The diaries this year are the shortest so far but that’s due to the ‘Aria Effect’. Our daughter turned 11 in April this year and promptly declared that adults, wineries and all things not play dates with friends are exceedingly boring. I’m sure any parents reading this can relate! So we had to negotiate just to visit for 4 nights in the school holidays and planned to leave on Sunday morning 23rd July at 9AM. We eventually left at 3PM on that day as Aria had to attend a friends birthday party at Chermside which of course added another 30 minutes to our journey. But a surprise outcome was that this was the first time we had seen the sunset over the range on our southern journey.
The Granite Belt region continues it’s popularity and since Covid is visited by many more new faces not only from Brisbane but also The Gold Coast, Toowoomba and Northern New South Wales. There is not the absolute frenzy that invaded the region during Covid but there certainly are a lot more visitors and from a wider catchment. As the regions popularity continues to expand we can expect to see more developments as new entrepreneurs are attracted to opportunities and other business, including new vineyards and wineries, become startups in the region. As a consumer I am a little conflicted about the region’s expansion – it’s great for the region and local businesses but for us consumers it means having to book accommodation much further in advance, having to book restaurants further in advance, more crowds at cellar doors, cafes and restaurants and even, as we found on Monday 24th June, driving up and down High Street looking for a park. But, no doubt there will be ebbs and flows in all of this.
Variety
In the Granite Belt Diaries 2022 I presented information that suggested The Granite Belt could be the GI that has the densest plantings of different varieties per hectare of planted vines in Australia. The related concept ‘Strangebird’ has grown so much since it was a mere brain child by Peter McGlashan and Jim Barnes that the region is now heavily marketed as ‘Variety‘. When visitors encounter this concept, and it’s almost everywhere, it seems an expectation is created of encountering a significant splattering of different varieties at any cellar door they visit. Many wineries which don’t have a lot of variety planted in their vineyards are either planting more, where this is feasible, or looking beyond their own estate grapes. Sourcing more fruit and different varietal fruit can be problematic. Although preferable it’s not a reliable business model to source local GI fruit. Vineyards tend to be small on The Granite Belt so there’s not a huge offering to select from plus a sudden hail storm can greatly diminish amounts of fruit you were relying on. This overall situation has resulted in more non-GI fruit being brought into the region and used in wine making. It’s great, from my own perspective for palatal information and purchasing decisions, when I see fruit source clearly identified on the label but, of course it’s an added label expense for wineries. Dawn Walker at Rokkwell has South Burnett on the front label of her new Sangiovese and Martin Cooper and Peter McGlashan at Ridgemill Estate have Riverland Region on the front label of their new Dos Perros – both of these new wines are delicious! Also Rob and Therese Fenwick at Heritage Estate have Sundown on the front label of their new Reserve Marsanne, Somme on their Riesling and I believe Thulimbah will be on their yet to be released new Sangiovese and Mourvèdre. These three words denote the local GI vineyard from which the grapes were sourced – great work Rob and Therese! Some wineries appear to be in transition about identifying fruit source on the label and of course for others it can be problematic especially if the fruit source is different each year. I always ask after fruit source – terroir is so important to me – and haven’t yet encountered a winery or wine maker who doesn’t immediately reveal, so kudos to Granite Belt Wineries for this.
Vintage 2023
As we all know the BOM called a El Nino so we all expected reasonably dry conditions but there was so much moisture still in the air over the Pacific Ocean that the El Nino was extremely unusual. I haven’t tasted many 2023 wines yet but early indications, at least from Ballandean south, are very encouraging. The red wines at Pyramids Road I’ve tasted, Cabernet Sauvignon and Mourvèdre are outstanding. Likewise the partial barrel ferment Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay at Golden Grove are both excellent. I’m returning to The Granite Belt in August October (thank you again Aria!) and will update this section on 2023 vintage and wines after that visit. There were some impressive hail storms, Golden Grove will have no 2023 Mourvèdre (at least not from estate fruit) and large sections of St. Judes Vineyard were affected.
