Freeman Nebbiolo Altura Vineyard 2018

Minimal intervention is deployed in growing the viognier grapes to make this wine. Left to their natural defences, in most years the noble fungus infection botrytis occurs naturally. Typically harvested in early June during freezing cold dawns, the grapes are pressed and their meagre juice fermented with wild yeast for nine months in oak, 50% new and 50% old. The only addition to the wine is a little sulphur at bottling.

“As far as I know this doesn’t see any new oak, but on tasting/smelling the wine oak certainly makes a clear impression. Toasty, malt-like characters weave through tar, leather and liquorice. It’s a full-bodied style, or it is in a varietal context, with grunty tannin and refreshing acidity combining to pull the flavours through to a sustained finish. Oak dulls the freshness a bit; it feels like a distinctly ‘Australian’ rendition of the variety, in a slightly old school meaning of the word. That said, there’s no disputing the pure quality (and length) of it.” – 92 Points, Campbell Mattinson, Wine Front.

“The 2014 vintage season followed a dry winter but moderate spring rain enabled the vines to develop a balanced canopy. A very dry summer stressed the vines but the cool, dry autumn provided ideal ripening conditions. Nebbiolo takes time to reach maturity even in the Australian climate, an ideal long, slow evolution that is the key to its seductive richness. The grapes were hand-harvested at the end of April.” – 95 Points, James Halliday, Wine Companion.

“A deep black core fading to crimson edges. Dense and savoury aromatics of graphite, red liquorice, cured meats and a healthy lick of oak. Classic structure, firm and confident, tannins are forthright. It’s bulletproof at this stage. Will benefit from decanting and even more time in the bottle. Nebbiolo with an Aussie accent”._Nick Butler