Firstly, one of our flagship varietals
– Pinot Grigio – has been bottled in
greater volume than ever before. And in two styles! Our ‘traditional’
refreshing and lively one; but also our first Pinot Grigio Elegante –
as the name implies, a style offering subtle nuances and more complexity on the
palate than normal in a Pinot Grigio.
We’re releasing our first Arneis since 2008 – this time using
Mudgee fruit. It carries all those familiar pear fruit and minerally characters
that differentiate it from the citrus and tropical tones of northern Italian
wines.
The 2012 Vino Rosato is a beauty, in my view retaining all the pomegranate
and cherryness of its predecessor, with perhaps a bit more ‘vivacity’ and as a
result a classic wine to accompany cold meat and vegetable antipasti.
And to our two flagship reds. The 2011 Sangiovese has this year been
‘relegated’ to a new sub-label we call Cypress Avenue – denoting that for
seasonal reasons (ie cool and wet) while a carefully made wine it doesn’t have
quite the same personality as our ‘house style’ (and is priced accordingly).
The 2011 Barbera somehow avoided the vagaries of the vintage, and has
all the juicy generosity that one hopes for ..a lovely example of what Mudgee
can produce with this mostly well-behaved variety!
And last but by no means least is our 2011 Nebbiolo – made in the ‘quirky’ di
Lusso style that’s closest to a Nebbiolo d’Alba in its gentle texture.
(A
footnote: we’re still to bottle two other whites from the 2012 vintage – 2012 Adagio,
a ‘super-white’ blend of Pinot Grigio, Vermentino, Greco and Arneis, our 2012 Greco (can’t use the ‘di
Tufo’ anymore, thanks to our Italian
cousins!). bottling of these two will take place around mid-August..in time for
release during the Mudgee Wine Festival)
