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Vintage ends, time for some winter drinking...
Hi everyone. Vintage has finally come to an end in our winery, with the last red ferment being pressed in the third week of May. I guess this late finish was to be expected given the mild summer we experienced and the late start to the harvest. It seems weird that only a few weeks ago we were still crushing grapes and now winter is upon us.
Unfortunately news on the vintage is not great. While we did see small parcels of very high quality fruit, particularly Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, the majority of the grapes picked (not all grapes were picked) had varying degrees of rot resulting in low quality wine. Overall, total yields were well down (~50%). In light of all this, hard decisions have had to be made and regrettably Semprevino will not be producing any wines from the 2011 vintage. Our philosophy has always been to produce exceptional wines that not only express great varietal and regional characteristics, but also provide great value for money to you the customer. While we could have produced a super Shiraz or Cabernet, the excessive costs of these wines did not fit with our philosophy. I guess this is simply the reality of agribusiness – there will be good years and there will most certainly be bad years!
The news is not all doom and gloom though. With vintage done and dusted, my attention will shortly be turning to the preparation of our 2010 reds for bottling. Come late spring and we will have a new range of red wines for you to try; 2010 GSM, 2010 Cabernet Merlot and 2009 Nebbiolo. All of these wines are looking great in barrel and I am looking forward to the excitement of their release later in the year.
"But what am I going to drink this winter?" I here you say. Well we have a couple of great value mixed dozens to help see you through the cold winter months. Both of our whites (2010 Riesling and Sauv Blanc) are still looking very fresh, while our reds continue to soften with age and will make great fireside companions this winter (see below)
That's all for now. Enjoy some great winter drinking and stay tuned for more news on the impending release of our 2010 reds.
Cheers, Russell.
2011 Vintage finally arrives...
On March 6 we finally saw the first grapes come into the winery. In McLaren Vale, vintage would generally start around the middle of February, so this year is definitely a late one!! For the last few years we have seen vintage dates move forward with the climate change "believers" saying "I told you so", as warmer summers have resulted in earlier ripening of the grapes. In 2009 & 2010 vintage started on February 1! Well this year is one for the "sceptics", although I'd suggest we need a couple more late vintages to even out the ledger.
The last time I wrote a few lines I was spruiking about the potential for another great vintage (following 2010), given the wonderful winter rains that had fallen. The summer has been mild again, which is great for potential quality, but the rain has kept on falling, creating one big headache for the growers and winemakers alike. Most of you would be aware of the devastation caused across much of south east Australia, particularly Victoria, by the continuing summer rains and floods. Disease has been prevalent across virtually all wine growing regions, starting with powdery and downy mildew and now (at harvest!!) botrytis rot. Crop losses are expected be in the order of 50% and quality is likely to vary greatly. Up until the end of February, McLaren Vale was looking like it may have dodged a bullet, with nothing like the rainfall that many other regions had received. That all changed just after the start of vintage when we received our March average rainfall in just one day.
What this all means for Semprevino is still unclear and we will have to wait until the fruit comes in and the wines are finished. As I have already mentioned, the potential for quality is high given our mild summer, but the question is, how many vineyards will be the spared the affects of botrytis? Only time will tell, but no one in wine industry is overly excited at present.
But never fear, if 2011 does turns out to be write off, we still have plenty of our 2010 whites to keep you going and our 2010 reds in barrel are looking great and will be ready for bottling during the winter. Hopefully the news will be brighter next time I write a few lines.
Cheers, Russell.
Malvern Road Bottle Shop now stocks Semprevino
For those in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne you can now find Semprevino wines at the Malvern Road Bottle Shop (1947 Malvern Road, East Malvern). Handy location right near Darling station on the Glen Waverley line. Drop in and say g'day to Bill and staff and pick up a bottle of Semprevino Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling or GSM while you're there!
Malvern Road Bottle Shop - 1947 Malvern Road, East Malvern, 3145. Phone/Fax: 9885 0620
"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!