Other Wines
2021 "Lost on Mars" Marsanne
Only 60 dozen made – split between us and Amato Vino. It is a wine that is distinctly Rhône in its heritage but in this version we have pear, honeysuckle and nectarine aromas giving a solid floor to some taut and uplifting citric notes – mandarin and lemon – and is that fresh strawberry wafting in from the side stage? On the palate it comes together so cleanly – stone fruit juice with tangerine and a tropical note from a papaya. Lovely and rich and leads one into thinking of crayfish and prawns – what a combination that would be!
The wine has been bottled without fining and filtration and as such is a “natural” wine with the combinations of wild amphora and barrel ferments, pressed off from whole bunches, and no additions making their way into the wine at all.
Technical Details:
Date: 26 February 2021
Tonnage: 0.910t
Baumé: 12.0Bé
pH: “a natural mystery”
SOLD OUT
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2020 "Lost on Mars" Marsanne
Only 48 dozen made – half will be sold by Amato Vino and half by us. It is a wine that is distinctly Rhône in its heritage but in this version we have rich ripe pear aromas giving a thumping bass notes to some taut and uplifting citric riffs – mandarin and lemon – and is that fresh strawberry wafting in from the side stage? On the palate it comes together so cleanly considering the “scotch mist” that dulls your view in your big big glasses (yes, get that wine moving and evolving, it needs air and attention) – all pear juice on your chin with lemon wedges and a tropical note from a loquat (freshly peeled). Lovely and rich, and leads one into thinking of crayfish and prawns – what a combination that would be!
The wine has been bottled without fining and filtration and as such is a “natural” wine with the combinations of wild amphora and barrel ferments, pressed off from whole bunches, and no additions making their way into the wine at all.
Technical Details:
Date: 26 February 2020
Tonnage: 0.9t
Baumé: 13+Bé
pH: “a natural mystery”
SOLD OUT
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2018 "Lost on Mars" Marsanne
Vintage began for us in 2018 with the picking of the Marsanne – some of the few vines of this variety in the region. We have in the past sold this on, but this year with the cool summer the fruit looked fantastic and as everything was dry grown, the flavours were even more intense than normal.
So up early on 12 March and approximately 1.2 tonnes @ ~13Bé were picked and delivered to Brad Wehr winemaker and owner of Amato Vino to make the wine through a completely natural processes. The grapes were loaded stalks and all into the press, foot stomped, pressed into barrels and left alone to start their own wild ferment – the cake of stalks and berries were pressed again two days later and further 150 litres was pressed off and put into an amphora for its own wild ferment.
Only 68 dozen made – half for Amato Vino and half for us. It is a wine that is distinctly Rhône in its heritage as it sheds off apricot and peach on the nose and palate, but the variety shines through with that dense slippery texture with a hint of lanolin, honeysuckle and what to me smells like star anise. Lovely and rich and leads one into thinking of crayfish and prawns – barbeque style!
The wine has been bottled without fining and filtration and as such is a “natural” wine with the combinations of wild amphora and barrel ferments, pressed off from whole bunches, and no additions making their way into the wine at all.
SOLD OUT
Reviews
Mike Bennie, The Wine Front
“Bringing together a geologist and a nudist, this is a collaboration between Mark Gifford and Brad Wehr, they of Margaret River lifestyle. Some skin fermentation, time in amphorae, life in oak, bottled unfined/unfiltered, but the back label will tell you that. This goes beyond and into the nexus of experimentation, daring and challenge while delivering a milder than expected wine but one of texture, detail and ease of drinking.
It’s slippery and somewhat concentrated in feel, offering pear and green mango characters, licks and whiffs of faint nuttiness, good length and a lip-smacking satisfaction through the squeaky finish. Oiliness might be a thing but it’s not too overwhelming, and it’s not what you’d call complex but has enough presence to keep you focussed. Good even. Lots of perfume and flavour, plenty to talk about, a sense that the wine is good as a stand alone in big glasses for admiring and guzzling at once. I liked it from first sip.”
