Transcript Preamble Wine Club Magic Carpet Monday 10th January 2005 Australian Wine Tasting Gleeson Group, 15-16 Cherry Orchard Estate, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10 Tel: (01) 6269787 Fax: (01)

Preamble Wine Club
Magic Carpet
Monday 10th January 2005
Australian Wine Tasting
Gleeson Group, 15-16 Cherry Orchard Estate, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10
Tel: (01) 6269787
Fax: (01) 6267925
Email: [email protected]
2003 Barossa Valley Viognier
Winemaker
John Zilm
Region
Adelaide Hills
Variety
Viognier
Colour
Pale colour.
Nose
Very fragrant with stone fruit, apricot and citrus
aromas.
Palate
The palate is well balanced showing peach,
apricot and citrus flavours, is quite viscous and
has a long mineral finish. This wine is well
structured, displaying all the varietal characters
expected from a cool climate area.
Alcohol: 13.00%
pH: 3.50
Total Acid: 6.56
Residual Sugar: 2.2
2003 Barossa Valley Merlot
Winemaker
John Zilm
Region
Barossa Valley
Variety
Merlot
Colour
Dark ruby colour.
Nose
Very ripe and concentrated cassis-plum
nose, also slightly minty, with a chocolateOvaltine aroma quality.
Palate
Very ripe in mouthfeel, with massive
concentration, and a bit of heat on the
finish.
2003 Barossa Valley Allyson Parsons Shiraz
Winemaker
John Zilm
Region
Barossa Valley
Variety
Shiraz
Colour
Black with rich purple tones
Nose
Leather, spice, plum Christmas cake and
chocolate
Palate
A juicy, fruit-driven, 100% Shiraz that spent
time in used French and American oak prior
to bottling.
Cellaring
This soft, seamless, plump, fleshy, classic
Southern Australian red will drink well for
1-3 years
Robert Parker Score
89 points
About Sandalford
Founded in 1840, Sandalford is one of Western Australia's oldest and largest privately
owned wineries. Located at the original property on the banks of the Swan River,
Sandalford Estate is just 25 minutes drive from the city. The Swan Valley boasts some of
the oldest wineries in WA, superb restaurants, galleries and fine accommodation.
Sandalford Estate is unquestionably WA's leading
'Wine Tourism' facility, recognised with winning three
major categories at the West Australian Tourism
Awards in 2002. Sandalford boasts unique facilities
such as
•a multi-lingual winery tour on suspended walkways
•al fresco dining under the vines
•expansive indoor and outdoor function facilities
•major events with international acts
•Perth's first luxury river cruiser
•wine appreciation classes
•gift emporium
Sandalford's tourism hospitality facilities
extend to its Margaret River Estate set
amongst beautiful garden setting and southwest bushland. This estate boasts a charming,
rustic, rammed earth cellar, free picnic and
BBQ facilities and of course, purchasing and
sampling Sandalford's wines.
Sandalford's award-winning wines reflect contemporary wine making and include a
Premium Collection and the popular Element Range. Recent modernisation increased
Sandalford's capacity to almost one million litres in French and American Oak barrels
and 600 square metres of underground storage. These state-of-the-art facilities permit
custom requests of maturation stock. In addition to leading off licences, hotels and
restaurants in Australia, you will find Sandalford wines in over three dozen countries and
five continents.
The winemaker and his philosophy
Sandalford's Chief Winemaker Paul Boulden began
his winemaking career in the late 1980's in the the
McLaren Vale region of South Australia as a cellar
hand with Ingoldby Wines and Thomas Fern Hill
Winery. Paul graduated from the University of
Adelaide in 1993 where he won the chemistry award
while studying Oenology. He spent his graduate year
as vintage Winemaker at Stonier Wines in Victoria
under the guidance of Tod Dexter.
After completing the vintage of 1993 he accepted a
position as winemaker for Chateau Monbazillac in the
Bordeaux region in France. His work took Paul to the
Penedes region of Catalunya each week to oversee
production of both traditional and non-traditional
Spanish wines.
From Europe Paul returned to South Australia as a winemaker with Yalumba Wines in
the Barossa region of South Australia. In 1997 he made the move to Western Australia
to a well-known boutique winery, Killerby, located in the Geographe region of the
state. Within a year he also undertook the role of General Manager as well as
winemaker.
After four years at Killerby he started with the 2001 vintage at Sandalford Wines as
Chief Winemaker. At Sandalford he has won consecutively the state's, "Most
Successful Exhibitor" at the annual Western Australian Sheraton Wine Awards. Paul
also has multiple trophy and Gold medal wine successes at all of the Australian
Capital City wine shows, in addition to numerous outstanding wine reviews by the
national wine press.
His focus has been on developing the premium
Sandalford wines from the company's 33-yr. old
dry grown Margaret River vineyard, one of the
largest and oldest vineyards in this famed wine
region. Aside from this he sees the development of
the Element range of wines as critical to the
ongoing fine reputation of Western Australian
wines.
Sandalford Premium Verdelho 2004
Vintage
The 2004 vintage was marked by dry, warm to hot conditions throughout the
southwest of Western Australia (WA). These conditions lead to ripe fruit
flavours and moderate acidity levels.
