4382 Terroir is a collaboration between Rob Davidson from St Judes Cellar Door and Bistro at Ballandean who also manages the Rees Road Vineyard and winemaker Andy Williams from Hidden Creek. 4382 is the Ballandean postcode the idea being that all the 4382 Terroir wines are made in Ballandean. Personally I’m looking forward to when all the fruit also comes from 4382 although that may be quite an ask. This Lagrein wine will not be made from Granite Belt GI fruit.
The meaning of Cerasuolo, an Italian word, is “cherry”. It’s a Rosé style but with a difference the colour is deeper, almost garnet and the wine has more structure than other Rosé styles – it’s closer to red wine. There are at least two Cerasuolo style wines in Italy, one in Sicily the other in Abruzzo. From what I understand, curtesy of a short conversation with Rob Davidson, this particular wine has been made in what he calls a ‘Cerasuolo Style’ and that translates to some time on skins and a little time in oak. In this specific case that was – cold soaked on skins for 36 hours and 4 weeks in old French Oak. The style is intended as a serious rose with more body and red wine structure than other styles.
You can see from the photos that this one certainly produces the required deep colour and within those depths it’s a genuine radiant light show. I’m drinking this reasonably chilled in the current Brisbane weather, nevertheless the bouquet offers up ripe cherry and cherry cola with suggestions of spice and, although it’s difficult to couch this as a bouquet experience there is a depth and a texture, even a textural gliding smoothness to the bouquet you are unlikely to encounter in traditional rosé.
The palate is unashamedly succulent with maraschino cherries, cherry cola, red lolly frogs and, true to the bouquet, there is a persistent smooth textural mouthfeel that is a delightful palatal massage. The wine is dry with some enjoyable balanced acidic tang which enriches all those luscious red flavours, a little spice from the French oak adds a small arousing quality and then there is some fine slightly drying tannin, you might even make a little pursing pucker.
I guess Cerasuolo could be viewed as the bridge between rosé and red wine. It occupies a gap and this one, all the other aspects aside, at 13.8% a/v will let you know you’ve been drinking more than a rosé. I think Cerasuolo is a brilliant idea and, just personal preference of course, I’m far more likely to go there than classical rosé.
Tasted: Friday 4th December, 2020 without food and then with over several hours.
Alcohol: 13.8%
Closure: Screwcap
Price: $30 – guesstimate!
Suggested Drinking Window: now to 2021
Winemaker: Andy Williams with assistance from Rob Davidson
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