2018 JC’s Own

2018 JC’s Own Angaston Foothills Grenache Barossa Valley – 150 year old bush vine Barossa Valley Grenache vineyards are a rare treat. Walking amongst the old bush vines gives Jaysen such a wonderment of what has transpired in the years gone by to get to this moment in time. It’s like he is breathing the air of times past – it can be truly something quite moving and somewhat magical.

He has been working with Barossa Grenache since his first vintage and whilst versatile, it can easily become overly sweet and some people can even call it lolly water. But not this special site – no way Jose. It gets cool air draining from the Eden Valley across the red sands, so he has found it leans more towards complexity and structure, which is what pushes his buttons.

How does he treat such a special site – pretty simply is the answer. 100% whole bunches get a foot treading over several weeks, press it to large oak barrels and bottle it unfined and unfiltered. That means when he tastes this wine he’s still caught up in the magic from the vineyard that has transpired for well over a century. He’ll wipe the tear from his eye as he has another glass.

The best way to describe this Grenache is Powerful yet elegant. Jaysen really has this whole Grenache thing under wraps. The wine oozes red berries, dark fruits, a sprinkle of spice and a dusting of fine grained tannin. A richer style for Jaysen but still well balanced and not overt. The wine is super gluggable and down right delicious!

20

Monte Vicor

Monte Vicor is an exciting new project from a family with a history of winemaking dating back to 1867. The heart of the project is low-yielding Garnacha vines. The winery is named after the Vicor mountains that dominate the landscape and are home to the vineyards owned by the 5th generation of the Langa vignerons, Juan and Cesar Langa Gonzalez.

It is arguably the most contemporary and best equipped winery in the region, and the wines reflect this. The 70 hectares of vineyards are spread over two domaines with completely different terroirs, giving great flexibility and scope to produce wines with character and individuality.

GROWING AND HARVESTING NOTES:

Harvest Qualification: 2011 Excellent

Harvest dates: Garnacha. 20 October.

Description: The 08 harvest experienced heavy rains during the spring and

later brought some frosts.The ripening cycle was aided by intense

heat, resulting in a harvest of a great quality.

WINEMAKING NOTES

Grape Varieties: -Made from 70-100 year old Garnacha vines

Maturity in oak barrel: - 10-15 meses

Maturity in bottle: - Minimum 6 meses

Vinification: The grapes of the best quality, after the process by which the stalks

and seeds of the grapes are removed from them, they go to the pressing process to get the must of

the grapes, then are fermented at 20º C in stainless steel vats and have a maceration time of 2 to 5

days.

Then the wine was removed from the original vat to another, where it ages for 20 days with its

natural lees. After the pressing process and natural filtering, the malolactic fermentation was made

into oak wood casks. Finally, the wine was put into oak wood casks to repose there for 3 months, to

be bottled afterwards without any sort of stabilization. Due to this natural winemaking process and

evolution, it is possible to find some sediment

TASTING NOTES

This wine is a deep cherry red colour with violet touches.

Intense and complex aroma, with generous ripe red fruits, blackberries, redcurrants and violets.

There are also balsamic aromas, soft smoky and chocolate traces coming from a brief stay in lees.

In the mouth it is full-bodied and meaty, with prominent ripe tannins of great quality.

The wine is in perfect balance, with slight acidity that give the necessary freshness so significant for

a wine with high alcoholic grading. Its finish and aftertaste is extremely long and pleasant.

Serve at 16 – 18º C

Advisable dishes: Will go especially well with red meats, poultry, stews a

cheeses.

Aging potential It will evolve favourably in bottle during the next 5 years.

2017 Saint Damien Plan de Dieu Cotes du Rhone Vieilles Vignes

80% Grenache (1949), 15% Carignan (1948), 5% Mourvèdre (1978)

“Proprietor Joel Saurel, backed up by the inimitable Philippe Cambie as his consultant, has transformed this estate into one of the greatest in Gigondas, rivalling the two top producers, Yves Gras’ Santa Duc and Louis Barruol’s Saint Cosme.” Robert Parker, The Wine Advocate

“Domaine Saint-Damien has been producing some of the region’s most elegant wines for years, but for some reason they rarely get the attention they deserve. Pricing here is also admirably fair, which makes this an address to be reckoned with for savvy Rhône wine lovers. The Saurel family, which has been farming here since 1821, now owns just over 12 hectares of vines in Gigondas, most of them quite old and cropped low, and the wines are aged in large, traditional concrete vats and old foudres and usually bottled on the young side “to preserve freshness,” as Romain Saurel said. Saurel’s father, Joël, is largely responsible for the domaine’s current (insider) fame and was also the one who brought its vineyards up to Agriculture Biologique certification in 2012. These wines are now consistently delivering some of the southern Rhône’s greatest values in high-end wine.“

Vinous Media, February 2020

Domaine Saint-Damien is run by Joel and Amie Saurel and their son Romain who has now taken charge of the winemaking. The Saurel family had been tending vineyards for four generations, dating back to 1821, and until recently had been selling all of the grapes to negociants. In 1996 Joel resumed producing wine at the estate and in 1998 they brought on consulting winemaker Philippe Cambie. Vinification is classic with wines being fermented in large old cement tanks and aged in either cement tanks or large old foudres for the Gigondas.