Sunday 23rd June
We drove straight through to the revamped Ballandean Pub, arriving tired with biting appetites. This pub is barely recognisable from what it was. The pub was recently bought by Adam Penberthy from Brisbane City Winery and he has worked a wonderful transformation of the building. Adam didn’t just stop at the building – the food is now excellent. We had booked the inside dining area and immediately ordered some steaks and drinks. Liliana ordered the 200G Black Angus Rump and I ordered the 300G Porterhouse. The steaks were superb especially the delicious charring on the outside! We ordered a glass of Tempranillo each to have with the steaks but, it seems, we were so in need of refreshment that the Temps – Wilhelm Scream from the guys at La Petite Mort just seemed to evaporate. So two fresh ones accompanied the steaks. The outside of the renovated pub is shown below and an inside photo of the bar area. There’s an inside dining area to the right of the bar, on the other side of the wall where the fireplace is. You can book online here, we found this helpful as the new pub is extremely popular.
Adam’s enthusiasm still wasn’t entirely satiated by the Pub renovation and the significant upgrade to the kitchen menu – so he bought a vineyard. Just behind the Ballandean Pub there’s a large vineyard known as the St. Judes Vineyard which was owned by Sirromet but now owned by Adam. The vineyard has Chardonnay, Viognier, Shiraz, Nebbiolo and likely a few others – I’m sure Adam will let me know, he’s very keen! So when you buy a vineyard and you own a pub in Queensland’s premier wine region you don’t sell grapes you make wine. Adam’s new label Dear Vincent is shown below.
Dear Vincent wines are currently made by Andy Williams at Hidden Creek and Andrew Scott and Glen Robert at Bent Road/La Petite Mort. The Shiraz Viognier, made by Andy, contains 3% Viognier but during this unusually short trip for me I didn’t get to try any Dear Vincent Wines. There’s a Cellar Door approximately 100 metres down St Judes Lane with an Italian Food Van open Thursday through Sunday. I’ve just booked another visit to the region in August October and I’ll definitely try some Dear Vincent then.
After a lovely dinner at The Ballandean Pub we headed off to our accommodation with Tony and Julia at Just Red Wines. Tony had left a bottle of 2022 CMT in Shiraz Cottage for us. I haven’t tried the 2022 CMT for around 12 months, it was good then but has developed more complexity and is great drinking now.
Monday 24th June
Below: Early morning vines at Just Red Wines.
We had arranged to catch up with Ray and Jen at Golden Grove Estate before having a picnic hamper across the road at Ballandean Estate Wines, but first breakfast called. We drove into the Jamworks carpark just after 9AM.
It was a little after 9AM but already the tables were filling up. Jamworks at Glen Aplin is a great location for Breakfast or Lunch and the news spread many years ago, we now (especially in school holidays) always book beforehand.
After a scrumptious brekky we purchased a few of the Capsicum, Onion & Chilli Relish. This delicious relish always adorns our weekend brekky sausages throughout winter. Aria is now going through an Iced Late Decaf stage, she loved the one at Jamworks but remained determined to try many others throughout the region.
We left Jamworks around 10:30 turned left onto the New England Highway and were in Ballandean 5 minutes later where we turned right onto Sundown Road and soon sped past Adrian Tobin on our mission to Golden Grove Estate and Ballandean Estate Wines for a picnic hamper. It wasn’t long after 10:30AM when we arrived at Golden Grove Estate where Jenny Costanzo greeted us at the cellar door and let Ray know we’d arrived. We tasted a few wines at the tables outside.
Easily my favourite wine was the 2022 Old Vine Shiraz. There’s a tasting note for the Old Vine Shiraz here. Liliana liked the Malbec and I agree it’s a very good wine. We were in somewhat of a hurry as we had booked a picnic hamper for collection at Ballandean Estate at 12 Midday so we didn’t taste the Shiraz/Durif and I know Ray’s Joven Tempranillo is always good so didn’t taste that one either, just bought some on the back of experience. The Sauvignon Blanc was interesting, very complex bouquet and a little more palate weight from partial barrel ferment. Wine making can be a hazardous occupation, Ray hurt his back moving some barrels around and is still not fully recovered, nothing seems to dampen his infectious enthusiasm though! He is still young enough to be very excited about learning in his trade and to experiment on the backbone of experience coupled with this learning. As good a wine maker as Ray is now we expect he will just keep getting better.
