Description
‘Someone asked me the other day something to the tune of ‘who are the next generation of newer generation producers who will truly create a legacy in Australian wine … I would put Ravensworth and Bryan Martin firmly in the list. No misses from him. Building a formidable argument to prestige.‘ Mike Bennie, The Wine Front.
‘As a talented food writer, cook and forager, Bryan Martin thinks deeply about textures and flavours. This combined with over a decade’s experience at Clonakilla, has resulted in a suite of distinctive Ravensworth wines’ Huon Hooke, Gourmet Traveller Wine.
Bryan Martin was assistant winemaker and ‘right hand man’ to Tim Kirk at Clonakilla for 20 years. However Ravensworth has been he and wife Jocelyn’s passion since 2001. Finishing up at Clonakilla in 2019 he focuses solely now on Ravensworth in Murrumbateman in the Canberra district.
Clonakilla has often been thought as the leading winery in the region but Ravensworth has gained much success and critical praise including winning the International Riesling Challenge in 2012 and in 2015 he was runner up Winemaker of the Year for Gourmet Traveller Wine. “..Bryan’s been an extraordinarily great blessing to our business.” Tim Kirk, Clonakilla.
Martin’s approach is deliberately unconventional – he produces a range of brilliant, regionally classic wines, offset by a decent smattering of genre-bending experiments. Shiraz is the main crop on the Ravensworth Estate, followed by Riesling and Sangiovese. Then there’s Rhône white varietals such as Marsanne and Roussane plus Gamay and Nebbiolo. Not only does Martin use a wide range of varieties, but clonal differences across these are also utilised for complexity and tonality.
Everything at the Estate is grown with organic principles and the vineyard is consciously farmed as an element of a wider ecosystem in balance with other flora and fauna so it can develop to its greatest potential. This balance limits any chemicals or other nasties. A little old Italian tractor is employed rather than heavy machinery, and likewise in the cellar, the winemaking uses a light touch. There’s no recipe—a range of techniques and vessels are used, always dependent on what the vintage presents.
The Estate label wines feature a beautiful and evocative label which Bryan says “.. are a take on what we would have as a coat of arms … a visual depiction of how we see wine and food. Entwined, joyous, slightly nervy.”
About this wine: Bryan Martin has long championed this style of wine. Having made Australia’s most famous rendition for 19 years at Clonakilla, he’s a master of the art. The 2022 is a co-fermented blend of Shiraz (97%) and Viognier (3%). The fruit grows at a lofty 650 metres on the Murrumbateman estate vineyard’s 25-year-old vines in soils rich in decomposed granite and red, loamy clay. The fruit was primarily processed as whole berries (10% bunches) in cuve, spending four weeks on skins before being pressed to old barrique for 12 months. It was then racked to seasoned Stockinger foudre, where it rested for a further 12 months before being bottled unfined and unfiltered.
The 2022 season kicked off cool but finished dry and warm, allowing for long, easy ripening conditions and plenty of flavour development. It’s a cracker release and while most of the reviews are yet to come, we can tell you, Bryan’s got form—you can safely set your expectations high.
94 points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front “It’s loaded with spice and florals, not overtly viognier-flexed but there’s pretty, sweet elements and a glossiness to texture that gives you an idea about the white grape inclusion. The perfume, cinnamon-clove-cardamom brown spices on red cherry, dark plum, green olive and some bergamot tea and alpine herb notes. Flavours roll similarly, quite rich in a way but a brace of tightening tannins, dusty, powdery, do well. A succulence and depth in tow. It feels premium, fine, good, concentrated, complex. A richer expression from Canberra District would be the other comment. It does the trick and well.”
RRP $56 *Our Price $51.99 *
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