A new cellar door in the Hunter that's well worth discovering

 

There are a handful of cellar doors that anyone visiting the Hunter Valley for the first time will want on their itinerary. 

Pre-eminent among them will be Tyrrell's, Mount Pleasant and Brokenwood.

Once you've ticked off that trio you are spoilt for choice with dozens of venues offering myriad wine styles and experiences. 

One of the latest arrivals is Latitude 32, where we visited this week and were hosted by the friendly and knowledgeable Zac. 

On the site of the former Mistletoe operation, there is a relaxed but professional vibe - and lovely gardens. A range of structured tastings are on offer. 

We were guided to Latitude 32 by Newcastle Herald wine writer Rick Allen, GoTR's Hunter correspondent, who told the winery's story a few weeks ago. I particularly loved the 2023 The Matriarch Chardonnay.

Here are Rick's words: 

Latitude 32 owners Emma and David White aren’t your everyday wine couple.

“We’re learning the wine game on the run,” English-born Emma is happy to admit.

They respect the Hunter’s tradition, but aren’t shackled by it.

The couple bought the 50-acre property in Pokolbin, including 15 acres of established dry-

grown vines - but no cellar door - in 2018 after highly successful careers as senior finance

professionals at large multi-national companies in the UK and Australia.

And while they’ve produced some wine in that time, bushfires, smoke, hail and Covid meant

there was precious little of it. Plans for a cellar door stalled too.

But now, with the purchase of the former Mistletoe vineyard that includes a cellar door, things are finally starting to take off.

What they have in abundance is a passion for good wine … their successful careers enabled them to taste the finest international drops without having to worry too much about damage to the purse strings.

“We’d sit at home sipping wine and dreaming about one day owning our own vineyard and cellar door,” Emma said. “There’s no point having a dream if you don’t live it and we were fortunate we were able to do that.”

Latitude 32 -  the Hunter’s global position - officially opened on April 18 last year. 

“We bought this property at the end of last year,” Emma continued.

“We originally planned to build a cellar door on our home property on Deasys Road and plant more vines, but it didn’t work out. So when this came up, with its cellar door and 20 acres of established vines that produces some outstanding fruit, we grabbed it.”

It means Latitude 32 now has 35 acres of fruit in total over the two properties, covering semillon, chardonnay, shiraz, pinot noir and muscat. The plan is to plant more vines – in Emma’s own words, “go big or go home”.

“We do the usual varieties, but also a chardonnay-semillon blend which is popular – I don’t know why it ever went out of style – as well as the old Hunter Burgundy, a shiraz-pinot. “And I’m a huge chardonnay lover, so we do two chardonnays.”

Plus there’s a couple of surprises, in very small batches, from other regions, including a new smooth 2019 sangiovese from the Hilltops region.

See latitude32wines.com 

Aussie winemaker takes over Canadian business

Australian winemaker Ben Bryant, once of Jacobs Creek and St Hugo, has purchased one of Canada's best boutique wineries.

Mudgee-born Bryant and his partner Katie Truscott, have taken control of taken over 1 Mill Road in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia.

The producer was operated by Cynthia and David Enns, and focuses primarily on pinot noir.

Before moving to the Okanagan Valley in 2018, Bryant was chief winemaker in Australia for Pernod Ricard Winemakers, in charge of labels including Jacobs Creek and St Hugo.

He moved to Canada to join Mission Hill but now seeks to create a collection of wines from farm to bottle.

His partner, Katie Truscott, is originally from the Okanagan but spent a decade working in South Africa.

"It’s official!! Katie and I have taken over the reins of one of Canada's most coveted, niche, pinot-focused wineries, 1 Mill Road Winery," Bryant told his Instagram followers.

"From the moment we met, we shared a goal to contribute to this exciting wine region and produce our own wines that expressed place and time. Now it's all happening and we couldn't be more excited to carry 1 Mill Road into its next chapter.

"Our focus will be on pinot noir and chardonnay and we will be making our wines in the exciting village of Naramata, BC. Huge thanks to David and Cynthia Enns for allowing us this opportunity to carry on their brand.

“Our intention is to produce wines that share a distinct story of place and potential. We believe in the future of the Okanagan Valley, a budding and exciting wine region with nothing but potential.”

For details see www.1millroad.ca

On the right Corse: a brilliant wine discovery

We don't drink a lot of wine from Corsica - the beautiful island - in Australia. Most of us probably could not locate it on a map.

Yesterday, at a Red+White and Mezzanine trade tasting in Hobart, I discovered two elegant and minerally food-friendly wines from Corsica that should be on every serious vinophile's radar.

Meet the Fiumeseccu range from Domaine Alzipratu - a discovery of European wine guru Sally McGill and available in Australia for the first time.

The wines are made by Pierre Aquaviva and his family and comprise a Blanc - made entirely from vermentinu (also known as rolle, or vermentino) - and a Rouge (made from indigenous grapes sciaccarelli and nielluccio, a close relative of sangiovese, along with some shiraz and grenache).

Both are revelation in terms of interesting flavour profiles and textural palate interest. At around $40, they have been quickly snapped up by wine buyers in the know.

Situated 8km from Calvi in the north-west of the island, the domaine was created in the 1960s by Baron Henry Louis de La Grange, owner of the Convent of Alzipratu.

The domaine was run by Maurice Acquaviva before being taken over by his son Pierre and his wife Cécilia. Pierre's son Marc Andria is also part of the team.

The 40-hectare vineyard is planted primarily with traditional Corsican varietals.

The vines lie at the foothills of Monte Grossu (the peak of which is 1950 metres above sea level) and just a few minutes from the coastline, which results in highly contrasted climatic influences thanks to the proximity to both the sea and the mountains.

The wines will be certified organic starting from vintage 2021 - the wines of which should land in Australia soon.

The 2020 white has wildflower aromas with green apple and almond notes (and lot of length) on the very fresh palate, which has been lifted by lees aging; while the perfumed 2020 red blend has definite notes of macerated dark cherry and hints of spice, along with a serious tannin structure that hints at cellarability.

For those not sure about Corsica, the island lies 170km south-east of mainland France and 11km north of the island of Sardinia. It is a territory of France, but many of the region's winemaking traditions and grape varieties are Italian in origin.

Not many Corsican wines even make it to France, but those that do are often labelled Vin de Pays de l'Île de Beauté (country wines from the beautiful isle).

For info visit redandwhite.com.au

# Declaration: The writer's wife is employed by Red+White Wines