After a hurried but enjoyable tasting at the front of the estate I ventured into the winery with Ray while Liliana and Aria remained outside and enjoyed a beautiful sunshine filled Ballandean winters morning. We tasted the not yet released 2024 Vermentino. This wine is so popular Ray is always under the pump from retailers and customers alike wanting the new release because the previous one now flies out the door with ever growing speed. Of course there’s a reason for that, Ray makes one of the best if not the best Vermentino in Australia. Ray says the wine is at it’s best after around 12 months in the bottle but, these days he has to release it long before that. Yes it’s a nice problem to have but does contain some pressure. This new Vermentino holds the consistent pedigree of previous vintages while also expressing some unique vintage features. The three components: Some Barrel; Some Skin Contact; Some Free Run Juice, differ in proportions dependant upon Ray’s interpretation of vintage conditions and what he’s looking for in the wine. This vintage contains a little more pithiness than the previous but this may change after the wine’s been bottled for awhile. Regardless this will become another classic and immensely enjoyable Vermentino from the Golden Grove stable. The next unreleased wine we tried was the other one that generates almost frenzied buying – the Rosé known as Rosé Browsé. This wine contains as much wine maker artistry as the Vermentino, it’s made from Shiraz, Sangiovese, Grenache and skin contact Vermentino. A truly lovely rosé that will be released soon but get your skates on as there’s certain to be a queue. Shortly after I entered the winery with Ray (at 12:15PM) Leanne from Ballandean Estate sent me a text wondering where we were as they expected us at 12 Midday to collect the picnic hamper. Ray is so enthusiastic about what he does he truly enjoys going into much detail and showing you as many wines as he can. We finally arrived at Ballandean Estate around 1:30PM as we didn’t want to cut the time short in any way with Ray where you feel genuinely privileged!
Just before I was about to leave the winery Sam Curtis and her friend Brett arrived and Jenny ushered them into the winery. They all gathered for a photo which included Joel (far left). Joel is currently enrolled in a wine making course at QCWT and Ray is very impressed with him to the extent that he believes we will all be hearing a lot about Joel in the future.
We arrived very late at Ballandean Estate Wines but happily our appetites were primed. The Picnic hamper was waiting for us complete with a bottle of Range Reserve Sparkling and drinking glasses. We took the hamper to the area at the front of the cellar door and enjoyed a lovely range of cheeses, charcuterie, relishes, pickles, crackers, sourdough, olives, fruits, sauces etc. It was a glorious Ballandean Winter’s day and, perhaps because it was a Monday, there were few people around and the unexpected quiet just added to our enjoyment. We couldn’t finish the very generous hamper and took leftovers back to our cottage for dinner.
The Granite Belt isn’t replete with sparkling white wine. However of those available the Ballandean Estate Range Reserve Sparkling is consistently good. This one, shown below, was so good we bought another one to take home and crack, well actually pop, at a dinner party. We did this on Saturday 29th June and that bottle was dispatched by all present with speeded alacrity! I have never asked what variety/ies are in the wine, certainly one is Chardonnay or perhaps 100% Chardy. I will find out soon and update.
I had a small discussion with the lovely lady pictured below. It’s always a joy chatting with Leanne (and with Robyn) they have so much local knowledge and are always generous with their time – unless a busload of tourists has just arrived of course! Leanne informed me that their new wine maker Boxi, whom I still haven’t met, proclaimed, when he saw them, “great that you’re using corks but we won’t use those Procorks anymore we’ll switch to Diam. So finally the reserve and cellaring style wines are sealed under the only cork seal that doesn’t have the issues of other corks in fact I’ve never encountered an issue with Diam. I’ve been talking to Leanne about this for quite a few years – thank you Boxi Yay!!!
11 years, 10 weeks and a few days ago we (myself and Liliana) were standing in the cellar door at Ballandean Estate holding our then 12 week old daughter Aria. Leanne and Robyn were overcome with motherly affection, they decided to take turns holding Aria. Aria started to cry and Mary (Leanne and Robyn’s mother) immediately materialised from further inside and issued a friendly chastisement to her daughters, saying that’s not how you hold a baby and removed Aria from Robyn’s arms. Of course, due, no doubt, to something magical about Mary and just to affirm the family matriarchal hierarchy Aria immediately calmed and you can imagine what Mary said then.
