Banking on it: meet a new wine range inspired by Bordeaux

A new range of wines from Orange has been inspired by the acclaimed reds of Bordeaux.

Orange’s Stockman’s Ridge Wines has just released two new wines as part of its ‘Signature Range’: the 2022 Stockman’s Ridge ‘Signature Range’ Right Bank and its sister wine, the 2022 Stockman’s Ridge ‘Signature Range’ Left Bank.

I'm not sure how many Australian wine drinkers are familiar with the differences between the two styles, but the new releases are vigneron Jonathan Hambrook’s tribute to French inspiration. 

The ‘Left Bank’ is a nod to the Médoc region of Bordeaux and is a blend of cabernet sauvignon (60%) and merlot (40%). The ‘Right Bank’ tips its hat to St Emillion, being a blend of merlot (70%) and cabernet franc (30%).

“We have been producing our Bordeaux blend of merlot and cabernet franc since our second vintage,” says Hambrook. “I have a real love of these styles and wanted to explore them further with our ‘Left Bank’ blend of cabernet and merlot, which has a long and proud history in Australia,

“The [Orange] region is perfectly suited to these varieties. While there is strong focus on the Burgundy varieties in Orange, history has shown that these Bordeaux varieties excel.

"The founding vignerons of the region such as Bloodwood’s Stephen and Rhonda Doyle, Canobolas Smith’s Murray Smith and Philip Shaw have examples of these varieties that have shown to have superb depth, complexity and most of all, great longevity.

“We are hoping to build on these early examples and create wines that will evolve and develop in the bottle over the next 15 plus years."

Both wines are made by consultant winemaker Will Rikard-Bell.

The Stockman’s Ridge Vineyard is located on Boree Lane at an elevation of 800 meters, Wines are avilable available at www.stockmansridge.com.au.

The Bank wines cost $45 each. I'm traditionally a Left Bank man, but open minded. I will report back.

Orange vigneron showcases Austrian grape variety

The Orange wine region is pretty cold - and has several vineyards at significant altitudes.

It makes sense, then for an Austrian grape variety like gruner veltliner to thrive.

Orange's Stockman's Ridge has just released two new grüner veltliners grown by owner Jonathan Hambrook and made by local winemaker Will Rikard-Bell.

The label is is championing grüner veltliner with the release of their 2022 Stockman’s Ridge ‘Signature’ Grüner Veltliner and 2022 Stockman’s Ridge ‘Rider’ Grüner Veltliner.

Two excellent wines, but made in contrasting styles.

Grüner veltliner is intrinsically linked to Austria, where it accounts for around 30% of all wine grape plantings.

In Australia plantings are small, albeit increasing, with over 60 winemakers currently making a grüner. The movement has been led by Hahndorf Hill in the Adelaide Hills. 

The Stockman’s Ridge grüner veltliner vines were planted on the north-western slopes of Mount Canobolas at 800 metres elevation in 2012.

With the vineyard maturing, Hambrook is hoping to shine a spotlight on its potential.

“Orange’s long, cool ripening and high sunshine hours is perfect for this variety,” he says.

“It’s an exciting new variety for the region and one that has a great history growing in the colder, high elevation climates.

“After we planted the vines, we had years of drought. As a result, the vines sent their roots deep in search of moisture.

"Over the past few vintages, we have experienced good vintages and the deep-rooted vines are now producing excellent quality and yields. This has allowed us to experiment with different styles.”

The 2022 Stockman’s Ridge ‘Rider’ Grüner Veltliner is fresh and vibrant, crisp and lean on the palate and unoaked to showcase varietal character.

In contrast, the 2022 Stockman’s Ridge ‘Signature’ Grüner Veltliner was harvested riper to create a fuller, more mouth-filling style.

It was matured in seasoned French oak with regular lees stirring for three months to add textural interest. A small component underwent malolocatic fermentation.

“We are gaining valuable experience with this variety and foresee a great future for it," says Hambrook.

"Riesling andcChardonnay are excelling in the region, and it was logical that grüner veltliner would also succeed. Time will be the judge, but all the indicators so far are positive.”

The "Signature" retails for $40 and the "Rider" is $35. See https://stockmansridge.com.au/