Vineyard News

After so many years…

After many years of hard grind, it all seems worthwhile after reading such comments as these below. Even more so as I have great respect for Andrew Caillard MW, who has a great international palate. He is an extraordinary achiever himself, having written the monumental and definitive history of Australian wine. I highly recommend you read it – The Australian Ark (www.australianark.com)

“There are few wines in the world that bring anticipation and longing. Domaine de la Romanée-Conti does it for some. Giaconda does it for me. The latest releases of 2024 Giaconda Chardonnay and 2024 Giaconda Roussanne represent the genius of vineyard site, the pinnacle of winemaker Rick Kinzbrunner’s intellectual powers, family custodianship and a perfect growing season. These two remarkable wines of differing dimension and expression are both transcendent wines of extraordinary and beguiling quality. A monumental success that will have lasting impact on the reputation of fine Australian wine. Wonderful!” Andrew Caillard MW

Read Andrew’s full tasting notes >

Now for some news here at Giaconda. We haven't made Warner Shiraz for some years now and the last Estate Vineyard Shiraz will be from the 2025 vintage. Our Estate Shiraz vines have been grafted over to Roussanne and Chardonnay and there are two reasons for this:

- I now only want to make the best of the best, do less, and do it better. For the style of wine I like to drink, there is no comparable Chardonnay or Roussanne in Australia and very few Nebbiolo (and we are on an upward curve with this variety as these vines mature).

- Giaconda shines brightest for whites on the granite soils. In my opinion much of the Beechworth area shines brightest for whites also. In the right location, Nebbiolo could be exceptional and we have intentionally planted those vines at Red Hill Rd on a small pocket of deep red clay and shale.

I always make the analogy of a tree. You can be in the very top twigs with little foliage around you (Chardonnay, Roussanne and Nebbiolo) or a bit further down, still in the top branches but with more foliage around you (Shiraz).

Over the years we have made some great Shiraz here at Giaconda that can stand up with the best but contrary to the other three varieties mentioned, I feel there are many other great Shiraz out there so why bother. Regarding Pinot Noir, let's say this is an ongoing plaything, with new clones, a new part of the vineyard and we have now introduced additional rows to double the vineyard planting density. We expect that some fruit will be picked off these new vines from next season onwards.

During the release this year, there will be no Nebbiolo or Shiraz. The La Niña season during 2023 was a poor season for Nebbiolo (too cold and wet) and it will not be bottled. As we only have two remaining vintages of Shiraz to release, the 2024 vintage will benefit from an extra year in bottle.

The 2025 vintage wines are showing great potential in the cellar. They are all right up there with our usual standards. At long last, we will have a Nantua Chardonnay to release again next year and it looks exceptional. This will be a real mini-Giaconda Chardonnay from the 2025 vintage.

I feel very confident that the standard of these wines is better than ever. The efforts of Nathan, Casey and Guy enable us to have more attention to detail and give us more time and resources to improve the vineyard. No effort or expense is now spared in the vineyard and winery.

Read the current release tasting notes >

Salut,
Rick Kinzbrunner