Today the estate is comprised of 17 hectares of vineyards of which 12 are in Gigondas. All their vineyards are certified organic since 2012. The vines are an average age of 50 years and are very low yielding. The wines of Gigondas are bottled according to individual terroir (particularly soil type) known as the Saint Damien Trilogy. Incredibly complex geology/soils translates to terrific results.

Delightful concentration and multilayered Cotes du Rhone thanks to depth of fruit from the old vine material. What a winner!

. This wine is sourced from the lower terraced parcels of the Plan de Dieu lieu-dit, in the commune of Violès. The Grenache and Carignan vines are over 70 years old and the Mourvèdre 40 years. The wine is fermented for 30 days in concrete vats before 8 months of aging (again in concrete). The wine is bottled without fining or filtration.

“Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, the 2017 Cotes du Rhone Villages Plan de Dieu Vieilles Vignes looks even better than the 2016. Garrigue, violets and licorice notes mark the black cherry fruit as something far beyond ordinary. Impressive.” (91-93) points, The Wine Advocate, Sept 2018

2015 Chateau Mont Redon ‘Lirac’

Château Mont-Redon will be familiar to those who know and love Châteauneuf-du-Pape being well recognized as the owners of some of the most highly regarded vineyard sites in the appellation. The superb quality of its vineyards (100 hectares) has been recognized throughout history and prior to the change of the appellation controlee system it was one of the few “Grand cru’s” in the region (together with Chateau Rayas), and producing some of the most elegant of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

This wine comes from their vineyards in Lirac, situated directly opposite on Rhone River bank to Chateauneuf-du-Pape between the towns of Orange and Avignon. They have been crafting wines here since 1997 in the shadow of its famous appellation neighbour on similar soils of sand and pebbles. Summers are dry and hot with the warm mistral winds keeping away any humidity.

They have all the classic floral notes and aromatics you’d expect from a great Chateauneuf-du-Pape at half the price – all handpicked and selected fruit which ensures absolute quality. This really is delicious medium weight rouge with signature Mont Redon elegance. This really is delicious medium weight rouge with signature Mont Redon elegance. It reminds me of everything you’d expect from a great Chateauneuf-du-Pape at a bargain price. Vive La France!

90 points Antonio Galloni, Vinous “Brilliant ruby-red. Spice-accented dark berry, cherry pit and succulent flowers on the perfumed nose. Fleshy and broad in the mouth but lively as well, offering sappy black raspberry and bitter cherry flavors that become sweeter with air. Closes gently tannic, with very good energy and persistence, leaving a spicecake note behind. Drink 2017- 2021.’

“A traditional blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, one-third of the 2015 Lirac was aged in barrel, the remainder in tank. Aromas of raspberries, cinnamon and clove dominate, while the medium to full-bodied palate shows ample concentration and silky tannins. This is a likable, easy-drinking red that would serve as a nice introduction to the appellation.” JOE CZERWINSKI, erobertparker.com

2017 Miette

Second label from Barossan cult producer, Spinifex (included in Best Value Wineries for 2018 by James Halliday in his 2018 Australian Wine Companion). Renowned for their fastidious attention to detail, hands on winemaking and precision for blending… their wines are all about finesse and complexity. Made from the same parcels of fruit that go into the Spinifex wines, Miette is made in a more forward, open style meaning they are approachable right now!  As winemaker Pete Schell says .. “the wines are all about freshness, purity and balance. Wines made for food, family and friends.”

A blend of Grenache 49%, Mataro 47% and Cinsault 4%, this great value is inspired by the country wines of Provence and the Languedoc. The seven small vineyards that contributed to the final blend are located in the eastern and southern stretches of the Barossa, soils are generally sand and sandy loams, and the vines are aged between 40 and 70 years. All vineyards were hand-harvested, around 30% of the Grenache was left as whole bunches, the balance all destemmed, and the fruit allowed to ferment naturally in open fermenters. Élevage was undertaken on light lees, in 2300-litre foudres and stainless steel prior to racking, blending and bottling without filtration. The delicate red fruits of the Grenache, the spice, flesh and nutty tannin of the Mataro, both find their place in this fragrant, gluggable wine.

18

2018 Louis Max

Syrah or shiraz, as Aussies like to call it, is one of the world’s oldest grapes. So it was on our list of must-haves from France, its natural birthplace. We were certainly in luck when we found this beauty blended with one of our favourite grapes grenache! When we sat with Claire the wine maker from Louis Max for a tasting, we knew we had struck gold! Louis Max was founded in 1859 in Burgundy but then soon expanded their interests to mostly south eastern regions of France, including the Rhone Valley, the origins of this wonderful wine.

The grapes for the Max were cultivated on very old wine making soils in the heart of the iconic Rhone Valley. Wine making in this region predates the Roman Empire and its rich soil and climate are ideal for producing rustic, fruit driven wines often blending syrah, grenache and mourvedre grapes. Australia’s own Barossa and McLaren Vale wine regions have often used this age-old Rhone blend to produce such wines. But with the Max, don’t think Aussie. The Max is a near 50/50 split of hand picked syrah and grenache fruit, superbly showcasing the Rhone terroir. It’s super easy to drink, a touch more delicate than the Aussie equivalent. Its colour is ruby, and the nose is full of fresh prunes and cherries. The tannins are as smooth as a new born’s skin, the palate has good length and is like a fresh fruit explosion in your mouth. There are also loads of earthy notes which gives it a rustic feel and perhaps separates it a little further again from similar blends produced in Australia.