A stellar vintage
15 March 2017
As I write we are in the middle of another promising vintage. Less frenetic than the last, picking started in late February. An abundance of rainfall during winter and spring has helped carry us through summer, thankfully devoid of heat spikes. This has been a throwback year to the type of vintages I experienced in the 1990s. We can expect good flavour intensity due to longer vine maturation, excellent colour and lovely acid balance.
In the vineyard we have grafted the warmest top block of chardonnay over to shiraz. This will offer an additional cooler and complimentary component to our Estate Shiraz resulting in finer balance. Losing the warmest block of chardonnay will only serve to enhance the overall quality of this wine also.
We have continued to refine practices in the vineyard to ensure they comply with a possible organic certification in future. Our commitment to better vineyard management devoid of systemic chemicals, in our opinion, is the best path we can follow in pursuit of continuous improvement.
Netting has enhanced the Pinot Noir fruit considerably this year, not only due to reduced bird damage but also shading from the sun. I suspect the black nets (as opposed to white) are more effective at shading and sun absorption. We plan to expand this trial somewhat as the pinot fruit we harvested this year is some of best I have grown.
Our latest En Primeur offer is from the 2016 vintage. An early vintage due to a warmer winter and spring has delivered wines with richness and plenty of character. I can report both shirazes are building complexity in barrel and will be an excellent follow on from previous releases. The chardonnay is also a particularly flavoursome wine, with strong vineyard character coming through.
Now to the 2015 vintage. I believe the current releases are some of the finest wines made here at Giaconda to date. A stellar vintage combined with more refinements to our winemaking has delivered wines of depth, purity, complexity and aromatic beauty. In order to avoid disappointment I encourage you to order promptly.
Stop Press! We are excited to announce the appointment of Casey White as our new Vineyard Manager. Casey comes to us with a wealth of experience and knowledge having been successful in this role at Beechworth's largest vineyard operation, Indigo Wines. We look forward to sharing more vineyard news with you in future newsletters.
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Sincerely,
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!