WATTLEBROOK VINEYARD
Hunter Valley
NEWSLETTER No. 16 – August, 2009
An Organic change, The Vintage,
The Industry, The Cellar
The 2009 Hunter vintage was a vintage of two halves. January was warm and dry providing perfect ripening conditions for chardonnay, semillon and verdelho.
We made a semillon which will soon be bottled. It has superb pear and citrus flavours with abundant natural acid. Peter tasted it last week and tells me it is the best we have made.
As soon as we had finished picking the white grapes, the rains came and the shiraz suffered a dilution of acid and flavour. As our policy is to make our own wine only from the highest quality grapes there will be no Bird’s Keep for 2009. The grapes went to one of the best Hunter vignerons who has made a very good quality commercial wine. It will be one of the few quality 09 Hunter shiraz.
Our New Venture
When we originally established Wattlebrook, all our grapes were sold to Bob Oatley who then was the owner of Rosemount Estate. He sold the business to Southcorp who then sold it to Fosters. Our dealings with Southcorp were satisfactory but Fosters have proved to be a difficult company to work with, badly managed and with no interest in the Hunter Valley. Rosemount, which of course originated in the Upper Hunter at Denman, used to sell 5 million cases per annum. We understand that it is now down to 1.5 million. As a result, they no longer want Hunter grapes and are closing the original Rosemount winery. The consequences for the Hunter will be severe with up to 10,000 tonnes of grapes being left without a buyer.
For us, the dark clouds have a silver lining. Realising that our future as grapegrowers was finished with Fosters, we have entered into a new venture with Tamburlaine Wines. Tamburlaine is one of the leading organic wine companies in Australia and it is so impressed with our wines that it has entered into a long-term contract to buy our grapes and make wine for us. It brings changes to our viticulture practices so that we become certified organic. The wine making will also change, reducing the chemical input, giving more refined flavours in the white wines. It means that Wattlebrook will have a sustainable future using organic viticultural practices. It is an exciting development for us all. Some of our grapes have gone to Tamburlaine this year and the wines they have made are quite exceptional.
The 2009 Australian Vintage
As you would have gathered, some southern grapegrowers had a difficult time this year. Apart from the devastation of bushfires, the heat through vintage in Victoria and South Australia was extreme. Only the lucky few will have good quality grapes. Reports are that the vintage in West Australia was exceptional and in Tasmania very good. Australia is so diverse that real differences in ripening conditions can occur throughout the season. However, the overall news is bad for the industry.
The current view is that a third of Australia’s grapes are not sustainable and will be removed. Regrettably because of the irresponsible conjunction of government policies in providing accelerated depreciation and the instant return sought by entrepreneurs of tax-driven schemes, many small high-quality family growers will be forced out of the industry. Yes, it is market forces but there are many families growing high quality grapes who will be devastated by an inability to sell their product.
The Cellar
James Halliday said of our 2005 Bird’s Keep that it had: “Abundant blackberry and plum fruit; good length and depth with harmonious tannin and oak contributions. Rating: 94/100” He also marked it as a wine of special interest.
This put it into the very top bracket. Grange got 97/100, Penfolds Magill 94/100, and RWT Barossa shiraz 95/100. Grange sells for over $300 a bottle and RWT for $150. At $264 per dozen Bird’s Keep is a real bargain. The 2003 Bird’s Keep was given 91. We still have a small quantity of this superb wine in the cellar – but you will have to be in first.
In white wines I have small quantities of the 2003 chardonnay left - a beautiful wine now fully developed with subtle oak. The 2004 has more oak but 2005 is similar to 2003.
As usual we have semillon and verdelho. Peter is currently enjoying both our 2005 semillon and 2006 verdelho, an interesting wine made with a little more residual sugar which gives the wine more fruitiness. It is appealing to those who like a lighter wine with more apparent flavour – dare I say it like the New Zealanders make sauvignon blanc.
WE ARE HAPPY TO DELIVER IN THE SYDNEY METRO AREA FOR FREE, MAKING WATTLEBROOK WINES THE PERFECT HASSLE -FREE GIFT.
JUST PHONE, MAIL OR EMAIL YOUR ORDER, DELIVERY WITHIN 7 DAYS.
Correspondence and Orders: PO Box 475, Milsons Point, NSW, 1565, Australia
Phone/Fax: (02) 9929 5668, Mobile Service: 0412 300733
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