Latest News
- 2008 VINTAGE WRAP UP - Melissa and Mike's impressions of the 08 vintage.. May 2008.
- Wetlands Wins Channel 10/Telstra Environment Award. May 2008.
- The new Rough Cuttings is out.. 2008.
- The Closure Debate cont. - The Mike Brown Trials. 2008.
- Moonstone Unveiled - the release of our first Biodynamic wine!. October 2007.
- WINE OF THE YEAR - 2004 Obsidian Shiraz. August 07.
- Gemtree appoints North American Brand Manager. August 07.
From the Paddock
2008 will be a year to remember! It was the most compressed vintage I have ever experienced and full of surprises. The season brought weather conditions that were perfect for producing top quality fruit. Yields were looking promising and we approached vintage with high hopes and enthusiasm.
We picked our white grapes at a lower baume than usual as they displayed strong varietal character and crisp acidity.
Cool and dry conditions during berry ripening produced full flavoured fruit and red grapes accumulated great colour and phenolic development.
On the 3rd March a record breaking 15 day heat wave kicked in and revved us all into a frenzied pace of activity. We did our best to harvest our reds before they shriveled into oblivion. Fortunately, we have the infrastructure that meant we survived the 08 vintage relatively unscathed and have some fantastic parcels of fruit to work with.
Melissa Brown - Viticulturist
From the Shed
I returned from Australia Day tastings in London and Europe on the 3rd of February and we commenced picking on the 5th with our first tempranillo rose, a cracker indeed!!
The whites followed quickly after this and we had all our whites harvested by the 23rd of February which is extraordinarily early and consequently all the whites are fleshy, vibrant with amazing acidity. Highlights are 2008 Moonstone albariño and 2008 Citrine chardonnay.
We commenced harvesting the reds on the 28th February, 5 days before our record heat wave and as always we harvest our Obsidian blocks first. The base wines for Obsidian and Uncut that we have in barrel are as good as I have seen at Gemtree, so this means we have parcels that are up there with the awesome 1998 and 2001 vintages.
The reds are rich yet restrained which I put down to the cool ripening season and great natural acids. Tannin development was almost perfect and with great natural acid and tannin you are 9/10th's of the way there…..
I look forward to watching the wines evolve over the next 2 years and I will keep you posted on how the wines progress form here.
Highlights 2008 tempranillo, Obsidian and The Phantom petit verdot.
Vintage rating 8.5-9 /10.
Cheers,
Mike Brown - Winemaker
The Gemtree wetlands have been nominated as a weekly winner in the Channel 10/ Telstra Environment award based on a submission put forward by Greening Australia for the work we undertake with the community planting trees on Arbor Day.
The Channel 10 news will broadcast from the wetlands next week and include an interview with media favourite, our star viticulturist Melissa! The submission then passes to the 2007 Austrlaian of the Year and climate change crusader,Tim Flannery to judge the monthly winner.
The annual Gemtree newsletter known as "Rough Cuttings" has been sent out with details of new releases, reviews and what kept us occupied in 07.
You can view Rough Cuttings by clicking here or ask us to send you a copy.
In 2007 we undertook a screw cap vs. natural cork trial with our 2 super premium wines - 2004 Obsidian shiraz and 2004 White Lees shiraz. We sourced a small batch of top end natural corks from a small Spanish producer that we felt had the highest quality in the market place at the time of trialling. Both sets of wines were tasted 6 months after bottling under controlled conditions.
2004 Obsidian
Screw Cap - the first signs that the wine is beginning to evolve. Still a pup but closure is holding all primary and secondary fruit spectrum. Palate is rich and powerful with lovely acid and tannin retention. At this stage I am still confident this vintage will cellar for 15+ years.
Cork - slightly dusty note, blows after 20minutes in glass. The wine is already showing signs of more secondary characters (leather and spice). Tannins beginning to soften, wine perhaps is not showing the completeness of the screw cap samples. This can be taken as natural evolution of the wine…..my opinion is the evolution is happening too quickly and it disappoints me when I see characters/flavours of the cork in the wine.
2004 White Lees
From the 3rd week post bottling these wines were chalk and cheese. I am convinced with this wine, the screw cap is a far superior product. The aromatics and flavour profile were far more intense and as with Obsidian the back palate balance prevailed with the screw cap closure.
Summary
From the trials that we conducted in 2004 and with the recent vertical tasting I undertook with Obsidian, I am convinced that the screw cap is the more reliable and superior closure. Based on these results we have made the decision to bottle the entire 2005 Obsidian production under screw cap, as my confidence grows every time we compare wines under both closures. I still argue emphatically that for longevity of our products, screw cap is definitely the way to go.
Mike Brown
Winemaker
Gemtree's first 100% biodynamic wine - Moonstone Albarino has just been released. Viticulturist Melissa Brown began experimenting with biodynamics in the vineyard in 2006 and the results have been outstanding. So much so that nearly one third of the Gemtree estate is now being farmed using biodynamic principles.
Albarino is a Spanish variety from the picturesque coastal region of Galicia. Here, it enjoys warm days, cold nights and the maritime influence of the nearby Atlantic, perfect for retaining the natural acidity of the variety and very similar to McLaren Vale's climate.
Albarino grapes develop thick skins contributing to their intense aromas of apples,
peaches, pears and citrus. Winemaker Mike Brown likens Albarino to a hybrid of Riesling and Pinot Grigio due to its fragrant aromatics and wonderful acidity.
Mike says "We have left this wine as nature intended it, 100% natural fermentation, no additions and zero filtration."
Total production was 25 dozen and the wine is only available through Gemtree's cellar door.
The Gemtree gang capped off an enormous week last Friday night with the announcement that the 2004 Obsidian Shiraz had won the professional judges Wine of The Year in the 2007 Hyatt/Advertiser Wine Awards. Held in the Hyatt ballroom, the black tie gala event was jam packed with serious players from within the South Australian wine industry. The night is summed up best by winemaker Mike Brown who 4 days later is just recovering!
"After being chosen as best shiraz by the judges, we tasted through the other varietal wines on the table as they were poured and I felt that the Obsidian was in the top 3 wines of the night - but it would depend on what the judges were looking for. Obsidian definitely was the biggest in the line up!!
When the award was announced it was such a buzz, to be chosen as the Wine of the Year given the quantity and quality of wines and the calibre of judges was surreal. A very nervous speech followed dedicating the award to the Buttery's 95 year old grandfather Ernest Rivers - who got the whole family involved in vineyards all those years ago. Upstairs to the bar for some French fizz and high fives with the family. Loads of fellow industry mates converged with hearty congrats and lots of "Is there any wine?" comments followed!!
We had to get home to the babysitters, so it was off back to the Vale with our ever reliable driver Kev, calling anyone who we thought would like to know. We woke up Jill and Paul, Pam and Noel Brown and Eymeric to share the news. The boys decided to head to Hindmarsh Island to share the joy with the directors of golf, arrival time = 2am. Three more bottles of fizz and a dent made in the Johnnie black label before the celebrations came to an end returning back to the Vale at a healthy 6am."
We are excited to announce the appointment of Eymeric Darsch as Gemtree's roving brand ambassador in North America. Eymeric joins us with a great passion for Gemtree wines, given he's been selling our range for the past couple of years whilst working for our US importer as the National Sales Manager.
Eymeric is based in North Carolina and will travel extensively throughout the USA and Canada. We welcome him wholeheartledly onto the team.
Click here to view Eymeric's profile..
