visited was Gisborne Peak Wines at Mawarra Vineyard. In 1976 the first 12 acres of the Mawarra Vineyard property was purchased, a windswept block of what was once part of a cattle property, with only eight living trees on it. We understand that 'Mawarra' means 'a pleasant place' in the local aboriginal dialect. Gisborne Peak Wines History The first planting of grapes in 1978 was a hobby block of Sylvaner Riesling vines. Later these were grafted or replaced with Pinot Noir. By 1980 the vineyard bug had got to vigneron Bob Nixon's imagination and the planting frenzy began. Bit by bit, the area has grown to nearly 12.5 acres of what is now an 18-acre property. There are five varieties presently producing grapes at the Mawarra Vineyard which make up the estate-grown wines of Gisborne Peak Wines. Pinot Noir occupies about 4.5 acres and about 1.5 acres of that is Mariefeldt with the remainder MV6. There is just a tiny bit less than 1 acre of Semillon, which dates back to 1981. This block produces between 2 and 4 tonne of fruit each year. Chardonnay covers about 6 acres of the property, and our acre of Riesling produced a small crop for the first time in 2006. The property is nestled on the NE flank of Mt. Gisborne, at an altitude of about 570 metres. It is a real cool, even, cold, climate location with harvest usually occurring from late April to the end of May. Some years we pick Semillon in June as we did in 2005! We average three days of snow a year. The cool climate at Gisborne Peak's Mawarra Vineyard limits the yield of the Chardonnay and 1 to 1.25 tonne to the acre is our regular range. These very low yields allow intense fruit flavours to develop as the grapes slowly ripen in autumn each year. It's the quality of the autumn period that has the greatest impact on the quality of our crop, and hence the depth of flavour of the wine, each year. The Chardonnay and Semillon combine to produce our Duet. The 2004 Duet now on sale is a blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Semillon. The mix varies in other years. Starlings and mynahs will wipe out the fruit crop if given half a chance – Bob told us that no nets equals no grapes equals no income. Therefore an extensive netting operation is required. Bob reminded us that eyes, nose, taste and memory are the four senses that are used in tasting wines. We first tasted a Semillon, which Bob suggested would go well with curries, chillies and hot food; it was great. The Semillon was followed by an unwooded Chardonnay that would be a great accompaniment to chicken and fish. Bob explained that Riesling was among the aromatic group of wines and a young Riesling should have a lime and lemon type nose. Riesling enhances crustaceans. From the Riesling we went on to taste a slightly wooded Chardoonay. Bob explained that he uses oak staves, about 3 mm thick and 750 to 900 mm long to impart the oak taste and smooth off the wine. We then tasted three pinot noirs – one from the 2003 vintage and the others from 2004. The 2003 pinot was harvested at the end of a drought, and the vines produced only some 250 kg per acre. The other pinot produced about 3 to 4 tonnes per acre. Consequently, a strong quality wine was produced. The Top Block pinot would go well with lamb, duck, and quail. We also tasted the Foundation Block and the Reserve Pinot Noir. The Reserve Pinot Noir is more expensive than the other pinots, and this reflects the special nature of this particular pinot noir. We then tasted a rosé made from pinot noir grapes. This wine should be served chilled, and be used as a transition wine from a big, heavy wine. Try this wine after dessert with your cheese and greens;with an antipasto; or by itself or as an accompaniment to fruit. Our final wine was a semi sweet Semillon that was very nice to taste and would go well with sweets. Between tastings, Peter Henderson our Coach Captain, entertained us by attacking European wasps. His technique was quite humane. After a most enjoyable and educative tasting we rejoined the coach to travel to Woodend for a different tasting at the Holgate Brewhouse. Holgate Brewhouse at Keatings Hotel is the best way to get intimate with the 7 Holgate draught beers; or you may stay the night upstairs in the fully refurbished stylish accommodation and enjoy a fabulous restaurant meal, beers and local wines. Holgate Brewhouse is a family owned 100% independent craft-brewing company, cranking out classic beer styles on their microbrewing plant. Your correspondent can not comment on this tasting as he is not a beer drinker. Suffice to say a number of members enjoyed the tasting and discussed the merits of the beers provided. Soltan Pepper Restaurant – Romsey Highly acclaimed restaurateurs, Adam & Melanie Soltan are noted for operating one of the best restaurants in the area, and used by many wineries for their dinners. The menu spoke for itself. On arrival: we had Garlic Mustard and Semi Dried Tomato served with warm crusty bread. This was followed by Chicken Breast filled with prawns and scallops, served on a garlic