Wine of the year
What can I say, the past two years have delivered us some truly amazing results from some of Australia's most well respected wine writers. The 2010 and 2011 Estate Vineyard Chardonnay vintages will surely be regarded as some of Giaconda's best Chardonnay to date:
- Best Chardonnay - James Halliday, Wine Companion 2014
- Wine of the year - Jeremy Oliver, The Australian Wine Annual 2013
- Wine of the year - Nick Stock, Good Wine Guide 2013
- Best Chardonnay - Nick Stock, Good Wine Guide 2013
- Wine of the year - Phillip Rich, Financial Review Magazine 2012
Wine writer James Halliday has assessed the 2011 Estate Vineyard Chardonnay as being "...eerily like a Grand Cru White Burgundy." Well this year you have the opportunity to try our next vintage for half the price of any comparable White Burgundy - in my opinion! This years wine release is limited and will be closed at the end of November so make sure you do not miss the opportunity.
After using screwcaps since 2004, I am more than happy with the results we have achieved for Chardonnay in particular. This coupled with an almost complete lack of demand for cork closure means we will no longer be offering cork for Chardonnay orders.
With all this emphasis on Chardonnay our red wines have been unduly left in the shade! The 2012 and 2013 vintages have given us exceptional reds, I can assure you of that. For more details please refer to the tasting notes for each individual wine. I have decided to offer some specially priced cases of Shiraz and Nebbiolo - to introduce more of our loyal clients to these outstanding Giaconda reds.
2012 and 2013 will certainly turn out to be classic vintages for Giaconda Shiraz and Pinot Noir. These are wines of great power, complexity and elegance. Our latest releases of Nebbiolo are also looking superb, a true embodiment of this variety. Pinot Noir will not be included in the special case offers (mentioned above) as our production is still very small for this variety.
Finally, I'd like to update you on progress at our exciting new 'Red Hill Nebbiolo' vineyard site located in Beechworth. I will transition to making our Nebbiolo from this new site in the coming years. The vines are growing exceptionally well and we expect to sample the first small crop of fruit this year.
Regards
Rick Kinzbrunner
Announcing our 'in-conversion organic' status
01 March 2018Words by Casey White - Vineyard Manager
My first vintage is all but complete here at Giaconda. When I set foot through the front gates last winter I was quite nervous, yet excited to be tackling such a prestigious vineyard. I had always been aware of the great wines produced from this property but did not understand what really drove this level of quality from a vineyard perspective.
Rick had set me the main task of looking after all the vines and continuing to produce beautiful fruit, but also to take the Estate Vineyard to a certified organic status. This is something I am passionate about, having developed some organic and sustainable viticulture methods in my previous role.
Our initial visit from the team at Demeter Australia involved inspecting the vineyard soils to assess the levels of organic rich humus. They were pleased to find beautiful soils that have tested absolutely free of chemical residues, are rich in humus, and could confidently see the vineyard has been managed with an organic approach for many decades.
It is pleasing to announce our 'in-conversion organic' status under supervision of the Bio Dynamic Research Institute (BDRI) certification process and that we will be fully certified in the very near future.
Getting my hands dirty in the vineyard and seeing how healthy the soil is, soon gave me an appreciation of all the years of hard work which has been put into this vineyard. The soil is alive with healthy microbes, which flows directly through the vines, the fruit, and finally the wines!