Vineyard profile: Rocky Passes Estate, Upper Goulburn, Victoria

August 25, 2009

During our last week together in Glenburn, we decided to go on an outing and visit a boutique winery near Yea: Rocky Passes Estate, a micro vineyard and also a member of our Upper Goulburn Winegrowers Association. Rocky Passes estate is owned and operated by Vitto Oles and Candi Westney. Candi had left a message on my blog inviting us over to get to know them and their wines.

We went the long way passing through Yea and Trawool, then through some bushland searching for Highlands Road. It was a very beautiful drive through the Victorian countryside. On the hills one sees those rock boulders as in the photo below.

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Rocky terrain

The only vineyard in the area is on the right hand side: Rocky Passes Estate, about 15 minutes east from Seymour. A sheep shed stands in the middle of the vineyard.

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Rocky Passes Vineyard

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Vineyard near the house

The house and the cellar door are very pretty. Vitto is not only a talented vigneron and winemaker but also a carpenter by profession. He has applied his skills to the winery as well. I just loved the tasting room which is quite cosy.

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The house and the picnic area

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Charlotte and Lucy with the emblem of the estate: the eagle

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The tasting room

Rocky Passes Estate is a boutique winery in the artisan tradition, inspired by the simplicity of the Argentinian cantinas. It produces biodynamically grown fruit. Yields are kept low to achieve outstanding wine qualities.

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Margit tasting the Rocky Passes wines

Rocky Passes Estate produces exclusively Syrah grapes (1.6 ha) and wines. Vitto had recently planted some Viognier (0.4 ha) which will extend the product range. We tasted all of the released wines. Excellent drops, I can confirm it.

James Halliday awarded to the ‘2005 Rocky Passes Syrah’ 94 Parker points and ranked the estate as a top winery (five stars). This is a great achievement. Nothing to add. The verdict is clear: these are top of the rank wines. Also the other vintages show their character as fine cool climate wines of Central Victoria. We bought a mixed dozen bottles and took one of the 2005 vintage back to Bangkok.

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Vitto, the artisan, and Margit in the winery

Vitto also introduced us to the wines in the making, some blends of Cabernet and Shiraz, and straight Cabernets. The vineyard is an extreme cool site and prone to late frosts in some years. Everything is hand made, from pruning to harvesting as well as the work in the small winery.

Established in 2000 total production is only about 800 cases. The wines are very reasonably priced. The 2005 Syrah with the 94 points cost only A$ 25 at the cellar door. The winery is worth a visit. Vitto and Candy are excellent hosts and extremely kind, full or energy and enthusiasm. Vitto has lots of interesting stories to tell. Give them a ring before going there.

We drove back along Highlands Road directly to Yea. Also this drive is worth it. What a lovely outing this was on a fine winters day in rural Victoria. Don’t miss it.

Address:
Vitto Oles & Candi Westney
Rocky Passes Estate
1590 Highlands Rd
Whiteheads Creek
Vic 3660
Australia
+61 3 5796 9366

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Posted by themanfrommoselriver

The “good” Lehmann and not the Lehmann brothers

May 23, 2009

While we were working on Thursday, May 21st. in Bangkok, our German colleagues were celebrating Ascension Day, also known as “Fathers Day” in my native Germany. “Father’s Day” is usually celebrated in the following way: young fathers, some older ones among them, and many other men, usually the ones who have not fathered any child they are aware of but eager to celebrate whatever comes their way, gather in the morning around a handcart loaded with all kinds of drinks and food. Then they set out and walk into the surrounding countryside to drink with their mates and have a jolly good, all-male time. Sometime they have a specific destination or they walk around a circuit. I will refrain from describing the usual end of these walks.

In short, the occasion warrants a special treat.

On this Father’s Day in Bangkok, I had the great pleasure of enjoying some hearty Italian meals, delicious pastas and insalata caprese and other delicacies. The rather colder nights in Bangkok, due to the beginning of the rainy season somehow incited in me the desire for some good reds; Australian was the natural choice.

Swirling College Wine

Peter Lehmann and his Shiraz wines seemed to be just the right stuff. Since wine prices are dear in Thailand we have to be careful with our choices.