Label Integrity
100% Verdelho (Margaret River)
Winemaking
Verdelho grapes were machine-harvested in the cool of the night across
several different dates in both February and March. The fruit was
immediately crushed, chilled and pressed. Only the free-run juice portion of
the fruit was utilised. Following clarification, the juice underwent a long and
slow fermentation in stainless steel tanks with a selected neutral yeast strain.
At the end of this process the wine was immediately blended, stabilised,
filtered and bottled on 14 May 2004. All the wine was bottled under a Stelvin
closure. Released in June 2004.
Tasting Notes
The 2004 Verdelho continues the long and successful history of this wine
made from Sandalford’s Wilyabrup; 33 year-old, dry-grown Margaret River
vines.
Technical Data
pH 3.06
TA (g/l) 6.8
Alc.(%vol) 14.0
RS (g/l) 6.6
Sandalford Premium Shiraz 2002
Vintage
The 2002 vintage was marked by dry, cool to mild conditions, which lasted all
through the harvest season. In line with this were fully developed flavours and
tannins supported by moderate to high levels of acidity. All these features
combined to make red wines with understated power and longevity. A great
vintage by any standard.
Label Integrity
100% Shiraz, (50% Margaret River/ 50% Frankland River).
Winemaking
This wine demonstrates the increasing trend for all Sandalford premium wines,
aside from the Riesling, to come from our 33 yr. old, dry grown Estate vines
grown in the famed Wilyabrup sub-region of Margaret River. The balance of the
fruit coming from arguably the best region for Shiraz in Western Australia,
Frankland River. The fruit for this wine was fermented at a moderate pace in
stainless steel with a selected yeast strain prior to finishing primary fermentation in
50% new and 50% one-year old fine grain American Oak. After MLF in barrel the
wine was clarified and returned to the same oak for twelve months prior to bottling
and release in mid June 2003.
Tasting Notes
The 2002 Sandalford Shiraz will be remembered as the best Shiraz ever to be so
far produced in the history of the company. The nose is resplendent with classic
pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon spice, with cloves, anise and subtle hints of
blackberry also coming to the fore. On the palate all that is evident on the nose
carries through. The mouthfeel is medium to full-bodied with incredible savoury
flavours matching the spice and smoky oak nuances. The silky tannins and hints of
sweet fruit make it appealing drinking now but it will cellar for another decade or
two given optimal cellaring conditions. A great wine from a great vineyard and a
great vintage.
Assessment
“Perfumed, with red berry fruits and smoky oak. The palate offers sweet brambly
fruits, smooth tannins and intense fruit richness with complexity, long length and
intensity. Clearly a standout wine in the tasting.” Scoop Magazine, Spring 2003
“The almost Rhone-like shiraz shows terrific fruit in a rather soft and elegant style,
presently guarded by myriad fine tannins that will open significantly by release.”
The Sunday Times, Bill Thompson, 19 January 2003.
Awards
•Silver Medal, Royal Hobart Wine Show 2003.
•Silver Medal, Royal Sydney Wine Show 2003.
•Silver Medal, National Wine Show of Australia 2003.
Technical Data
pH 3.44
TA (g/l) 6.2
Alc.(%vol) 14.3
RS (g/l) 1.1
Sandalford Premium Cabernet Merlot 2002
Vintage
The 2002 vintage was marked by dry, cool to mild conditions, which
lasted all through the harvest season. In line with this were fully
developed flavours and tannins supported by moderate to high levels of
acidity. All these features combined to make red wines with understated
power and longevity. A great vintage by any standard.
Label Integrity
70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc. (90%
Frankland River, 10% Margaret River).
Winemaking
Frankland River is both an established and emerging region for the
making of premium Western Australian wine. The climate is continental
with warm, sunny days and cool nights. Free-draining gravel/loam soils
ensure the vines are given the optimal conditions for the production of
balanced and intense fruit characters. The fruit for this wine was machine
harvested in mild daytime conditions early to mid April 2002. The wine
underwent a moderately slow, long fermentation before extended skin
maceration and pressing. After malolactic fermentation the wine was
transferred to both new and one-year old French oak. Blending, fining
and minimal filtration occurred after twelve months in oak. The 2002
Cabernet Sauvignon/ Merlot was bottled mid June 2003 and released in
July 2003.
Tasting Notes
This wine is a classic blend of the varieties made famous within the
Bordeaux region of France. The beautiful redcurrant fruits of Cabernet
Sauvignon combine seamlessly with the plum and violets of both the
Merlot and Cabernet Franc components. The palate is medium-bodied in
weight with silky tannins on the finish making it ideal as both a great
stand-alone wine or matched with comparable foods. Cellaring potential
of ten years.
Awards
•Silver Medal, Royal Adelaide Wine Show, 2003.
•Most Successful Exhibitor, Sheraton WA Wine Awards, 2002.
•Most Successful Exhibitor, Sheraton WA Wine Awards, 2003.
Technical Data
pH 3.43
TA (g/l) 6.4
Alc.(%vol) 14.0
RS (g/l) 1.3