Many years ago I was served, almost where Leanne is standing in the above photo, by a young dark haired and rather athletic looking Angelo Puglisi. I bought a few bottles of the current vintage 1991 Late Harvest Sylvaner. The wine was then in 750Ml bottles and sealed under cork. Approximately two years after that I bought some 1993 Late Harvest Sylvaner. The 1991 got most of the gongs and was acknowledged by an international expert as the best example of that variety anywhere in the world. That expert should have tried the 1993 as it was just as good as the 1991. I wish I had some of either left instead of a nostalgic lone empty bottle of the 1991 that I can’t seem to part with, such delicious wines! I guess you could say if I have a second home anywhere on this planet it would be The Granite Belt.
Tuesday 25th June
Today’s agenda contained four items: Ravenscroft Vineyard; Lunch at Varias; Shopping in town for Aria; The annual Mourvèdre Blind Tasting at Pyramids Road. So a quick brekky in the cottage and the day awaits!
We arrived at Ravenscroft Vineyard around 11:45AM and thought we had plenty of time as lunch was booked at Varias at 1PM. Caitlin gave us a friendly welcome at the cellar door and Nick soon walked in from the back entrance. Conversation flowed very easily and eventually we started to try a few wines. The current full wine list is shown below.
We realised we’d been talking for some time and also we were already familiar with many of the wines on the list, so we didn’t taste through. The Pinot Gris is a classic style and with good fruit weight and genuine complexity in the flavours the wine presents. The fruit was sourced from Chalmers who are very consistent with fruit quality. The Skin Contact Fiano shows the textural elements you would expect from some extended skin contact (7 days) with a little creaminess and some added weight on the palate. We next tried the Cherry Bomb, an unusual blend of Sangiovese and Lambrusco Maestri. Nick said that this wine is their most popular seller and it’s easy to appreciate why. The wine has loads of interest and excitement and would be well received all year round, perhaps with a light chill, as the tasting note suggests, in warmer months.
The 2022 Nero d’Avola is a lovely lighter bodied rendition of the variety. Lower in alcohol at only 12.5% and presented in a see through bottle the appearance is extremely pleasing. The wine is intended to be drunk young so, given the spectacular colours and lack of need to protect from light, it was a great decision to bottle it in a clear bottle. There is a tasting note for this Nero d’Avola here. The 2022 Reserve Petit Verdot has been quietly maturing in French Oak for 2 years. Petit Verdot is a big grape with genuine fruit weight and a lovely bouquet which classically features violets and you certainly encounter them here. A wine made for a hearty meal in mid winter near a crackling fire. A tasting note for this wine will be coming soon. Last wine we tried was the 2022 Reserve Sagrantino. This is a different Sagrantino made to be approachable now. Often the tannin management of Sagrantino in it’s spiritual home Montefalco is cellar it for 10+ years and then taste test to see if the tannins have calmed enough. The flavour profile of this wine is also a little different with black tea tannins and black currants and the classic dried herbal flavours aren’t present. I really enjoyed this different Sagrantino, a tasting note will emerge soon enough.
Nick explained that they intend removing the Verdelho vines and replacing many of them with more Pinotage. The Verdelho vines have been somewhat problematic where they are located on the property and Pinotage will do much better. This could be good news for consumers as there isn’t enough Pinotage on the Granite Belt and the Ravenscroft Pinotage has consistently been one of the best in Australia. Currently there is only about two thirds of an acre planted which produces between 800 and 900 bottles – more will be most welcome! Nick and Caitlin said they will add another variety, perhaps Petit Verdot to replace some of the Verdelho. When this happens the vineyard will still only have four varieties. The third is Pinot Gris and the fourth is Albariño/Alvarinho which Mark Ravenscroft planted just a few years ago after being impressed with the varieties local potential following a vintage he did with the grape for Symphony Hill Wines. So soon enough we will see a Ravenscroft Vineyard Albariño made from Estate Fruit and I am really looking forward to that as I believe the variety is very well suited to the Granite Belt and have tasted some truly enjoyable local productions.
