Translation missing: en.Domaine Denis Bachelet + Alain Graillot + Ten Minutes by Tractor + Two Tonne Tasmania Tasting Saturday 15th 3pm-6pm: Domaine Denis Bachelet + Alain Graillot + Ten Minutes by Tractor + Two Tonne Tasmania Tasting Saturday 15th 3pm-6pm
Domaine Denis Bachelet
Domaine Denis Bachelet is a tiny estate of just 4 hectares in the village of Gevrey-Chambertin and has been run essentially single-handedly by Denis since 1983. Denis was born in 1963 in the town of Spy in Belgium as his father had fallen in love with a local girl when he came to visit the town on an outing with the Gevrey-Chambertin choir. Denis would visit his grandparents in Gevrey in the school holidays and came to love the magic of the vigneron’s world, beginning to make wine in 1981.
“La finesse avant tout” – finesse before all things.
Like all of the world's greatest vignerons, Denis believes that the quality of his wine is derived from his hard work in the vineyards, which includes green harvesting when it looks like the vines are threatening a larger crop. At harvest time the grapes are sorted in the vineyard to remove anything less than perfect, with further triage carried out on a vibrating sorting table since 2003. The grapes are 100% destemmed, then crushed which Denis prefers for colour extraction. After a cool pre-fermentation maceration for up to a week, fermentation occurs with natural yeasts in vats after which it is pressed off and left to settle in tank for a week before putting in barrel. To achieve the finesse that Denis so passionately strives for, a lot of attention is paid in the vineyard on keeping yields in check and a choosing only the best oak barrels to age the wine in which is usually a third new for the village level and about half for the Premier and Grand Crus. Simple and common sense winemaking with some healthy intuition is all Denis needs to craft these beautiful wines.
The 2022 release of Denis' wines has just hit our store which we are thrilled about. We’ve already sold all of his Aligote and the pinnacle of the lineup - the Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru but we still have an excellent range of regional and village reds. The '22 'Bourgogne' is one of the best of its kind on the market coming from 2 lieux-dits and spending 16-18 months in used barrels. The '22 'Côte de Nuits-Village' (we have a couple '21s as well) comes from 3 different plots at 300m altitude and spends as long as the previous wine in wood, except with 25% of it being new. The '22 'Gevrey Chambertin Vieilles Vignes' is sourced from multiple vineyards in the village and spends 16 months in 20% new oak. Denis is a fantastic producer and although the word "value" usually does not belong in the same sentence as anything relating to Burgundy, is not out of place when describing his wines when you put them against others of similar value or more. Snap up your share before these are all gone!
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Alain Graillot
Alain Graillot is THE Crozes-Hermitage producer, putting the Northern Rhône's once disrespected appellation into the limelight being able to compete with the best wines of Saint-Joseph and Hermitage. Alain established the Domaine in 1985 from a rented vineyard and was so successful that he was able to purchase that same vineyard only 3 years later. Unfortunately, Alain passed away recently in the March of 2022; however, the estate is in the trusted hands of his son - Maxime, who has worked there since 2004 and has been running it since 2008 when his father retired.
Maxime is making primarily Syrah-based wines, with some Marsanne and Roussanne for the whites in the 22 hectares they have throughout Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Hermitage. Graillot's vineyards are steep and terraced with deep roots and peppered with small stones from an ancient riverbed that assist with ripening. These vineyards are managed organically and of course, hand-harvested. The Syrah from Graillot's Crozes-Hermitage vineyard was planted in 1973 on well-draining soils made of sand, gravel, and alluvial stones. As far as the winemaking goes, Maxime uses whole bunches in concrete vats for a 2-5 day pre-fermentation maceration followed by fermentation with natural yeasts. The ageing is carried out in 1-7 year-old 228L barrels purchased from some of the best Domaines in Burgundy for about 15 to 16 months which is an increase from the 12 months when Alain was still in control. This lends some extra complexity and finesse to the wines upon release.
