Description
The Jamsheed Roussanne comes from Graeme Warner’s eponymous vineyard in Beechworth. The vines here were planted in 1996 and sit on lean, granitic loam soils. There’s a measly 0.8-hectares planted to Roussanne here (and a few rows of Marsanne). Picking early is key for Mills’, who observes, “… lower alcohols mean the granite bedrock shines through and captures the mineral heart of the area. A delicate generosity.” This is perfectly ripe and flowing, yet with more crunchy, mineral freshness than the now defunct Giaconda Aeolia releases that came from this same vineyard. As per the Riesling, there is also a hint of mouth-watering phenolics extracted from Roussanne’s russet-coloured skin – one-third of the grapes undergo a brief carbonic whole bunch ferment.
The fruit was handpicked and mostly whole-bunch pressed – with full solids – into older 500 and 800-litre French oak where it fermented with indigenous yeasts and rested on lees for eight months. It was then bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulphur dioxide and held in bottle for around a year before release. Although Gary tells us that he feels he’s only just starting to get his head around the Warner Vineyard Roussanne vines, this is, as always, a terrific example of the grape with excellent balance of fleshy texture lots of spice, quince and pear skin and citrus freshness. Enjoy this 2015 with food. The highest compliment we can pay this wine is to state that if it was offered us by a Northern Rhone producer, we wouldn’t hesitate.
RRP $37
Reviews for previous vintage 2014 …
17/20 and “Wine of the Week“, 8/7/2016, Jancis Robinson: “I have given Jamsheed Roussanne 2014 and 2013 a score of 17/20 and tasted this 2014 vintage on two separate occasions earlier this year. Both times I admired its combination of a rich cocktail of herbal aromas with nerve and refreshment (it’s only 13.3% alcohol). When enjoying it at Quay in Sydney, I noted this aromatic richness, and how well it stood up to XO-sauced crayfish. Here’s my other note: ‘Deep gold. Very rich on the nose – much richer than most Roussannes. Edge of gingerbread – even the merest hint of Viognier spice. Lightly astringent on the end – in a good way. Masses of character. Really delicate texture despite all the intense flavour. Great stuff! Excellent balance – no excess of alcohol. Throbs with vitality.’
93 points, Mike Bennie, The Wine Front: “Smells so good. Honey, truffles, marzipan, lemon curd. Fresh but rich. Slides across the palate with a light creamy flow. More honey, some toastiness, spice, then finishes crisp and bitter-tart in a good way. Easy pleasure here. Big glasses, not too cold, yes thanks.”
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