I mentioned near the beginning of these 2024 Diaries that the Granite Belt has focussed very much upon increasing grape variety and therefore offers a rather expansive wine experience for consumers. Ravenscroft Vineyard only has three varieties planted with a fourth on the way. Nick said that they had intended to rely on the Ferrier’s Rosemary Hill Vineyard to purchase other varieties but after the significant recent wet seasons Duncan Ferrier pulled all the grape vines. So Nick and Caitlin source fruit for other varieties from Chalmers. This is a good decision and one that other local wineries have also made as Chalmers produce top quality fruit and they are very professional and, on that basis, easy to deal with.
We realised it was almost lunch time and Nick had to call Varias for us so we could arrive a little later. We left a very enjoyable time with Nick and Caitlin around 1PM after purchasing 7 bottles – shown below.
Nick, Caitlin and Aria just before we left. Aria is only 11 and she’s almost caught up to Caitlin, will she eventually look down on Nick? I tried to talk her into getting a Reds Jersey but her school friends are all about the Broncos ATM (Sigh).
Ravenscroft Vineyard Pinotage vines sleeping in winter.
We drove down the road from Ravenscroft Vineyards Cellar Door turned left at the entrance onto Spring Creek Road, right onto Elks Lane and then left onto Texas Road where we headed, with some needed alacrity, for Varias at the Queensland College of Wine Tourism. We arrived at Varias Restaurant around 1:45PM.
We have been to the excellent Varias Restaurant at least once a year for the last 14 years and it keeps improving. The winery Banca Ridge has always had an excellent Petit Verdot but in recent years there has been an addition of a lovely Albariño and a quality Marsanne. My personal favourites are the Petit Verdot and the Albariño but that’s just my palate and yours will differ. Happily you can choose from any of these -> Banca Ridge Wine List.
Although we have been to Varias frequently we have, for some yet to be determined reason, never ordered the Medley of Mains …? So, why not! Just for the two adults though, Aria wasn’t interested in ‘sketchy and boring adult behaviour’ so as you do when you’re a totally pro 11 year old she ordered fish and chips with a hot chocolate on the side.
In this setting we were entirely happy to be sketchy adults, our Medley of Mains consisted of: beef tartare, saltbush, egg yolk, pickles, tostada – matched with a Banca Ridge Chardonnay; fried scallops, morcilla, cauliflower, rhubarb – matched with a Banca Ridge Skin Contact Pinot Gris; honey glazed pork collar, persimmon, daikon, apple (we had ordered gluten and dairy free for all meals) – matched with a Banca Ridge Tinta Cao.
The Medley of Mains was excellent, the only change I would have made was a different wine than the Tinto Cao but sometimes I’m just enigmatic! We quickly finished our desserts, with such haste apparently that we didn’t take any photos and have now forgotten what they were – must have been extremely tasty!
We left Varias and headed for town so the very pro among us could do some shopping. We managed to arrive back at our accommodation approximately 45 minutes before we had to leave for the Mourvèdre tasting at Pyramids Road Wines.
We had arranged to collect Samantha Curtis ( Sam samswineadventures ) at the Ballandean Pub Carpark on the way. This would be Sam’s first attendance at the annual Mourvèdre Blind Tasting Event which has been hosted by Sue and Warren at Pyramids Road Wines since 2012. We arrived at Pyramids Road Wines on time at 5PM.
The first few years the event was held in the Pyramids Road Wines Cellar Door but for the last approx. 6 years Sue and Warren have generously hosted it in their home. This year I brought seven wines from various Australian wineries, Warren added a few and our friends Graeme and Pauline added a Mataro/Shiraz from the Barossa. We don’t encounter many straight Mourvèdres from Western Australia so this year I made a special effort to source two and I had high hopes. These were the Frankland Estate Isolation Ridge 2021 Mourvèdre an organic wine and the Swinney 2022 Mourvèdre from Frankland River. Ray Costanzo from Golden Grove Estate had generously donated his unreleased/unlabelled 2022 Mourvèdre. This wine is 16% Whole Bunch and contains 8% Durif.