We've picked up some wines from the 2022 vintage - the last vintage that Alain was alive for but did not get to see through to completion. We have a single bottle left of the '22 'Crozes-Hermitage Blanc' which is a blend of 80% Marsanne and 20% Roussanne from 40 year old vines, whole-bunch pressed and naturally fermented in a mix of one-year-old 600-liter demi-muids and stainless steel. We also have the classic '22 'Crozes-Hermitage Rouge' which comes from 40-50 year-old vines on the Terrasse des Chassis in Pont-de-l’Isère. This wine is the most iconic and representative of the estate's work. Finally, we have a couple bottles of the '22 'Crozes-Hermitage La Guiraude Rouge' a wine that is only bottled in exceptional years. This is a barrel selection that spends a bit longer in barrel and bottle and tends to be more powerful and spicy than the standard offering with a longer ageing capacity. These are some sensational wines from an iconic Northern Rhône estate with only a small amount to go around - don't hesitate to snap these up!
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Ten Minutes by Tractor
Ten Minutes by Tractor is an estate over 40 years in the making, which was eventually established by 3 families in 1997 with vineyards in Main Ridge coming together. These families were all 10 minutes apart from each other by tractor which inspired the name. Since then they have acquired some new vineyards, but always aim to express their individuality and have now become known as one of the greatest producers in the Mornington Peninsula.
At the heart of the Ten Minutes by Tractor vineyard management philosophy lies the cultivation of vineyard soils and the implementation of sustainable practices. This approach aims to preserve and enhance the natural terroir of their vineyards, ultimately resulting in the production of superior wines. They cultivate all their soils under vine mechanically and foster biodiversity by growing cover crops between vineyard rows. This not only supports natural pest control but also promotes nutrient cycling, soil health, and the overall well-being of the vines. They adopt a low-intervention approach in the cellar with traditional techniques and indigenous yeasts across all grape varieties. The result are ethereal, elegant and complex wines.
We have a range of accessible wines from this estate and an estate line Pinot bottling as well. The '10X' wines are sourced from several vineyards on the Mornington Peninsula and are therefore a regional expression of each variety - all which is Estate grown and managed. The '24 '10X Pinot Gris' is a combination of concrete and barrel fermented grapes, some of which spend a bit of time on their skins, some of which undergo battonage for added texture. The '24 '10X Chardonnay' is aged in a range of puncheons (11% new) and barriques, some of which undergo a small amount of stirring too and some that undergo malolactic fermentation. This is a fantastic Mornington Chard for the price. The '24 '10X Pinot Noir' comes from a range of vineyards, some of which are considered their top vineyards (Coolart, McCutcheon and Wallis) and is aged in 15% new French barriques and puncheons. This is an excellent introduction to what this estate can do with Pinot Noir. Finally, The '23 'Down the Hill Pinot Noir' comes from Coolart Road (78%), Capella (17%), Mihaly (5%) and is aged in a mix of barriques and puncheon French oak barrels, 12% new. These are some fantastic wines at reasonable prices from one of Australia's greatest producers. Try some of these for yourself to see what the fuss is about!
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Two Tonne Tasmania Tasting
Saturday 15th
3pm-6pm
We have another exceptional tasting on this Saturday with a range of wines from Two Tonne Tasmania!
Two Tonne Tasmania is Ricky Evans’s chapter in the Tasmanian subregional story. The backbone of the range is Ricky’s long-standing relationships with growers on the island’s East, South and North coasts–one of whom he describes as the best viticulturist in Tasmania, if not the country–and now including a healthy chunk of estate-grown fruit from Woodlawn Park in Swan Bay.
The Two Tonne line-up skews heavily towards Tamar Valley it’s Ricky’s home ground and is the location of his Woodlawn Park Vineyard. From this region he makes a Riesling, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the latter two sourced heavily from home. Across the Pinot range, the use of bunches and new wood are negligible, letting the fruit, the sites and the regional personality blaze bright. These are the wines that we'll be pouring on the day:
Two Tonne Tasmania TMV Riesling 2024
Two Tonne Tasmania TMV Chardonnay 2024
Two Tonne Tasmania STH Pinot Noir 2024
Two Tonne Tasmania EST Pinot Noir 2024
Two Tonne Tasmania TMV Pinot Noir 2024
Come down and enjoy some excellent and well-priced Tassie wines!
Wishing you a great week from the team: Chris, Pete and Aaron.