Two medals at the highly competitive Adelaide Hills Wine Show!
2008 Somerled Sparkling Pinot Noir - Bronze medal (48.5 pts). It is still a very young wine, so we are delighted with this result, as the judges said "Aged complexity won the day." Our day will come before long, and it's amazing how the wine is coming together almost by the day. And you'd be surprised how often we monitor its progress!
Visy 2009 Shiraz Challenge
Our 2004 Somerled Shiraz, like its older brother, was rated as a "Top 100 Shiraz". Very gratifying!
|
SPARKLING PINOT NOIR The first batch of the long-awaited Somerled Sparkling Pinot Noir has just been disgorged! This wine began life in 2008 as a very tasty early-picked pinot. Winemaker Rob Moody could see its potential as a sensational sparkling base and immediately snapped it up. After several months in tank, where it underwent malo-lactic fermentation, it was tiraged (extra yeast and sugar added for secondary fermentation) and bottled (in the very bottle it is in now) and closed with a crown seal. The bottles were put in the cellar, where they were not exactly forgotten about, to produce the lovely bubbles. Then, in November 2009, the yeast lees (dead yeast cells left after the fermentation) were expelled. 1000 bottles had been gradually tipped so that the lees collected in the neck of the bottle, the neck was frozen and the ‘plug' was forced out by the pressure inside the bottle. As all the sugar had been converted to bubbles by the yeast, a little more was added to make the wine palatable, as well as a small amount of topping up wine. Finally, the innovative crown seal was put in place and labels attached. The remaining bottles are ‘sitting on lees' - that is, the yeast will remain in the bottle adding more and more complexity to the wine as time goes by. They will be disgorged as required. MELBOURNE VISIT - October 2009 It's always good to visit the people who buy - and sell - our wine, so in late October Heather and Rob drove to Melbourne to conduct a couple of tastings. First stop was Lamaro's in South Melbourne for lunch with our agent, Steve McLeish. We are very proud to have our wine on the list at such a classy establishment which serves fabulous food as well as good wines.
A Thursday night tasting of our 2003 Somerled Shiraz and 2009 Steeplechase Sauvignon Blanc at Leo's Fine Food and Wine at Kew was buzzy - with a good reception for our new label on the SB. John Bitcon at Riversdale Cellars at Through Rd, Camberwell, never fails to alert the local Somerled devotees of a meeting with the winemaker, so it was a busy session on Friday evening. The new Sparkling Pinot was on tasting for the first time and was a huge success.
NEW LABELS - Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc There has been a dramatic change to our white wine packaging for the 2009 vintage. Certain members of the younger generation thought the labels were a bit bright and wanted something more subtle and fresh. Our graphic designer Lynton Grandison came up with this design in a very short time, pleasing everyone. We think the white capsules complement the label nicely. (The only drawback to this new label is that it's not nearly so easy to find on the shelf!)
|
|
JAMES HALLIDAY
FROM JAMES HALLIDAY’S AUSTRALIAN WINE COMPANION
2007 EDITION - PAGE 614
SOMERLED WINES - 4.5 STARS
"This is the venture of Robin and Heather Moody, and daughters Emma and Lucinda. The quietly spoken Robin Moody (with a degree in oenology) joined Penfolds in 1969, and remained with Penfolds/Southcorp until 2001. This is a classic negociant business in the strict sense of that term. The wines are blended and matured at Boar’s Rock Winery at McLaren Vale.
The name, incidentally, comes from the bay gelding which Robin’s grandfather raced to victory in the amateur steeplechase at the famous Oakbank Picnic Races in 1908, which in turn took its name from the Scottish king who defeated the Vikings in 1156. So there you are."
SOMERLED 2003 MCLAREN VALE SHIRAZ - 4.5 GLASSES
Attractive medium-bodied strongly regional wine; blackberry chocolate and moccha; supple mouthfeel and ripe tannins. Cork. 14.9% alc. RATING 91
DRINK 2014
--//--
New Review:
SOMERLED 2004 MCLAREN VALE SHIRAZ
From James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2010 Edition
Heady levels of sweet dark fruit, dark chocolate and sweet oak; the palate is dense and unctuous, delivering copious amounts of sweet fruit; a big ripe style, handled well. Cork.
14.8% alc. Rating 93 Drink 2015 Date Tasted Jan 09--//--
TOP 100 SHIRAZ - VISY CHALLENGE 2007
Somerled 2003 McLaren Vale Shiraz was a Top 100 Shiraz in the 2007 Challenge.
--//--
Old News!