The blind tasting began with a 2015 Travis Earth alongside a 2015 Pyramids Road, no-one other than myself knew the vintages or wines – the only information people have before they taste is that the wine is Mourvèdre. I was interested for others to compare these two wines as a side by side. The Travis Earth has a big name and a big price tag and comes in a very heavy bottle with a wax sealed cork. The Pyramids Road retails for just over 25% of the Travis Earth price and is in a light bottle. Everyone loved the Pyramids Road in fact it was eventually voted as Wine of the Night (WOTN). The Travis Earth had some decent structure but also some VA and Brett.
The two Western Australians I had high hopes for, based on reviews, were rather disappointing in there was ‘a little too much oak’ treatment. One wine that genuinely surprised was a Langmeil 2020 Resurrection Mataro a well balanced nicely weighted Mataro showing the varieties characters. This Langmeil wine was the cheapest in the lineup showing great value for money.
The eventual favourite wines of the night were the Pyramids Road 2015 and 2023, Golden Grove 2022 and the Langmeil Resurrection Mataro. While the 2015 Pyramids Road was WOTN myself and Warren preferred the Pyramids Road 2023 as we believed it will eventually develop into a better wine than the 2015. When Ray decides to release his 2022 Mourvèdre I’ll definitely be buying, the 16% whole bunch and the 8% Durif have certainly added flavour, structure and pretty stunning colour (from the Durif). I suspect Warren’s 2023 may become the equal of his best Mourvèdres thus far, all of Warren’s 2023 red wines are looking impressive so I have high hopes for the Granite Belt 2023 vintage red wines. You may be wondering about the outcome of most of the wines in the top bracket being Granite Belt wines? This outcome isn’t always the case, I usually include one of Warren’s wines in the lineup and it often does well. When the Boireann 2019 was included it did very well, but there aren’t many local Mourvèdre wines so the lineup is usually heavily weighted to other regions. Because this is a Mourvèdre blind tasting most, but not all of us, are looking for varietal features, so wines that may be good wines but don’t show variety are likely to be not as well received as wines that are varietal. Some non-GI wines that have been WOTN in the past are The Marius Matarius Mataro from Willunga, The Ducks in a Row Erect Habit Mataro from McLaren Vale, a much older vintage, 2006, of Hewitson Old Garden (the more recent ones we’ve tasted have been very heavily oaked) and an earlier vintage (2012) of the Langmeil. The Vanguardist was also an impressive wine in the lineup 2 years ago.
Some of the evenings wines and happy tasters, who didn’t include Aria, are shown in the photo below. The full group of tasters is shown in the movie after.
Wednesday 26th June
Not a lot planned for today, I had intended catching up with Dawn Walker at Rokkwell but Dawn and crew had all come down with some unfriendly and persistent bug which eventually took a good fortnight or so to clear their systems. I did manage to obtain, via Sam, a bottle of Dawn’s new Sangiovese made with fruit from South Burnett. It’s a lovely savoury Sangiovese, there’s a tasting note here. We decided, since Tony and Julia’s is pretty close to them, to visit Jamworks for another great day starter and there it was negotiated that I could drop the girls off in town again and visit this guy ->
Above: The exceptionally amicable Andy Williams in his Vine Change environment, long gone are the turbulent days of QPS!
I always enjoy catching up with Andy, he’s such a friendly and open person and he’s always ‘up to something’. Andy has rather rapidly become recognised as an excellent local wine maker and he is in demand making wines for more and more local cellar doors. Andy’s Hidden Creek 2021 Syrah was recently presented at The Brisbane Club and it showed very well even being preferred to the Penfolds St. Henri. There’s a tasting note here. As well as for many other clients Andy is now making the majority of the wines for Summit Estate. Arantza is making their small batch wines at The College.
