Last Friday, we were very pleased to receive the Trophy for “Best Tasmanian Riesling” for our 2016 Riesling at the 2017 Canberra International Riesling Challenge. This Riesling was also awarded a rare “Elite Gold”! As we mentioned in our most recent newsletter we’re champions of the Riesling grape and thought the 2016 Riesling was looking fantastic when we released it last month – so we’re very pleased the judges agree! You can purchase this here!
We’re proud to announce the release of our 2011 Cuvée Traditionelle sparkling wine! With over five years on lees gaining richness and complexity, it is a showcase example of why Tasmania makes the best sparkling wine in Australia – and also quite easily a match for the best wines produced in Champagne too! Think citrus, brioche, almond and white stone fruit, finishing with lovely Granny Smith apple acidity. It was certainly popular with patrons at the VIN Diemen events in Sydney and Melbourne a few weeks ago who saw it as an exclusive pre-release – in fact, it was our biggest selling wine! You can purchase it here – and remember that the minimum order is just six bottles, and you can mix and match as we pack each individual order by hand! Cheers, Fred
Something for the calendar – the annual Wine South White Wine Weekend is on again in 2017! Saturday 28 October and Sunday 29 October, from 11am to 5pm, at Princes Wharf 1 in Hobart. We’ll be there, pouring a range of our wines, including our 2017 Schönburger and 2016 Riesling. Cheers, Fred
We are well through pruning with just some of the later varieties like Sauvignon Blanc to complete. It is still incredibly dry but we are fortunate in having plenty of water available for the coming season. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see an earlier than usual bud break this season – every spring is different! Cheers, Fred
This has to be one of the driest winters for decades – even the vineyard posts are a little loose in the soil! But we have had some cracking frosts which, whilst a little nippy on the fingers, is just perfect for the vines. Deciduous plants require a certain amount of winter chilling to ensure optimal performance next season – much the same way as we need proper sleep! Pruning is well underway and on target, as we prune the various blocks taking into account which varieties have earlier or later bud-break. With such a cold, dry winter all expectations are for a fairly even bud break – but we would like to see some rain pretty soon!
As many of our loyal mailing list members are aware, we don’t just make Pinot Noir – we also make a Cabernet Merlot – and of course other very enjoyable wines! You can produce excellent Cabernet Merlot wines in Tasmania, but they require the right site as well as meticulous work in the vineyard. We’ve just released our 2013 vintage, and consider it the best Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot blend we have made to date. Winestate Magazine agrees, twice rating it at 4.5 stars and top of its category– with the second result being awarded as part of the “Annual Cabernet Challenge 2017”.
It is a classically styled cool climate Cabernet Merlot, the nose expressive with blackberries, black cherries and lifted floral notes while the medium bodied palate has blackberry and dark plum flavors intertwined with cocoa, smoky oak and mineral nuances. The excellent tannin structure will ensure this wine develops in the cellar over the next several years – or you could simply drink it right now, paired with a rich meat dish such as Tasmanian Cape Grim beef fillets.
This is a wine well suited to winter dining! Interested? You can purchase it here – and if you are a Wine Club member, don’t forget to use your personal code for a discount on our regular price!
Bream Creek will be in Sydney and Melbourne in the second weekend of August as part of the annual VIN Diemen event. This is a great event well worth attending – and we’ll have six of our wines available for tasting and purchase, including our 2015 Reserve Chardonnay (which is otherwise sold out). More details (tickets, dates, times and locations) available here. Cheers, Fred
I am very pleased to announce the release of two new wines.
Firstly, our 2008 Cellar Release Pinot Noir. In 2008 we decided to hold back a portion of our award winning Pinot Noir for extended maturation. We are now proud to present the result – a fully mature Pinot Noir at its drinking peak. There are intense notes of black cherries and dark cherries on the nose, while the palate is smooth and deep, rich with dark fruits, spice and forest floor characters.
Secondly, we’ve also just released our 2015 Estate Chardonnay. This elegant, cool climate Chardonnay shows flavours of citrus and apple, hazelnuts and a touch of fig, which are supported by creamy nuances from time on lees, fine acidity and well integrated French oak.
All three wines can be purchased here – remember that you can mix and match your wines in any multiple of six bottles. Oh, and remember we accept AMEX in addition to Visa, MasterCard and Direct Deposit.
Cheers
Fred
Vintage 2017 will be remembered as one of our latest starting vintages and probably most compressed. Like most of southern Australia, we experienced our coolest February in over 25 years and hence commenced hand picking about 3 weeks later than usual. From March onwards we had great weather – warm and nicely dry and hardly lost a picking day due to rain. I think the cooler February helped our grapes to develop and also retain stunning flavours while achieving the “ripeness” we desired. I am very pleased with the quality of our Bream Creek wines across the board and think vintage 2017 will produce some of the best wines of the decade. Cheers, Fred
Taking 5 mins from preparing for Vintage 2017, I was very pleased to see 3 of our wines featured among the “100 Top New Release Australian Wines” featured in the most recent edition of Gourmet Traveller Wine! Our 2010 Cuvée Traditionelle achieved 96 points, with the 2015 Riesling and our yet to be released 2014 Estate Pinot Noir both awarded 95 points. Such recognition reinforces the suitability of these wine styles to Tassie’s climate conditions. Make sure you’re on the mailing list so you’ll get priority access to the 2014 Pinot Noir! Cheers, Fred
Influenced by southern Australia’s coolest February in over 25 years, the start of Vintage 2017 in Tassie was generally delayed by about 3 weeks. Due to its maritime location overlooking Maria Island and Marion Bay, our vineyard at Bream Creek is cooler than the majority of Tassie vineyards and our grapes take longer to ripen – hence Vintage 2017 for us started only recently, when we picked Chardonnay from D Block (planted in the early 1990’s). Our picking is all done by hand so we have that final opportunity to hand select bunches to maintain our highest quality. I’ll be in touch later with a report on Vintage 2017 – but it seems clear so far that yields will be slightly down for some varieties and up for others. There are some amazing flavours out there and delightfully “soft” acidity as a result of the very long cool and quite dry summer and autumn. Cheers, Fred
We were very pleased to see our wines being awarded 10 medals at the 2017 Tasmanian Wine Show. Five of those medals were gold, going to:
We had last released a Reserve Pinot Noir in 2005. However, the quality of the 2014 vintage produced superb wines and some of exemplary quality, deserving of Reserve classification. We expect to release the 2014 Reserve and 2014 Estate Pinot Noir wines towards the end of 2017 or the start of 2018 – time will tell.
Rest assured that our loyal mailing list members will be given prior notice of their release and first opportunity to order! If you’re not a mailing list member, make sure you join up.