Peter Lehmann is one of the few Australian vintners who became a legend in his own lifetime. Today, Peter Lehmann Wines in the Barossa Valley, South Australia is part of the Hess Family Estates with wineries in the Napa Valley, South Africa and Argentina.

Peter Lehmann Wines was established in 1979 as a response to the serious grape overproduction at the time (sounds terribly familiar in 2009 too). Most of the grapes come from about 185 contract growers. Only about 3% of the total wine output is derived from the self-owned vineyard (73 ha which is not small for a boutique vintner like me).

The Shiraz wines are the flagships of Peter Lehmann which assured me that nothing could go wrong.

We bought the following wines:

1. A ‘2006 Peter Lehmann Weighbridge Shiraz’
Peter Lehmann 2006 web

2. A ‘2005 Peter Lehmann Barossa Shiraz’
Peter Lehmann 2005 web

Both were “reasonably” priced for Thai conditions. The price for the bottle of Weighbridge Shiraz was about 700 Thai Bath (US$ 20 or € 14.6) and for the Barossa Shiraz about 1,000 Thai Bath (US$ 29 or € 20.8). Retail prices in Europe range from € 8-12 resp. € 15-17 or £ 6.50 and £ 7.50 in the UK. Interesting these price differentials. That’s the price of protectionism. Long live free trade.

Both wines went well with the Italian food. They had a beautiful dark red colour, were spicy and full of black fruit, plum in the case of the Weighbridge Shiraz. The 2005 Barossa Shiraz was “heavier” with lots of chalky tannins, a wine to be chewed so to say. We started with the 2006er bottle and went on to the older, in my view better, wine, which was absolutely the right choice.

I have not visited the Peter Lehmann winery in South Australia myself. The website is beautiful, informative and very enticing. I conclude: one should visit the place.

It takes about one to one and a half hours to drive to the winery from Adelaide Airport.

Address:
Peter Lehmann Wines LTD
off Para Road
Tanunda SA 5352
South Australia

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On the road again

May 21, 2009

Huns2

It was a gorgeous day when I drove from my home town Trier at the Mosel to the airport in Frankfurt. I passed through the hilly country called the “Hunsrueck”, a large plateau with deep forests and not-to-infertile plains where grains, maize and rape seed are grown. After a couple of kilometres clouds appeared and it started to rain.

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The yellow of the rape seed fields contrasted beautifully with the surrounding green of the grains, the grass and the trees. From the moving car I took a couple of shots to capture the contrast. Reality is almost always more beautiful than those quick digital camera shots.

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I had about two hours for contemplating about life, death and the universe. I love these rare occasions of introspection. I love the short life between the worlds, leaving Germany for the tropics of Thailand. Having left a world behind but not reached the desired destination, leaves me in a kind of vacuum, an emptiness full with feelings.

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The last leg of my journey led me through parts of the Nahe and the Rheingau wine regions. At this time of the year the vines appear tender and soft, near the flowering stage maybe, but the green of the leaves is still a light green.

The rainy season would wait for me on the other side of the world. Only the long hours in the narrow plane would be between “me in Germany” and “me in Thailand”, the past and the future, the wines of Germany and the wines of Australia and Thailand of course.

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Thailand: New Latitude Wines – GranMonte Vineyard

March 27, 2009

As you probably know, I am busying myself with finding drinkable Thai wines. My first ventures into the world of Thai wines did not yield promising results. Alas, after some more tastings I was successful.

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Main building, Gran Monte family Vineyard

We visited GranMonte Family Vineyard, a family winery in the Asoke Valley in Khao Yai, about a two hours drive north of Bangkok. This nascent wine business is owned by the family of Vissoth Lohitnavy. His daughter Nikki is the first-ever female oenologist of Thailand. She was recently awarded a Bachelor degree with honours by the University of Adelaide in South Australia.

The GranMonte Family vineyard is a state of the art boutique producer of fine wines. The return of Nikki marks a new chapter in the development of the family business. A new winery has been built and new equipment was bought including stainless steel tanks from Germany.

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During the last couple of years Thailand has become a grape and wine producing country. High taxes on imported wines make sure that the international competition does not destroy the domestic wine industry. However, various awards won by Thai wines at international wine shows are proof that the wine in this tropical land has made good progress.

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The general wisdom was that wine grapes could only be successfully produced between the 30th and 50th latitudes north and south. However, in recent years countries in the tropics and the sub-tropics such as Indonesia (Hatten Wines on Bali Island), Brasil, India and Thailand have shown that this is not true.

New latitude wines, a term coined by local wine writer Frank Norel, is the catchword. Much has been written about “New Latitude Wines” and wine production and I will come back to this topic at a later stage in more detail. The climate allows for two, or even three harvests but some producers forfeit the second (and/or third) vintage altogether and go for low yields.

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As regards the varieties it seems that Chenin Blanc and Colombard of the white, and Syrah/Shiraz of the red varieties grow well at least at GranMonte family vineyard. The total area under vines is about 40 acres, 25 of which are planted with red and 10 with white grapes.

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State of the art trellis systems, spacing and row management

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Mr. Vissoth, the owner, explaining the vineyards to his visitors

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Modern stainless steel cellar equipment

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Freshly fermented grape juice

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The tasting room of Gran Monte

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Another view of the Gran Monte tasting room

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The vineyard owner, Mr. Visooth Lohitnavy, in the tasting room

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The “normal” product range

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The award winners

I recommend to buy the award winners. They are the best wines. I particularly like the unfiltered Syrah, a great drop, smooth in the mouth, with plenty of fruit and a wonderful explosive finish.

So if you should visit Thailand in the near future, please plan a trip tpo Khao Yai and GranMonte Vineyard. The family of Mr. Vissoth is very enthusiastic and will make you feel very welcome. Below you’ll find the address and a map.

Address:
Granmonte Co,Ltd.

17 / 8 Soi Sukhumvit 6, Sukhumvit Road,
Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110

Tel : 0-2653-1522 Fax : 02-653-1977
Mb. : 08-9169-7766
Marketing@granmonte.com

Address at Khao Yai

Granmonte Vineyard & Wines
52 Moo 9 Phayayen, Pakchong,
Nakornrachasima, Thailand
Tel : 036-227-334-5

Map
map-granmonteweb

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Jean-Paul’s Vineyard, Yea

January 30, 2009

Recently I had the opportunity to taste wines from Jean-Paul’s Vineyard in Yea, Victoria, a boutique vineyard owned and operated by Will de Castella. The de Castella philosophy is, “it’s all about the fruit”. The vineyard is organic/biodynamic certified. Will produces hand crafted, award winning wines of excellent quality. Jean-Paul’s Vineyard also recently joined our association, the Upper Goulburn Winegrowers Association.

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‘2006 Jean-Paul’s Vineyard Shiraz’

I bought a bottle of ‘2006 Jean-Paul’s Shiraz’ and a bottle of ‘2004 Jean-Paul’s Bold Colonial Red’ from the Yea super market. Recently the ‘2005 vintage Shiraz’ was awarded 94 and the ‘2005 Bold Colonial Red’ 88 points by James Halliday. I guess that the different vintages might not have been significant as regards the quality of the wine. Who can taste a one or two point difference anyway.

Both wines were consumed together with friends over hearty Australian country meals. To say it from the outset, I loved both wines; they were delicious. Since I am more of a Shiraz than a CabSav drinker, I personally prefer the Shiraz.

If you are in the vicinity of Yea, grab some bottles of these wines, it’s a bargain. I also recommend to visit the Jean-Paul’s Vineyard website and order from there directly.

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‘2004 Jean-Paul’s Vineyard Bold Colonial Red’

By the way: Will de Castella’s great grandfather was Hubert de Castella, the pioneer of the wine industry in the Yarra Valley establishing vineyards such as St Hubert’s near Yarra Glen.

Will and his wife Heather live since 1988 near Yea and produce small quantities of fruit from which distinct wines are made which won accolades for their outstanding quality.

Address:
Jean-Paul’s Vineyard
Post: RMB 6173
YEA VICTORIA 3717
AUSTRALIA
Phone: 03 57972235
Email: william@jeanpaulsvineyard.com.au
http://www.jeanpaulsvineyard.com.au

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Jewels of the Upper Goulburn Wine Region Part I

October 25, 2008

Today, I want to start a new series and introduce to you some wine and grape producers from our wine growers association, the Upper Goulburn Winegrowers Association. I plan to feature three to four wineries and vineyards at the time. The selection is random. I will start with the wineries with open cellar doors. Of the 30 odd members of our association, about 9 belong to this category. Another 12 are vineyards which also produce some wine under their labels but conduct wine tastings only by appointment. All the others are fruit producers only and do not sell wines commercially.

The first cohort of wineries to be presented consists of Kinloch Wines, Rees Miller Estate and, a small boutique winery, called Rocky Passes Estate. I want to be honest with you. I have tasted wines made by Malcolm Kinloch (Kinloch Wines) and David Miller (Rees Miller Estate) but not the ones made by Victor Oles (Rocky Passes Estate). I have visited the two former wineries (and I know Malcolm and David) but not the latter.

But this is no impediment to write about all three of them. Anyway, we are going to visit Australia for Christmas and we might take this opportunity to get to know the Rocky Passes people.

I am starting with Kinloch Wines. Malcolm and Susan Kinloch have established a wonderful wine business. The vineyard is located in the Booroolite Valley, about 15 minutes by car from Mansfield (almost next to another famous winery of our region: Delatite Winery).

This year at the Federation Sq Showcase Series the Kinlochs were rewarded two gold medals, one for their “2004 Mary Friend Cabernets-Merlot Blend” and another for their “2006 Don Kinloch Sparkling white”. Moreover, the “Mary Friend” red was judged the Overall Best Red Blend in its class at the Award presentation for the Victorian Wine Awards.

2008 was a most unusual year in the Upper Goulburn. Kinloch Wines harvested a record 34 tons of fruit of outstanding quality. From the 2008 vintage three wines have been released so far (cellar door prices in brackets):
-Unwooded Chardonnay (A$ 18)
-Sauvignon Blanc, and (A$ 22)
-a first rosè (A$ 18) made from Pinot Meunier grapes.

I have tasted earlier vintages of the two white wines and they are delicious. When we visited Kinloch Wines in winter, one could see Mount Buller in a not so distant distance, all in white with a beautiful snow cap.

How to find them:
Kinloch Wines
In the Booroolite Valley, the cellar door is warm and friendly and offers gourmet luncheon platters on weekends and public holidays.
Address: 221 Wairere Rd, Boorolite – 15 minutes from Mansfield
Open: 10.00 am to 4.00 pm daily
Tel: 5777 3447
Email: info@kinlochwines.com.au
Web: www.kinlochwines.com.au
Contact: Susan and Malcolm Kinloch

Rees Miller Estate is the next winery in my cohort. Located near Yea – about 15 minutes drive on the highway to Alexandra/Mansfield – Sylke Rees and David Miller own and operate a fully certified biodynamic vineyard and winery. Today about 7 ha are under vines, the farm has a total of about 64 ha. Sylke and David are both very much committed to the protection of the environment, and the organic production of food. They intend to produce pure products for consumption in a way that supports the land and its people.

We got to know Sylke and David when our wine stall was just adjacent to theirs at the 2007 Alexandra Food and Wine Expo. David conducted a very interesting wine tasting, actually my first wine tasting at such an event, and Sylke sold the wines. When we visited their cellar door some time later, they were both on Christmas holidays. To my great surprise Rees Miller wines were available at our duty free wine store in Jakarta, and we did not have to suffer any shortages of their beautiful reds.

How to find them:
Rees Miller Estate
Fully certified biodynamic vineyard situated on the Goulburn Valley Highway, just east of Yea.
Address: 5355 Goulburn Valley Highway, Yea
Open: 10.00 am to 4.00 pm daily
Tel: 5797 2101
Email: info@reesmiller.com
Web: www.reesmiller.com
Contact: David Miller or Sylke Rees

The last vineyard in this first cohort of Upper Goulburn wineries with cellar doors is Rocky Passes Estate, a small boutique vineyard of about 6 acres (5 acres Shiraz and 1 acre Viognier) located in Whiteheads Creek, near Seymour. I only know their one-page website and their listing in our membership directory. Rocky Passes Estate is another vineyard dedicated to organic grape growing and wine making (there are quite a few in our region). Cropping levels are kept low (about 2 tonnes per acre). The cellar door was opened in 2006. The wines can be ordered by mail, phone or e-mail.

How to find them:
Rocky Passes Estate
Situated at the southern end of the Strathbogie Ranges, the wines are made using organic practices and biodynamic preparations.
Address: 1590 Highlands Rd,
Whiteheads Creek, Seymour
Open: Sundays 11.00 am to 4.00pm or by appointment
Tel: 5796 9366
Email: rockypasses@activ8.net.au
Web: www.rockypassesestate.com.au
Contact: Victor Oles or Candy Westney

I hope I could stimulate your curiosity. The Upper Goulburn Wine Region is a rural place with real people who love what they are doing, have passion for their wines and commitment to the environment.

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Another year gone bye

August 23, 2008

Because of our move to Bangkok, Friday was a busy day. Packers everywhere, the house is like a nest of wasps, it seemed. Not easy under such conditions to find some peace of mind, but I did.

Another year had gone bye. My daughters had woken me early in the morning to wish me happy birthday. More well-wishers would come to join them over the day. My birthday dinner consisted of a ‘Risotto ai Funghi Porcini’, hm, that was beautiful as we say in Australia. I have loved risotto ever since we lived in Rome, Italy. And ‘funghi porcini’ is just the best “profumo” you can imagine.

What a wonderful ruby red colour the Shiraz from Hanging Rock has.
Risotto ai Funghi Porcini

Unfortunately, we did not have an Italian wine to go with it. Since my wine cellar is almost empty, I had not much choice. There were only three bottles of Australian wine, all red, left,

a ‘2004 Two Hills Merlot’ (reserved for the last evening in our house),

a ‘2001 D’Arenberg Coppermine Road Cabernet Sauvignon’ from McLaren Vale (I had paid US$ 40 for this bottle) and

a ‘2004 Hanging Rock Cambrian Rise Shiraz’ from Heathcote.

The two whites I have reserved are for lunch on Saturday and Sunday:

a ‘2005 Kitzinger Hofrat, Silvaner dry’ from Bernhard Voelker, Kitzingen in Franconia

and

a ‘2003 Saar Riesling’ from Van Volxem Estate in Wiltingen, Saar.

The tasting room of Van Volxem Estate in Wiltingen, Saar (picture taken in July this year)

I chose the ‘2004 Hanging Rock Shiraz’. The bottle was given to me by Andrew at the cellar door when we went on a wine tasting in August last year. If you visit the region of the Macedon Ranges in Victoria, you have to see this vineyard and taste its award-winning wines (see also my blog entry from 09. September 2007).

Hanging Rock has also a vineyard in the Heathcote wine region, Central Victoria where its award-winning Shiraz wines are grown which enjoy an enormous demand from consumers in China.

The Hanging Rock winery in the Macedon Ranges. In the back you can see the rock. The photo was taken in August 2007.

The wine is a blend from several vineyards near the Mt. Carmel range. It is beautiful, has a ruby red colour, and very intense plum and cherry aromas; it is very fruity, has immense depth, a good structure and actually everything you want from a Shiraz from the Heathcote wine region with its hot summers. The Cambrian soils of the Heathcote region are the key to the fame of its Shiraz wines.

Isn’t the ruby red colour of the Shiraz of Hanging Rock wonderful?

Pity the wine did not match the food (my mistake). The ‘funghi porcini’ were too delicate and subtle and the wine just overpowered the fragrance of the earthy mushrooms. We did not care this time, enjoyed the tropical garden view and the sweet heat of a dry-season evening. One last time. I wonder where I will celebrate my next birthday. Over these thoughts I blew the smoke of a Partagas cigar which was given to me by my friends Liz and Walter in Jakarta. Delicious!

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Friday again – ‘2003 Shaw and Smith Adelaide Hills Shiraz’

June 21, 2008

I was sick for a couple of days. There is a bad virus going around. I also seem to suffer from insomnia these days and its certainly not the European Soccer Championship which is causing the “insomnia”. My head spins in the night. There is so much preparation to do before we can leave for Bangkok.

