Heathcote, Strathbogie & Nagambie Day 5 16/12/10

Woke up today feeling kind of tired from yesterday. It was enjoyable but visiting 5 wineries in a day and walking the ground does a number on you. I'm going to take it easy today. Then again, I got a lot of driving to do since I am going from Heathcote to the Strathbogie and then to Rutherglen.


Downing Estate

Bob Downing runs this winery as well as juggling the responsibilities of being the Chairman of the Heathcote wine Association. His wines did very well in le concours des vins this year. Being a small estate, they only produce 1000 cases per year and has 10 ha under vines. His plantings are 1.3m x 3m. However recent plantings are now with 2 m spacings which require less pruning and the same crop levels. This puts less disease pressure, less struggle from lack of water and more lighting. Cropping levels are 1.5-2 tonnes/acre. Bob does cane prunning as the vines are better regulated and there is a more consistent water supply compared to spur as well as fruit. Also, Bob thinks that with cambrian soil, the roots tend to go down deeper but with yellow clay, it is dry and there is water struggle. It was a joy to walk through his vineyad and taste his wines.

All his wines are priced at $39. Tasting notes are below.

Shiraz 2006 14.5% Deep black with aromas of vanilla, caramel, blackcurrant. Flavours of blackberry and coffee, long length and delicate finish

Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 15% Deep black with musy aomas, pencil shavings and menthol. Flavours of blackberry and chalk tannins.

Merlot 2006 14% Deep black with aromas of rust, cedar, light oak. Flavours of blackberry, robust and a long length.

Plunkett-Fowles*

Sam Plunkett is a person who is passionate about the Strathbogie ranges and he has every reason to. As the chief winemaker of PF, he is doing a mighty fine job in managing so many different batches of wine. His winery is one of the most state-of-art I have come across so far and also has the most levels (at least 4 stories high). He is making amazing Rieslings and Shiraz from this region and also one of the most perfumy I have come across. We tasted the Shiraz from the tanks and although it was not a finish product, it was already showing such clean, perfume characters with lots of purity. Moreover, his 2008 Ladies who shoot thier lunches Shiraz is the winner of the 2010 Great Australian Shiraz Challenge!

The climate is elevated, cool and very windy. It is considered continental. PF owns 500 acres and is on mostly exposed granite that is 4 million years old. The vineyards in the north of the great divide has less clouds while the south having more. The rainfall in this region is 700mm/year and can go up to 1700mm. MJT is 20 degrees and can run over 40 degrees during certain day. PF produces 50000 cases and crush 23000 tonnes a year. To Sam, the sun in Australia is different from Europe and cloud covers affect the night and day temperatures. The termperatures cool down fast as there are no clouds and the land is 510 m above sea level. There are lots of undulating hills in these region and those that face north are warmer and produce the better fruits.

Tahbilk*

I am so thankful to Neil Larson for waiting on me for 30 minutes as I have to drive from PF to get here. Going to Tahbilk was another eye-opener for me as well. The Estate itself was historic and a heritage site. To walk through thier wine cave was like the whole Champagne/Burgundy experience and to see barrels as old as over a 100 years got me very excited. Ozone generators O^3 are being installed to get rid of micro organisms in the cellar. In terms of cleaning the tartaric crystals from the hogshead (300l), they use soda ash (sodium carbonate).

The Goulburn valley region is a temperate climate and frosty. It is like the Pathdaway region with 620mm of rainfall. Maximum summer temperatures can reach up to 40 degrees and zero at night.

An interesting piece of history is how in 1930s, Tahbilk actually started with putting varietals on labels.

Neil was generous to open both the Eric Stevens Pubrick Shiraz 2005 and Cabernet 2005 for me to try.

Shiraz 2005 14.5% A deep purple with reddish hues. Nose of cedary furniture, vanilla and fruit. On the palate is full of ripeness, wonderful acid structure, and a long length

Cab Sauv 2005 14.5% A deep purple with nose of lead, soy, liqourice. On the palate is leathery, lead, and a long chocolaty length.

I would say that both wines were quality and the price is justifiable.



Additional Notes:

Drop by Mitchelton Wines if you have the time. They have a range of stuff to taste to tell you more about what Nagambie can produce. This are the same guys that make Preece.