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Attention SA - Wine Tasting at Willunga Golf Club Fri 3rd Dec 2110

Join local winemaker Russell Schroder for a chat and a taste of his latest release wines - the 2010 Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc, the 2010 Adelaide Hills Riesling and the 2009 McLaren Vale GSM.

5pm - 7.30pm, Friday, December 3, 2010 at Willunga Golf Club, St Peters Terrace, Willunga

Nibbles and generous tastings will be provided. Bring the family, a friend or just yourself, but whatever you do, simply don't miss this event!

The Willunga Golf Club Restaurant will be open for dinner (6pm - 8pm) so why not make a night of it. Dinner bookings preferred, 8556 4300.

2010 Wines Released!

We are extremely pleased to announce the release of our 2010 wines - available for immediate consumption. We are really excited about all of these wines and believe they show great varietal and regional characteristics and will be enjoyed by all of those who choose to slurp down a few bottles, or maybe a few cases.

2010 Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc – This wines aromas are lifted and complex. Herbaceous characters are intermingled with hints of freshly podded peas, blossom and grapefruit. The palate is delicate, yet full of fruit flavour. A blend of tropical fruits and lime zest make way for a crisp, dry finish. This wine is best drunk in its youth but will develop some complexity with short term cellaring.
2010 Adelaide Hills Riesling – Our first release of this wine! This wine has a bright pale straw appearance. The nose is beautifully fragrant and intriguing. Floral aromas are intermingled with pear, grapefruit and tropical fruits. The palate is racy with a steely acidity leading to a long dry finish with lingering citrus flavours. This wine is ready to drink now but will develop great complexity with long term cellaring.
2009 GSM – A 76/19/5 blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre. The nose is complex and fragrant. Aromas of blackberries and plums meld with toffee, vanilla bean and pepper. The palate is smooth, rich and full bodied. Flavours of black cherries are followed by hints of oak before a long, warm finish. A sumptuous wine to be enjoyed now or over the next 10 years.

On other news, South Australia like the rest of south east Australia has had great winter rains and at this point in time we are ahead of our annual average rainfall. We are really excited about what this rain will do for the 2011 vintage. As many you may recall, last year we had similar winter rains and with a mild summer, these two elements combined to produce a great vintage. With any luck we may be in for two in a row!!

Currently we have 3 wines maturing in oak. These are our 2009 Nebbiolo (just one barrel!!), 2010 GSM (73/18/9)blend and 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot (85/15) blend. All of these wines are coming along nicely and will be ready for release in the second half of 2011.

"better than many"

- James Halliday tasting note Semprevino 2007 Nebbiolo

Semprevino's wines are now part of the James Halliday WIne Companion. Our wines can be found in the online edition at http://winecompanion.com.au/wineries/2833/Semprevino. We are pleased to be represented in the Wine Companion and to have our wines validated by such a respected expert as James Halliday.

Both our 2007 Nebbiolo and 2008 Shiraz Grenache receive positive reviews scoring 90 and 89 respectively. More importantly for us, were that the tasting notes reflected the strong varietal characters of each wine, something that Semprevino (and Russell in particular) strive for.

Jame's notes about the Nebbiolo were particularly pleaseing: "The colour, aroma, flavour and texture of this wine are all nebbiolo markers; you just have to enjoy it with good Italian food which tames its savoury sour cherry fruit and tannins. That said, I must admit this is better than many. Screwcap."

Our 2010 releases are due for imminent bottling and we look forward to having James taste those as well!

Semprevino supports the BrainLink Women of Achievement luncheon

Semprevino is proud to be the white wine sponsor of the 2010 Women of Acheivement luncheon, hosted by the charity BrainLink.

The BrainLink Women of Achievement Award has gained considerable prestige amongst women in management, the scientific and medical world, the arts and women who hold multi dimensional roles in the community. As a result many Victorians, whose lives have suddenly been turned upside down due to a brain disorder, have been supported with information of choices for rehabilitation, access to services, planning and knowledge on day-to-day care.

BrainLink is dedicated to improving the quality of life of people affected by conditions of the brain and providing support to families. BrainLink specialises in supporting those affected by stroke, head injuries and brain tumour; people with progressive neurological diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, or Muscular Dystrophy; headache and migraine sufferers.

The Luncheon takes place on Thursday 14th October, 2010 and isto be hosted by Ita Buttrose, a dynamic woman who will share her insights on what it takes to be an inspirational leader, mentor and a good friend - no matter if you are 20, 40 or 80 years of age.

"A Great Vintage"

Vintage has been done and dusted for several weeks now and I can safely say it has been a great vintage.

As I suggested back in November, the winter rains, coupled with a mild summer (relatively speaking) have produced some fantastic fruit and wine. The growing season did have one hiccup though, Adelaide’s first ever November heat wave!! While not detrimental to the quality of the fruit produced, it did have an impact on crop levels. Grenache was the worst affected with losses of around 50%. This sort of event can be a blessing in disguise. A reduction in crop will usually result in an increase in quality and this year has been no different, with reports of improved quality across all of McLaren Vale and many other regions. Nature has a funny way of balancing things out and as most of us know, there is an excess of grapes and wine at present, so as a winemaker I am quite happy to accept decreased volumes for increased quality.

Time to talk about our 2010 wines. Like McLaren Vale, the Adelaide Hills had a wonderful ripening period, resulting in excellent quality fruit. I expect our 2010 Sauvignon Blanc to rival that of our 2009. This wine is currently settling in tank, awaiting filtration in preparation bottling in a month or so. Stay tuned for an update on the sensory qualities of this wine. 2010 will see the release our first Riesling (Adelaide Hills). Rieslings from the hills tend to be more floral and minerally than those from other SA regions such as the Clare and Eden Valley’s (more citrus and steely characters). This wine should be no exception and will make great drinking when it is released this coming spring, but it will also have great ageing potential. With Grenache crops being significantly down, the fruit that we did receive was super ripe with abundances fruit flavours. Last week I blended our Grenache with some Shiraz and Mouvedre (73%/18%/9%) and the wine is now stored away in old barriques, where it will stay for the next 12 months. The 2009 GSM has matured gracefully and looks like being a great example this type of blend. More about that in my 2010 release preview in the coming months.

Some are saying 2010 McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignons look like being the best they have for 20 years. Now that’s saying something, given 2 of the last 4 Jimmy Watson winners have been McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon’s. Oh well, best in 20 year or not, Semprevino is jumping on the band wagon and planning to produce one. It will have some merlot blended with it to make a classic Bordeaux style claret and like the GSM, will spend the next 12 months in old barriques before being released in late 2011. At this point time, the final blend for this wine has not been determined, but when it is I’ll be sure to give you an update.

And now the Nebbiolo. Unfortunately the news here is not so great. There was one glitch in the Adelaide Hills ripening season and that was heavy rain in early April. This effectively ruined what little fruit still remained after the November heat wave and hence we have decided not to produce a 2010 Nebbiolo. This has been the pattern with our Nebbiolo, we have produced it in 2005, 2007 and 2009, missing every other year for various reasons. The 2009 has been in barrel for 12 months now and is maturing nicely, but will require another 12 months before it is ready for bottling.

Well, that’s about it for the 2010 vintage. In the coming months my attention will turn to the bottling of our 2010 release wines. These wines will be the 2010 Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling, and the 2009 GSM. I will give you a detailed run down on these wines in the near future.

Cheers, Russell