Translation missing: en.ACellars Newsletter 10th November , 2022 - WINE FAIR + SENTIO + ARFION & KENZIE TASTING THIS SATURDAY + WOTW: ACellars Newsletter 10th November , 2022 - WINE FAIR + SENTIO + ARFION & KENZIE TASTING THIS SATURDAY + WOTW
Sentiō: from Latin. Feel. Perceive.
This name certainly reflects Chris Catlow' winemaking approach: intuitive, his palate guiding his decisions.
Born and bred in Beechworth, Chris' roots were already planted amongst great wine pedigree; his father for instance is responsible for the illustration of the historic Beechworth clock tower that adorns the labels of the iconic Sorrenberg Wines of Barry and Jan Morey.
In his late teens, Chris worked at Sorrenberg, and Barry recognised the intuition in this young potential winemaker, encouraging him to enrol in a double degree of Viticulture and Wine Sciences at La Trobe. Gaining experience with vintages on the Mornington Peninsula, it was Kooyang Estate's Sandro Mosele who really opened Chris's eyes to the complexities of Burgundy, instilling in the young winemaker a fascination of terroir in the way a Chardonnay could feel. The way it is perceived in its sense of place.
This fascination with Chardonnay and its sense of place was further cemented by Chris' multiple vintages with Burgundian star, Benjamin Leroux. Through their friendship, Benjamin encouraged Chris to explore terroir. Back home through Sentiō, Chris sources quality grapes from sites across Victoria, such as the Macedon Ranges, the King Valley, and of course Beechworth. His Burgundian influence is evident in his winemaking, yet his style will always allow the site, as well as the vintage to be felt, to be perceived.
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ARFION & KENZIE
Tasting this Saturday, November 12th
3pm - 6pm
We featured these wines in our newsletter recently and customers have loved them so we figured why not open them all?! We've included our notes from the newsletter in case you wanted a refresher on the fantastic wines of Dave Mackintosh.
This is definitely a tasting that shoudn't be missed!
In vino veritas. Whilst “truth” might be a now obsolete translation for the Scottish Gaelic word Fìon, its use as the word for “wine” still holds true.
With Ar Fìon, or “Our Wine”, winemaker Dave Mackintosh
pays homage to his Scottish heritage. Whether the “our” is the connection between the father and brother who helped Dave establish his brand Arfion in 2011, “our”, the connection between winemaker with the highly skilled, sustainable growers from whom Dave sources his single-site and multi-vineyard blended Yarra Valley fruit, or “our” the connection between Dave and you, Dear Reader, as you imbibe on the “good times” delivered by his wines, Arfion wines deliver truth.
That truth: Dave taking risks to make the wines he truly loves: fresh, textured and delicious. Showing his true self in his true sense of place. The wines show terroir, vintage, and above all, show who Dave is- where he came from with his Scottish-heritage, Kiwi-born, adopted Yarra home, and where he is going with our wine.
Cutting his teeth in Marlborough’s Sauvignon Blanc mines, Dave was ridiculed by his colleagues in the early 2000s when he mentioned an interest in fermenting some of the Savvy B on its skins. But after the opportunity arose for him to spread his wings and come across to work on our side of the ditch, mixed with the sprouting of ideas at a Len Evans tutorial and the nourishing of the confidence to throw convention out the window, Dave eventually found his spiritual homeland in the Yarra. Arfion and the Yarra allowed Dave the freedom to make lo-fi, rule book-breaking, site-driven, pure expressions of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, as well as some serious skin-contact ferments that were no longer a laughing stock.
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And whilst Arfion celebrates Dave’s adopted home in the Yarra, his new project Kenzie takes him back home across the ditch to his birthplace in Hawkes Bay, or Te Matau-a-Māui (the fish-hook of Māui).
According to Māori mythology, the North Island of New Zealand was created when the demi-god/youngest brother Māui tricked his older brothers into taking him fishing. Seeking guidance first from his grandmother Murirangawhenua, she gifted him her own jawbone with special powers, as well as
a fish-summoning incantation. From his grandmother’s magical jawbone, Māui crafted his double barbed fish-hook. Chanting his grandmother’s incantation, and following by her example of sacrifice by putting his own blood into it as bait, Māui pulled the great sting-ray up from the deep waters that would form the land of the North Island, with the shape of Māui’s fish-hook representing Hawkes Bay itself.
Dave recites this legend for us on his recent visit to our shop, then speaks of his great-grandmother Annabella Mackenzie, for whom he has named his new wine project. He describes her as a “fiercely independent and strong Scottish woman who taught us that amazing things happen when you take risks”.
And like his Arfion wines, Kenzie is about throwing caution to the wind, taking risks, whilst remaining true to your origin. Aotearoa (New Zealand) may have its soggy reputation as the “land of the long white cloud” which guided its Polynesian
ancestors to it in the first place, but the west coast of Hawkes Bay clocks the country’s most hours of sunshine making the climate ideal for winegrowing. Dave sources fruit from like-minded, sustainable growers working on fertile alluvial
soils, and greywacke sandstone embedded with layers of pumice as well as topsoils of volcanic ash, these tephras violently scattered in the last eruption of the now Lake Taupō some 1800 years ago.
Whole bunch, wild yeasts, malolactic fermentations occurring naturally, unfined, unfiltered, minimal sulphur with the label art created by Dave himself, these wines are textural, aromatic, and
speak of their whenua, their (mother)land.
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WINE FAIR
DECEMBER 3rd
1 - 5pm
You say you want a resolution?
Well, you know... Resolutions are for January...
The Silly Season is upon us; the time to lose all resolve!
The theme for our end of year Wine Fair is without clarity: a bitmap of blurred lines between the rendered, clean and crisp laser shooters of precision to the hazy, unfined, unfiltered funky and fuzzy fizzers. There'll be something for everyone, to level up your summer. Game on!
With over 80 wines to try, tickets are only $25, and include a Riedel tasting glass, yours to take home.
Featuring winemakers Tim Ward of I'll Fly Away, Doug Woodward of Wedded to the Weather and Will Gilbert of Gilbert Family Wines pouring their own, plus plenty of friendly reps splashing their best shining wines to make the summer season sparkle. Rain, hail or more rain, it's certain to be a great day out!
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