Delamere Vintage Cuvee 2017

Description

Delamere Vineyards is one of Tasmania’s longest running family owned and operated wine estates, focused on producing distinguished sparkling (Methode Traditionelle) and still wines from the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay varieties. Nestled amongst the cool maritime slopes of Pipers River, in north eastern Tasmania, the vineyard was first established in 1982 placing it amongst the oldest vineyards in the region. With 6.5ha of grapes now established on the property, the age of the vineyard makes it a rare resource in Tasmania, and valuable due to the significant increase in wine quality associated with mature vines. The winery is owned and run by husband and wife vigneron’s Shane Holloway and Fran Austin (formerly of Bay of Fires). Winemaker Fran Austin worked alongside Ed Carr (aka the Wizard of Fizz) during the creation and evolution of Arras super premium Australian sparkling and then as head winemaker at Bay of Fires in Tassie. To say Fran & Shane are passionate about Sparkling is an understatement it is their life!

From the winery: “Our passion for the region of Tasmania, at similar latitude to the Champagne and Burgundy regions in France, arises from a desire to seek out a genuine cold climate that can produce wines of classic structure, combining fruit intensity with refinement, complexity with persistence of flavour, and the ultimate expression and grape and region. The region of Pipers Brook in the north east of Tasmania enjoys a significant climatic advantage that is unique in Australia, that of a very low variability of maximum temperature. This stability is born from a unique set of geographical features, the hot northerly winds are cooled by the waters of Bass Strait, while the cool southerlies gain heat as they cross the island. This, combined with cool, relative temperatures and significant sunshine hours make for ideal conditions to retain delicate aromas. The frosty and sometimes wild conditions of winter give way to clear, crisp, blue sky days through the growing season, allowing the fruit to ripen slowly and evenly, assuring a lingering acidity essential to producing premium cool climate varietals.”

Delamere Vintage Cuvee is made in the Traditional Method, 100 percent estate grown and produced. This single-vineyard wine is grown, vinified, bottled and hand-disgorged on site.  A testament to the world-class quality of the Pipers River region for sparkling wine production. The wine is the result of carefully hand-harvested fruit from the mature chardonnay and pinot noir vines of Delamere Vineyard, reflecting the site’s distinctive soil and location. The careful blending of these two classic sparkling wine varieties produces a wine with great length (from the chardonnay) and a full mid palate (from the pinot).

Notes from the winemaker: “The 2017 vintage delivered very small crops of exceptional quality. Spring and summer were fine with reasonably moist soil, which typically leads to higher crop levels. However, cool windy and wet weather throughout December disrupted fruit set, resulting in tiny berry bunches. The remainder of the season brought wonderful weather, which allowed full flavour development whilst retaining good natural acidity at low to moderate Baumé (Sugar content). Wines from this vintage will be highly sought after, for their rarity and quality.

“Gentle whole bunch pressing of the fruit and blended whilst still juice, the Cuvée is an elegant wine representing some excellent characteristics of the vintage. This year allowed us to use a large proportion of solids during fermentation to give extra depth and complexity. Our sparkling wines are produced traditionally spending three years on lees before release.

“Rich and complex, this wine opens with leatherwood honey and develops through the palate, with stone fruits and fine line of minerality, a lingering and complex finish.”

95 points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review “The colour is light to medium yellow and the bouquet is loaded with toasty bready nuances, some aldehydes and lots of other details that add up to a mellow, mature, complex wine. It’s full and rich in the mouth with roundness and creaminess. A real mouthful. It’s a delicious drink in a full-bodied, mature and very dry style of bubbly, the finale very long.”

94 points, Dave Brookes for Hallidays Australian Wine Companion “A chardonnay/pinot noir blend. The 2017 vintage delivers characters of baked apple, soft spice, light brioche notes, crushed stone and red apple crunch. Hints of light biscuit and autolysis flow in on the palate, along with hints of white flowers, stone, lemon curd and almond paste. The acidity is fine, lacy and of swift cadence, the dosage modest and the finish clean, crisp and appley.”

93 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front ” 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir. Four and half years of tirage. Fresh strawberry, lemon oil, quite a bit of brine, yeasty with a nutty toffee brittle richness. It has weight, ripe lemon, apple and spice, saline, cultured butter, a fair bit of grip and extract, gentle pin prick bubbles, with a dry and savoury finish of good length. All about texture and salty goodness. Very nice.”

RRP $61   Our Special Price $47.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine.