15 March 2019
I hope you will find the Estate Vineyard wine releases truly excellent again this year. All three are giving me great satisfaction and even more complexity will undoubtedly come with bottle age. As mentioned in previous newsletters, these are the wines I truly want to make. They are in no way slaves to fashion or trends. However I feel like a little foray into the world of 'natural' wines would be interesting. To this end we have been experimenting with Terracotta Amphora vessels now for the past 3 years.
I must stress that my major goals and efforts rest with our long-term classic wines and Giaconda is not making a major change in direction but the ageing and evolution of wine in Terracotta is something I find fascinating and is yielding very interesting results in the winery. To date we have completed various trials with Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebbiolo and a fascinating Roussanne fermentation is currently in progress!
This style of wine is sure to develop over time. The Amphora vessels are allowing us to age on solids (skins and stems) for a more complete and gentle extraction. As a result we are seeing richer and rounder structure, more texture and enhanced aromatic complexity. This will suit some varieties more than others and from our experience Nebbiolo is lending itself well to this new approach.
Nebbiolo has been gaining much attention and I encourage you to keep a close eye on our Red Hill (Beechworth) project. This variety has found a certain affinity with the Amphora and our next harvest will be vinified entirely this way. The results from our trial have produced an incredibly complete and textural wine. The evolution over the past 12 months has been such that we should see a release of our first Amphora aged Nebbiolo in the near future!
Pinot Noir has also taken a great leap forward with our new plantings and clones coming to the fore. The richer soils and cooler location of these plantings has resulted in much later ripening, which enables the vines to produce enhanced flavour complexity while retaining better acidity and building finer tannin structure.
Warner Vineyard Shiraz is back on true form and an En Primeur offer is being made this year from the 2018 vintage. Do not miss this release as the wine is profound and deeply complex. The 2017 vintage will be released later this year (during spring) under our Nantua label. In comparison the '17 is lighter and already approachable as a young wine, hence the decision to release this under the Nantua label.
This year we are proud to announce the completion of our Organic certification with the Bio Dynamic Research Institute (BDRI). Casey has continued to make good progress in developing our organic farming practices and you will see organic certified wine being released by us in a few years from now! This completes the brief to make Giaconda one of the most traditionally inspired wineries in Australia. Here the definition of 'natural' wine making is inspired by old-world European techniques such as gravity flow without the use of pumping, fermentation with indigenous yeasts, no ageing in stainless steel, minimal sulphur additions, full Malolactic fermentation and no filtration before bottling. I feel this all comes together and contributes greatly towards what you experience and enjoy in a glass of Giaconda.
Sincerely,
Rick Kinzbrunner
We are delighted to have been invited by Jeremy Oliver to participate in Lizard Island’s inaugural Food and Wine Event. To take place over five days between May 17-21 2016, this event will cement Lizard Island’s return to the pinnacle of Australia’s luxury resorts following a $50 million refurbishment.
Giaconda is one of just two wine producers invited to participate, the other being Champagne Krug. Together, our wines will figure in an extraordinary series of culinary experiences created by a team of chefs including Lizard Island’s Executive Chef Mark Jensen, international guest chef Rick Moonen and one of Australia’s leading Master Chefs in Markus Werner.
Back vintages of Giaconda wines will feature strongly in the Grass and Grain dinner prepared by Markus Werner and contribute to the From the Sea dinner by Rick Moonen. We also feature in the selection of Australia’s Finest 10 Wines as chosen by Jeremy Oliver for the final degustation dinner, which each of the three chefs is contributing towards. Our current and recent vintage Giaconda wines will also feature in a masterclass presented by myself and Jeremy Oliver.
We would be delighted to welcome you at Lizard Island’s Food and Wine Event. Please click the following link for a full set of details, itinerary and booking information.
Rick Kinzbrunner
Wine Ark Top 50 Collected Wines
22 August 2016New entries into the top 50 on the list include Giaconda Chardonnay from Beechworth (up 32 places).
There has been a notable increase in the volume of Chardonnay being cellared. Campbell Mattinson, publisher and wine writer, remarked “Peering into the treasure chests of Australian wine collectors is always a fascinating exercise. It’s not just informative; it helps ground us all. For all the talk, for instance, of new Australian styles, two of the biggest (upward) movers on the collector list are Lake’s Folly Chardonnay and Giaconda Chardonnay, both invariably made in a fuller style. Australian wine collectors listen and learn but ultimately think for themselves. That’s why we crave these lists. They keep things real. The chattering folk can say whatever they want; this is what’s actually happening.”