Extreme
“Extreme” - That's how I describe the 2021 Chardonnay: powerful, complex, multifaceted and penetratingly long. This in itself brings a dilemma- pricing. I have been told many times recently from all over the world to raise the price drastically, as the Chardonnay is looking like very good value compared to some other Australian wines, not to mention the current prices of good White Burgundy. However, this is not going to happen. The main release will be next year with only a small price rise to account for increases in our cost of production.
As many of you probably know, there were no wines produced at Giaconda from the 2020 vintage due to the bushfires. However we are offering some of the 2021 Estate Vineyard Chardonnay for en primeur pre-orders; the quantity is not large, so order quickly! If you miss out please remember there will be more next year once this wine is bottled and ready to be released.
In lieu of the 2020 vintage not being made, we are also releasing two vintages of Nantua Chardonnay. We have kept back the 2019 to release with the 2021 so as to make a bit more available. These are mini Giacondas so don't miss out! 2019 is ready to drink, whilst I suggest you put the 2021 away for a few years. And in all honesty, these are among the best ever vintages of Nantua.
There is also a Nantua Shiraz from 2019 vintage which is from a declassified part of the Warner Vineyard and represents excellent price/quality rapport. There is plenty to like here and the extended time in bottle has enabled this wine to put on weight: now quite rich with a touch of briar.
ROUSSANNE - this remains a work in progress - witness the 2019 Amphora version, an interesting dry white wine but not quite what I feel reflects the beauty of Roussanne. This time I have created another style, a blend of skin contact amphora and barrel fermented aged wine. This will be released under our Nantua label, not due to a lack of quality: in fact, it's incredibly aromatic and complex on the palate. Nevertheless, I feel I'm still developing an ultimate style for this wine... more news will follow on this next year.
NEBBIOLO - the 2018 continues an upward curve on quality. This release can hold its head high against many a good Barolo in a blind line-up. We are refining this wine year by year with some interesting tweaks in winemaking which are proving to be the catalyst for immense complexity and depth.
PINOT NOIR - an exceptional 2021 will be released next year. At this stage it seems to me to be possibly the best ever! Unfortunately, there will only be 1800 bottles. This wine represents both a new style and winemaking process for Giaconda with more depth and tannin present whilst delivering greater complexity and refinement on the palate. It mostly comes from a small parcel of vineyard planted 10 years ago in a much cooler corner where the Pinot Noir seems to thrive, especially the MV6 clone which is new to us.
There will be some interesting new developments announced in next year’s release, but in the meantime it's worthwhile noting:
*We are organic certified across both the vineyard and winery and use very strict traditional winemaking practices e.g. no modern pneumatic press, no filtration or pumping to the bottling line.
*Solar power supplies virtually all our electricity and most of the wines are aged deep underground in natural conditions with no cooling or humidification required.
*The 2022 vintage (still in progress) is an exceptionally cool year producing wonderful Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. A couple more weeks of fine weather should do the same for the Roussanne, Shiraz and Nebbiolo.
Finally, a word on my personal winemaking philosophy - it's simple! I make the type and style of wine I like to drink and enjoy. I am not interested in the thin, acidic "fashionable" Chardonnay that appeals to many influencers. Our grapes are picked properly ripe and the wine is fermented and aged in small barrels with full malolactic fermentation in the traditional manner of the great white burgundies of years past. The reds are treated in the same manner. I am not interested in light, fruity "gluggable" wines, often accompanied by exaggerated acidity. I aim for serious body (though never heavy) in the wines with good firm tannins.
View release details and tasting notes >
Sincerely,
Rick Kinzbrunner
Beechworth's Granite Cave
18 September 2013The granite cellar at Giaconda Vineyard is the latest project of exceptional winemaker, Rick Kinzbrunner. Nick Stock travels to Beechworth in search of chardonnay, a granite cave and a vision for the future of Giaconda.
Rick Kinzbrunner has an enigmatic presence. Tall, slim and considered, he also has a reputation as a bit of a recluse. It may seem unsurprising then that his latest construct at his Giaconda property in Victoria’s Beechworth, happens to be a cave.
“My goal was always to grow the wine in granite soil,” Kinzbrunner says of his newest cellar, drilled and blasted into the granite rock at Giaconda. For him, it is the last link in the chain of a terroir to which he is deeply endeared: vines grow in granite, their grapes fermented and matured in a granite cellar.
Underground, the physical conditions are vastly better for wine maturation than the previous above ground facilities. Naturally cooled, the air is humid and alcohol is more likely to lower over time in this high humidity than concentrate in the arid, evaporative environment up on the surface.
Kinzbrunner calculates that there will be an average nett loss of around 0.5% in finished alcohol in wines made in the cave rather than a gain of around 0.5% in above ground conditions. This means he is able to deliver full, rich and powerful chardonnay at levels of around 13% alcohol by volume, instead of the previous norm that fell around 14% and without employing mech-anical climate control.
“I’ve stuck to my guns, refined my style and the wines I’m making now are the result. It’s the traditional stuff that’s probably closer to what they were doing hundreds of years ago rather than what many people are doing now.” RK
He has seen instant results in terms of refining wine style and quality. The first wine to emerge having been totally vinified inside the granite cave is the 2010 Giaconda Chardonnay and if this wine is anything to go by, the assessment is accurate.
Kinzbrunner is not prone to exaggeration and as one of Australia’s most capable and experienced winemakers; he has little need to stretch the truth. “It’s the first wine I’ve made that I’ve been truly happy with,” he says, “the culmination of everything I’ve tried to do and wanted to achieve.” The 2010 chardonnay is easily the best rendition of his signature white wine to date and the 2011 is developing handsomely in its shadow.
The inspiration for the cave project stems from Kinzbrunner’s time working in California. However, the impetus to embark on its construction is born of his regard for the granite terroir at Giaconda and the desire to chase down the very best and most unique quality in the wines grown and made there. His focus in terms of winemaking is both narrowing and deepening.
Nick Stock, Alquimie, Edition One