Points: 91
Date: April 2019
Technical Details:
Date: 12 March 2018
Tonnage: 1.2t
Baumé: 13+Bé
pH: “a natural mystery”
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2015 Fiano
Very light straw coloured wine with an aromatic nose of pear drops and peach/apricot/loquat and a hint of vanilla. The palate is pitch perfect with fine fruit flavours balancing on a beautiful line of natural acid giving into a crisp refreshing length. It’s recommended that you enjoy this wine currently, but it does have the capacity to age gracefully in a cool cellar for 1-3 years.
Food matches for this wine include seafood (fresh squid quickly pan fried in butter or prawns grilled whole), asian styled dishes (glass noodle salads with the chilli toned down), and creamy poultry dishes.
Sealed under screwcap to ensure the wine made by us arrives to you as we intended it to.
SOLD OUT
Reviews
Mike Bennie, The Wine Front
“Feels bang on for the variety. Sniff of ginger in the nose, but it’s mostly pears and grassiness that waft out of the bouquet. Ultra refreshing thing to drink. Crisp, crackly texture with clarity of pear-like fruitiness, firm, thirst-crushing tang of acidity, good line of flavour through to the drizzle of mouthwatering stuff that finishes. It’s lean but packed with dry, tangy flavour. It’s from a seaside wine region to be drunk in sunshine by the seaside. Fair call. Good wine here.”
Points: 91
Date: 3 December 2015
Technical Details
Vintage in 2015 was underpinned by a large loss of tonnage of all grapes throughout the region, thus the tonnage we received of this our first Fiano was much less than expected. Fiano is a grape that enjoys the heat as it hails from Sicily, amongst the ash and dark soils below Mount Etna. Grown in the warmer region to the north of Margaret River, it has thrived under the care of Lynne and Phil Foster within their immaculate vineyard near Yallingup.
ll the grapes were handpicked in the morning, delivered quickly to the winery for a quick chill prior to being lightly pressed at the winery, thus preserving all the aromatics and richness of the juice.
The vintage data as below:
Picked 24 February 2015
1,115kg
Beaumé 12.7
pH 3.31
TA 7.40 g/L
Clive and Kate at Fraser Gallop Estate pressed the wine off into a small steel tank and let the wine go through ferment without any delay. A heady aroma of pear drops and peach lifted off the wine as it was fermented through to dry. No modifications, no additions, just fined and bottled and sent to you. A delicious wine made with the Margaret River lifestyle in mind thus drink and share with good friends and good food. Enjoy.
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2007 'Hopping Stone' Tempranillo
The 2007 'Hopping Stone' Tempranillo is a deep red/black coloured wine with a lifted nose of cherry and plums and a savoury note that creates anticipation. The palate is lively and finely balanced with round fruit flavours counter pointed by drying, fine tannins giving into a long satisfying length. A wine that has potential to age at least 3-7 years, but drinking wonderfully now.
If drunk with food (which is certainly recommended as there are few greater pleasures), we recommend game and spiced meats which will match with the aromatics and savoury flavours that this wine brings to the palate. Tapas or smoked hams would be sensational combinations and enhance both the wine and the food.
Sealed under screwcap to ensure the wine made by us arrives to you as we intended it to.
SOLD OUT
Awards
Top Bronze medal - 2008 Margaret River Wine Show, highest rated Tempranillo in Margaret River
Reviews
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
Again this needs a bit of air but given it, it really sings.
This has lots of dry, savoury tannin and a good deal of sour-sweet cherry-like flavour. There’s spicy, chocolaty, pencilly oak here too and the more it opens up the more beguiling it becomes. I wasn’t sure of this at first but after a couple of hours of sipping at it, I was loving it. It’s going to be an interesting journey to see where this wine goes as it ages.