I had the privilege of opening a pre-release bottle of wine Andy has made for Summit Estate. The wine is a ‘Reserva’ style Tempranillo. This wine is certainly up with the very best local tempranillo wines I have tasted and it will have a long cellaring life. There’s a tasting note here. Andy has also made the second Nebbiolo Rosé I’m aware of in the region, this one was made using grapes from the St Judes Vineyard and will be labelled as a Dear Vincent Wine – Adam Penberthy’s label. Andy has given me some other wines to try and I’m both appreciative and excited to taste them – I believe one is the first wine from a new Estate. I was able to establish, following the 2022 Diaries, that Andy hasn’t actually cloned himself (not yet anyway) so I just have to marvel at his energy and industriousness! I’ll be catching up with Andy again this year – stay tuned.
I left Andy and headed for town to collect the girls one of whom had been sending ‘where are you text messages’ – hazzard a guess? After I found Liliana and the frenzied texter in town we headed back to Shiraz Cottage to chill and begin to pack for leaving tomorrow morning. We planned dinner in the cottage and breakfast at St. Judes tomorrow morning followed by a quick call into Heritage Estate Wines at Cottonvale on our way back to Brisbane.
Thursday 27th June
Before we left Just Red I bought a bottle of the just released 2023 Shiraz/Viognier from Tony. When I tasted this wine I was pleasantly surprised as this is, at least for me, the best SV Tony has made. The wine contains a lower than usual 4.5% Viognier which is clearly stated on the label. There’s a tasting note here. We waved goodbye to Tony and headed to the tiny village of Ballandean on the New England Highway to have what Aria always describes as The World’s Best Scrambled Eggs for breakfast at St Judes Cellar Door and Bistro. Currently one of Aria’s favourite drinks is Iced Latte Decaf Rob Davidson makes a beauty and apparently, see below, they’re very serious business.
Rob gave me a bottle of 4382 Terroir Durif to try. The wine is made with fruit from Riverland. Durif is a big grape and this wine doesn’t disappoint, drink it in the depths of winter with hearty food! A tasting note can be viewed here. Rob has informed me that as of the 2024 vintage all 4382 Terroir wines will be made from local Granite Belt GI fruit. I was pretty excited to hear this as Rob has planted a lot of varieties in the Rees Road Vineyard, so hopefully some of the wines will come from those grapes and I’d be so interested to taste a local Aglianico or a second local Sagrantino, fingers crossed. After brekky and a quick chat with Rob who was extremely busy preparing for a large luncheon party we headed for Heritage Estate Wines.
We entered Heritage Estate Wines and almost immediately were tasting some of their lovely wines with the always friendly Rob. I had been very interested to try their new Sangiovese and straight Mourvèdre made with grapes from the nearby Thulimbah vineyard but both wines were still maturing in barrel – hopefully next time. The new vintage Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio wines are both excellent and made in the expected styles, although the Gris has a coppery colour which is usually termed ‘Romato’. The coppery colour is less often encountered in Australia and isn’t a fault in fact Pinot Gris can display a wide range of colours coming from some skin contact. Heritage have a second label Hush with a range of Red and White wines and one Liquer. I tasted the ‘Inspiration’ Cabernet Sauvignon a lightly oaked wine made to be consumed young. I didn’t take any tasting notes but it was easy and pleasant drinking drinking and would be a red wine you can consume in Spring and Summer in Queensland.
I was familiar with most of the Heritage Estate Wines but hadn’t tried three of their new Marsannes. These wines are made with grapes from a vineyard next to Sundown Road at the front of the Golden Grove Cellar Door. The vineyard is often mistakenly thought to be part of Golden Grove Estate. It was part of the now closed Winewood Winery and was purchased by Heritage Estate. I’m very glad that Heritage purchased this vineyard with some Marsanne vines now 45 years. A photo of the Sundown Road Vineyard (in the distance) taken from Golden Grove Estate at the front of their cellar door is shown below.
I left Heritage Estate with the three wines below.
The 2022 Reserve Marsanne is a beautiful wine in it’s style, I can recommend this wine without reserve (pun intended). It is a stunning rendition of Marsanne which can be consumed now or cellared for many years. There is a tasting note here. I’m not sure when this wine will be released but keep checking the Heritage Estate web site or contact them directly. I’ll be trying the other two soon enough and will post the tasting notes. Here is some information from Heritage Estate regarding the vineyard and the making of these three wines:
We grow our Marsanne across two blocks on a high altitude (800 metres) vineyard in Ballandean in the cool climate Granite Belt wine region. The vineyard was owned and largely planted by a local high school teacher, who was nicknamed “Mr Rhone” due to his love of Rhone valley varieties, including Shiraz, Mouvedre, Grenache, Viognier, Merlot, Cabernet and Marsanne. The story by our other famous Ballandean neighbour, is that he crown grafted on rootstock the top block Marsanne for “Mr Rhone”, in 1979.
