THE VINEYARD
Melville’s Vineyard sits on the eastern flank of the historic Rutherglen wine region and is one of the large larger vineyards in the area Rutherglen sits on the banks on the Murray River and is a much warmer region than the nearby Alpine & King mountain valleys we source a lot of fruit from. We think the warmer climate makes it a great match for Mediterranean varieties. Fruit from here tends to ripen & be harvested first at the start of the vintage period.
This vineyard has originally planted to the more common French varieties but in recent years some blocks have been grafted to exciting alternative varieties including Arneis, Grenache Blanc, Fiano, Grenache & Sangiovese. The vineyard is expertly managed by long time head viticulturist Matt Partridge. The quality of the fruit delivered by Matt & his team is always of the highest quality and an absolute pleasure to make wine from.
THE WINEMAKING
This wine is a true field blend meaning the Grenache Blanc, Arneis & Fiano are all harvested and fermented together. This is no mean feat as it requires determining just the right moment when all three varieties are at just the right ripeness level.
Machine picked in thecool of the night using a new generation selective harvester. The grapes are then put through the crusher to burst the berries, then transferred to large variable capacity fermentor tanks. These tanks have a lid that can be lowered onto the grapes to protect them from nasties like volatility & oxidation, making them perfect for making this wine in the style we want to make it.
We do not seek to oxidise the grapes and juice as we want to retain aromatics and are not looking for an orange colour in the wine through oxidation. Fermented using only the natural wild yeast indigenous to the vineyard, once the ferment is active the lid on the tank is lifted and ferment temperature is held around 25°c.
While active, the ferment is pumped over once daily until sugar dry. Once sugar dry the lid is lowered & sealed, we then leave the tank untouched for between 1OO-15O days, the decision to remove the skins is made when we feel that the wine is no longer improving. It’s our belief that if you give the wine time, at least three months, it allows the hard tannins & phenolics to redeem and fall out of the wine. At the point we believe the wine is no longer improving, the wine is pumped away from the skins & the skins discarded. We do not press the skins as they hold all the oxidised juice which we believe muddles & dulls the palate of the wine if included in the final blend.
The wine is racked twice before bottling and is completely unfined & unfiltered, a small addition of 3Oppm of SO2 is made just prior to bottling to ensure the wine retains its vibrancy & nuance.
THE WINE
We believe this to be a truly unique wine. The diverse varieties used coupled with an ultra long maceration and limited oxidation create a subtle and nuanced wine.
Displaying clean aromatics complimented by a soft yet complex textured mouth feel. The beauty of this wine to us is that it is not dominated by the hard phenolic & tannin that is a hallmark of many of the wines made in this style.
MELVILLES VINEYARD - 36°04’08.8”S 146°33’15.4”E
REGION/GI: RUTHERGLEN
GROWER: MATT PARTRIDGE
VARIETALS: GRENACHE
BLANC, ARNEIS & FIANO
VINES PLANTED: 1997
SOIL TYPE: RED CLAY LOAM
ELEVATION: 18Om ASL
ROW ORIENTATION: EAST WEST
THE VINEYARD
Melville’s Vineyard sits on the eastern flank of the historic Rutherglen wine region and is one of the large larger vineyards in the area Rutherglen sits on the banks on the Murray River and is a much warmer region than the nearby Alpine & King mountain valleys we source a lot of fruit from. We think the warmer climate makes it a great match for Mediterranean varieties. Fruit from here tends to ripen & be harvested first at the start of the vintage period.
This vineyard has originally planted to the more common French varieties but in recent years some blocks have been grafted to exciting alternative varieties including Arneis, Grenache Blanc, Fiano, Grenache & Sangiovese. The vineyard is expertly managed by long time head viticulturist Matt Partridge. The quality of the fruit delivered by Matt & his team is always of the highest quality and an absolute pleasure to make wine from.
THE WINEMAKING
This wine is a true field blend meaning the Grenache Blanc, Arneis & Fiano are all harvested and fermented together. This is no mean feat as it requires determining just the right moment when all three varieties are at just the right ripeness level.
Machine picked in thecool of the night using a new generation selective harvester. The grapes are then put through the crusher to burst the berries, then transferred to large variable capacity fermentor tanks. These tanks have a lid that can be lowered onto the grapes to protect them from nasties like volatility & oxidation, making them perfect for making this wine in the style we want to make it.
We do not seek to oxidise the grapes and juice as we want to retain aromatics and are not looking for an orange colour in the wine through oxidation. Fermented using only the natural wild yeast indigenous to the vineyard, once the ferment is active the lid on the tank is lifted and ferment temperature is held around 25°c.
While active, the ferment is pumped over once daily until sugar dry. Once sugar dry the lid is lowered & sealed, we then leave the tank untouched for between 1OO-15O days, the decision to remove the skins is made when we feel that the wine is no longer improving. It’s our belief that if you give the wine time, at least three months, it allows the hard tannins & phenolics to redeem and fall out of the wine. At the point we believe the wine is no longer improving, the wine is pumped away from the skins & the skins discarded. We do not press the skins as they hold all the oxidised juice which we believe muddles & dulls the palate of the wine if included in the final blend.
The wine is racked twice before bottling and is completely unfined & unfiltered, a small addition of 3Oppm of SO2 is made just prior to bottling to ensure the wine retains its vibrancy & nuance.
THE WINE
We believe this to be a truly unique wine. The diverse varieties used coupled with an ultra long maceration and limited oxidation create a subtle and nuanced wine.
Displaying clean aromatics complimented by a soft yet complex textured mouth feel. The beauty of this wine to us is that it is not dominated by the hard phenolic & tannin that is a hallmark of many of the wines made in this style.
MELVILLES VINEYARD - 36°04’08.8”S 146°33’15.4”E
REGION/GI: RUTHERGLEN
GROWER: MATT PARTRIDGE
VARIETALS: GRENACHE
BLANC, ARNEIS & FIANO
VINES PLANTED: 1997
SOIL TYPE: RED CLAY LOAM
ELEVATION: 18Om ASL
ROW ORIENTATION: EAST WEST
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