Rated : 91 Points
Alcohol : 13.6%
Price : $22
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2010 - 2015
The Wine Front
Technical Details
Our first wine made from grapes outside of our estate, but one that was a collaboration between ourselves and friends who own an estate developed to the most exacting standards, and a passion and knowledge base that is of the highest level. Phil and Lynne Foster own ‘Hopping Stone’ vineyard in the northern reaches of the Margaret River region. Their site is more exposed and warmer than ours in Rosa Brook, and with this added heat load they have planted varieties that appreciate the warmth, with Tempranillo being one variety particularly suited to their site. A tonne of fruit was handpicked by the two families at a point when the grapes were predicted to be fully ripe and at their most flavoursome – which proved to be correct in the tasting of the final wine.
The 2007 vintage was exceptionally good. The season started with a warm spring with little rainfall, and the summer months were extremely dry and without the excessive heat load that has often occurs during the months of January and February. With this even heat load and dry end of vintage, the 2007 grapes were both clean and fully ripe with picking able to be completed at the point of full ripeness and flavour. The fruit was severely thinned prior to harvest, and during hand harvesting any grapes that were considered not good “enough to eat” were dropped on the ground. The technical data on these hand picked grapes are as below:
Tempranillo: Picked 22 March 2007
Total weight 869 kg
Brix 24.5
pH 4.04
TA 4.30
These grapes were taken in by Sharna Kowalczuk and her assistant Jane from Vasse River Wines and treated with 'kid gloves' to ensure the magnificent flavours seen in the fruit and the primary ferment were protected and enhanced. The wine was fermented in an open vat and continuously hand plunged to extract colour and tannins softly, with ferment being completed after 10 days. The wine was lightly pressed and placed in new and old French oak barrels and stored for 18 months.
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2005 Merlot / Cabernet Franc
The wine is a deep plum crimson red with a lifted nose of cherry, chocolate, plums and an exotic hint of allspice. The palate is fully integrated with great fruit flavours and fine tannins, giving in to a long delicious length. A wine that has the potential to age, we recommend that given a further 4-7 years this wine would create secondary flavours that will add to the current taste.
If drunk with food (which is certainly recommended as there are few greater pleasures), we recommend any form of game meats (duck, quail, venison etc), as well as roasted lamb as particularly fine matches with this wine.
Sealed under screwcap to ensure the wine made by us arrives to you as we intended it to.
Reviews
Aromas of cherry/raspberry, chocolate, baking spices, a touch of cedar oak and some more earthy tobacco overtones. A most charmingly aromatic and interesting smelling wine. On the palate medium bodied. A wine of some elegance and poise with flavours of cherries and plums, fresh raspberry, chocolate and black olive. Fine dry tannins and lively pippy acidity. Finishes with dry tannin and earthy red fruit flavours. Good length. Very stylish and unforced. A true claret style that does not rely on oak, alcohol or extract to make itself heard. A bargain at the price and a very strong buy recommendation from me.
Rated : 92 Points
Tasted : Oct06
Alcohol : 12.7%
Closure : Screwcap
Drink : 2007 - 2012
By Gary Walsh (See the full review at The Wine Front)
Technical Details
Our first commercial vintage from our primary planted vines of Merlot and Cabernet Franc was completed in late March to early April 2005. The season was an excellent one for the Margaret River region with a solid even set during spring and a dry but not too hot summer. A large downpour occurred during March, but with the ground being so dry and having a large sloping estate much of this water simply ran off the vineyard, causing no problems during vintage. Many vineyards have rated this vintage the best since 2001 and we also thought this was a great year to show off what our site could produce.
The fruit was severely thinned prior to harvest, as in 2004, and during hand harvesting any grapes that were considered not good “enough to eat” were dropped on the ground. The technical data on these hand picked grapes are as below:
Merlot: Picked 26 March 2005
Total weight 2807 kg
Brix 23.8
pH 3.35
TA 5.32
Cabernet Franc: Picked 9 April 2005
Total weight 1947 kg
Brix 23.0
pH 3.43
TA 7.45
We were fortunate enough to have Sharna Kowalczuk from Vasse River Wines make our wine and she completed an exemplarily job with our grapes from arrival through to bottling. The wine was fermented in a closed vat and continuously “pumped over” to extract colour and tannins softly, with ferment being completed after 9 days. The wine was pressed and placed in French oak barrels and stored for 15 months.