mash topped with semi dried tomato hollandaise, or Grilled Eye Fillet served with potato rosti topped with a wild mushroom sauce. Dessert was a choice of Chocolate Truffle Cake served with hot chocolate sauce or Fig, Date and Ginger Pudding served with a butterscotch sauce. The Guild provided wines from its cellar with the meal. All in all it was a great meal, and we can thoroughly recommend the restaurant for those who are out tripping one day We then traveled on to Curly Flat Winery and Vineyard. The inspiration for Curly Flat Vineyard was Phillip Moraghan's experiences whilst studying in Switzerland in the 1980’s. During this period he was captivated by the many wine regions of France and Switzerland and completely enthralled by Burgundy and its Pinot Noir. Fortunately for Phillip, his partner and future wife, Jeni shared the vision that has brought together the dedicated team to nurture Curly Flat from romantic ideal to awe-inspiring reality. Curly Flat is located on a slope that catches the very last rays of sunshine in the magical moments before dusk. This prolonged exposure to the autumn sun provides a vital ingredient for the very special fruit that is produced at Curly Flat. To build expertise, Jeni and Phillip volunteered their labour in other vineyards and wineries - but it was Macedon Ranges pioneer, Laurie Williams (Flynn & Williams label), who nurtured their understanding and passion for growing wine. Phillip began studying viticulture and travelling overseas to gain experience in wine growing and wine making - he has done several vintages in the USA, including Ponzi Vineyards in Willamette Valley Oregon and Russell Hearn's Premium Wine Group on Long Island NY. The first vines were planted at Curly Flat in 1991 and with progressive plantings the vineyard is now 14 hectares (33 acres) – principally Pinot Noir with some Chardonnay and a little Pinot Gris. A new winery was constructed in time for the April 2002 vintage. The original homestead, built in 1890's, has been extensively renovated to host wine tastings and other wine related events. Prior to the 2002 vintage the wines were made at a neighbouring winery under contract - with equipment and labour input from the Curly Flat Team. In 2002 Phillip took over the winemaking role, under the guidance of one of Australia's leading winemakers who is a renowned Pinot Noir specialist. The first vintage wines, 1998 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were released in Australia in late 2001. Curly Flat wines became available in the United Kingdom in 2004. Curly Flat Vineyard is concentrating on producing wines of the highest quality that have already received critical acclaim in Australia, Europe and the United States. Indications from subsequent vintages engender great confidence in the ability of Curly Flat to consistently provide wine of the highest quality. The current releases include: 1. 2003 Curly Flat Pinot Noir 2. 2004 Curly Flat Chardonnay 3. 2005 Curly Flat Pinot Gris 4. 2004 Curly Flat Rose 5. Curly Flat Sparkling 'Macedon' - Non Vintage Our final tasting was at Granite Hills Granite Hills’ winemaker is Llew Knight, son of the founders – Gordon and Heather Knight. Llew is a cool climate wine enthusiast. His winemaking philosophy is to coax the most pronounced flavours from the classic varieties using a range of winemaking and oak management techniques, creating distinctive cool climate wines, marked by their complexity and aging ability. The Estate vineyard comprises 12 hectares of vines – 3 hectares each of Riesling and Shiraz, 2 each of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, one of Pinot Noir, and an additional hectare made up of smaller planting’s of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The Granite Hills plantings’ are the oldest in the Macedon Ranges region; their roots now well down into the old granitic sandy loam soils. It’s the good drainage and low fertility attributes of the soil at Granite Hills which is so beneficial to the balance of the vine, keeping the yields low and the quality of the grapes high. This ‘clean vineyard’ theme is also reinforced by the nature of the vineyard being very exposed to the prevailing winds - a factor which tends to lower humidity and therefore disease pressure, as well as naturally limiting yields. The ripening season at Granite Hills is long due to the southern latitude and altitude. This has the beneficial effect of allowing fruit characteristics to develop whilst still retaining good natural acidity. Vintage can continue into June in cooler years. Hand pruning and close attention to the management of the canopy allows for maximum penetration of sunlight to ripen the fruit, and selective hand picking is utilised to ensure only well ripened grapes enter the winery. While its location places Granite Hills vineyard in a cool climate classification, careful management of the vines and moderation of grape yields, produce deceptively powerful and definitive varietal characters. |
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