Note: I’ll have to check with Rob and Therese but the “other famous Ballandean neighbour” must have been either Sam Costanzo or Angelo Puglisi.
The Marsanne blocks vary in age with the oldest being 45 years old while the “youngest” is in the mid-thirties. Due to the age and the lack of record keeping the clone is unknown. The Marsanne blocks make up approximately one hectare of the 5 hectare vineyard.
Vintage 2022
The 22 vintage was bountiful on this small vineyard, the best for quite a number of years. The abundance was the result of a number of years of reinvigorated management, solid rainfall post drought and perhaps, just a little luck. Berry quality was extremely high, and quantity was very pleasing. The quality and abundance allowed us to “play” a little and extend ourselves beyond the traditional oaked and aged Marsanne for which Heritage has justifiably earned a reputation. The decision was made to create three wines: a “half oaked” to be released at about 18 months of age, a “fully oaked” to be cellared and released at three years or so and, after some research, a lesser known Rhone blend of Shiraz and Marsanne to be released as a lighter, easier drinking shiraz at about 2 years of age.
1. Marsanne 2022 “Half Oaked”
50% of the juice was wild fermented in new Aquaform French oak puncheons, and the other 50% of the juice was divided into 3 different batches with 3 yeasts chosen for palate, structure and aroma, respectively. Then the four tranches were blended. Aromas reminiscent of lemon verbena, caramelized pineapple, fresh green beans, and candied almonds. Taste notes reveal a delicate interplay of apricot, honey, zesty lime, crisp apple, and ripe pear. The wine concludes with a subtly creamy hazelnut undertone, contributing to its captivating finish. Overall, it offers intricate layers, complexity, and an engaging drinking experience.
2. Marsanne 2022 Reserve “Fully Oaked”
The remaining French oak fermented wine was retained in barrel for an additional 3 months and then bottled and held for extended bottle maturation prior to release (pending). The result is a Marsanne exhibiting the additional texture and creaminess as expected. The oak is settling over time and by the time of release it is anticipated that this wine will be at its peak of smooth, slightly nutty complexity.
3. Marsanne Wild and Cold 2023
Aromas of apricot, honeysuckle and peach nectar. Savoury, fruit forward with acid driven palate.
The best laid plans of mice and men….
Following the success of co-ferment Marsanne 2022, the 2023 vintage was awaiting. Whilst the juice from the bottom block behaved as expected, the top block, old vine juice did not. Sitting in the cold room for days on end, and stubbornly refusing to settle, this remained unsuited to ferment. A week later, much to the surprise of Stephen Oliver, our winemaker, the juice spontaneously commenced a wild ferment at 4 degrees Celsius. After an unusually long 3-week fermentation, the juice had vinified itself. Normally, whites are fermented at 15 to 18 degrees, over one week. This is wine making history occurred at 4 degrees over 3 weeks.
Unheard of, and marvelled at by winemakers, we have achieved terrible scores in judging. Why? This wine is anything but typical Marsanne. Instead, it is more like the European version of a clean, crisp Riesling, showing delicate aromas, and clean fresh fruit. The unique nature of its creation deserves to be told. Even if the judges are not on the same page, the discerning wine aficionados, will see what is possible. The result we decided to call “Marsanne, Wild and Cold”.
So that’s a warp folks for the 2024 Diaries. I will be back, this year, on The Granite Belt for 5 nights beginning Sunday 6th October and will update a few things above e.g. Vintage 2023 after that visit. I’ll flag this on Instagram and Facebook when it occurs.
A big thank you to every local and local business who made our visit so enjoyable, it’s always such a pleasure to visit this region and interact with community members.
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Granite Belt Diaries Links:
The Granite Belt Diaries May-June 2023
The Granite Belt Diaries July 2022