But Friday night I felt a bit better and why not celebrate the end of the week with a beautiful glass of Australian red wine. I decided to open a bottle of ‘2003 Saw and Smith Adelaide Hills Shiraz’ (www.shawandsmith.com) which retails at the Duty free Show at Jalan Fatmawati (Bumi Ayu) for about US$ 30, not cheap indeed.

Here are my tasting notes:

Deep purple red colour in the glass, the wine has vibrant nose of raspberries, black currant, jam and jelly aromas, it is first peppery-spicy is the mouth, as typical for a Shiraz, than displays an intense, creamy, fat and rich aroma of wood berries, it is well balanced and ends with a long and intense finish. The wine has 14% alcohol.

The grapes for this wine were grown in the warmer parts of the Adelaide Hills near Macclesfield. The wine was aged for 12 months in old and new French oak barriques.

PS: At this point in time the Adelaide Crows are leading the Brisbane Lions in the footy game.

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Restaurants in Asia – Top Hat, Kuala Lumpur

May 15, 2008

I do not know what it is with these three letter words for restaurants, but another one of my favourite eating places in Kuala Lumpur is “Top Hat”, located in Jalan Kia Peng, the centre of town (www.top-hat-restaurants.com).

It looks very romantic not only in the night

The interior is very colorful

The food is amazing (here a typical Nyonya style appetizer)

The had a vegetarian pasta. Right, it is not true Western fusion or any Asian cousine, but I felt like having one. The food at Top Hat is excellent and shows great variety blending different local and foreign traditions. The desserts are to die for. The service is good as well. I can only highly recommend the place.

The wine was a “simple red” from Churchview Estate (www.churchview.com.au) from Margaret River, in Western Australia. Their ‘2004 Cabernet Sauvignon’ won the trophy for best CabSav in Australia at the Cowra Wine show.

I choose the ‘2004 Shiraz Premium Range’, a very deep red wine with intense dark fruit, plums and cherry aromas. The Shiraz was spicy and fresh which went very well with my pasta and some of the Asian dishes my friends had. It’s a big wine (15% alc.) with a good structure and a memorable finish.

If you intend to entertain friends or just yourself at Kuala Lumpur any time soon, pay a visit to this very memorable place.

Address
Top Hat Restaurant
No. 7, Jalan Kia Peng
50450 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Te.: +60-3-21428611

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Chain of Ponds, Adelaide Hills, Australia

April 26, 2008

I found another treasure in our local duty free shop a Chain of Ponds ‘1999 Grave’s Gate Shiraz’, from McLaren Vale in South Australia. The homepage of Chain of Ponds (www.chainofponds.com.au), located in the Adelaide Hills, claims that they are “Australia’s “most highly awarded boutique vineyard”. After studying the page I have the feeling that for my taste, they are already much too big to qualify for such a label, but I am easy on that.

Of course their origins (in 1985) were small but they have grown over the years in a sizable business.
I just managed to get the bottle in the last year of the drinking time frame: best drinking 2003 to 2008, it says somewhere.

The wine background is given as follows:

Frost at the commencement of the 1999 growing season wiped out Chain of Ponds estate plantings of Shiraz, hence the sourcing of fruit from McLaren Vale for this wine.

In 2001 James Halliday gave a rating of 90 out of 100 point. The wine comes from the River Series, sold for A$ 18 per bottle. I payed US $ 18.20 for it, which seems to be quite reasonable. The wine could be described as follows:

<“Deep, bright red-purple; clean, fresh juicy/berry fruit on the bouquet is followed by luscious and sweet berry fruit on the palate. Neither the oak, nor the extract, nor the alcohol (13.5°) have been overdone”.

The winemaker is Neville Falkenberg. The 1999 wine must have been made by his predecessor since Neville has been with Chain of Ponds for only the last five years. The Adelaide Hills is a premier cool climate region of South Australia, only about a 20 minutes drive from the capital Adelaide. I love Adelaide not just because my wife originates from there, and recommend it for any visit to Australia. It’s a must, seriously.

Apart from this series, Chains of Ponds has a Premium Range segment. It also produces wines from Kangaroo Island grapes. Its Italian Varietals come from the Adelaide Hills (Nebbiolo, Sangiovese and Pinot Grigio). The low cost segment is called Novello Range (A$ 14/bottle). I have not been to the place but the homepage shows beautiful pictures. Another place to check out.

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