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Farr Rising + Cascina delle Rose + Cascina Pugnane + Marabino Tasting Saturday 8th 3pm-6pm

by Annandale Cellars

Farr Rising

Most of you will know of the cult Geelong producer By Farr, known for making some of the best Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the country. Perhaps not as many of you will be privy to the "Farr Rising" label under which they are making some fantastic wine at more accessible prices than their main line wines. The Farr Rising label is the line that was launched by Gary Farr's son - Nick, after his first year out of uni. The Farr Rising label was essentially meant to represent Nick's intent - to rise up to and beyond the legacy set by his father. Over 20 years on since this label's inception and it is clear that he has accomplished this long ago as he makes these wines alongside the By Farr mainline as well.

“The wines we make are not mainstream—they are expressions of our vineyard, our land and what we like to drink. That is what we promise to deliver.”

Nick has had some of the most impressive experience of any winemaker in the country. Growing up on his father's vineyards in Moorabool Valley that become so instrumental for championing the classic Burgundian varieties in the region; Nick has been surrounded by vineyards and winemaking his whole life. Just as instrumental in Nick's development as a winemaker was his experience working for classic Pinot and Chardonnay producers around the world - most notably at Domaine Dujac in Burgundy (which he still visits with his father practically every year), Cristom Vineyards in Oregon and Au Bon Climat in California. Although Nick owes a lot of his thinking to his father, he is not one to merely follow in his footsteps without forging his own path. The vineyards are managed organically (although not certified yet). In the past the source of the grapes for the Farr Rising label were sourced more broadly, now they are exclusively sourced from the family vineyards with more emphasis on highlighting different soil structures to the main label.

We've picked up 4 of Nick's classic wines from the Farr Rising label. The '24 'Saignee Rose' is made by allowing Pinot Noir grapes to sit in tank for two to three hours before bleeding free-run juice at a suitable colour for rosé production, which is then fermented in barrel and aged in 4-5 year old barrels for 10 months. The '24 'Chardonnay' comes from soil with a high percentage of grey loam and spends 11 months in barrel of which 20-30% are new. The '24 'Gamay' is made with 100% whole bunches and aged in 5 year old barrels for 8 months. This is one of Australia's best expressions of Gamay. Finally, the '23 'Pinot Noir' comes from a north-facing slope, consisting of grey sandy loam mixed with an ironstone pebble (buckshot) at the top. This leads into black volcanic soil over limestone at the bottom of the vineyard. 60-70% of it is destemmed and is aged in barrel (20-30% new) for a total of 18 months. These are some exceptional wines at a reasonable price considering the By Farr main label wines sell for 2 times the price and more. Nick has proven once again why he is one of Australia's best winemakers.

 

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Cascina delle Rose

Cascina delle Rose is perhaps one of the best producers from Barbaresco that you probably haven't heard of. The estate began just after WWII, when Giovanna's grandparents fell in love with the house set against the backdrop of rolling hills and the Alps. In 1974, Giovanna moved to the house permanently with the intent of carrying on the tradition of her grandparents' farm and to find peace and tranquility. Giovanna is now joined by Italo and their two sons: Riccardo and Davide and continue to craft exceptional wines and honour her grandparents' legacy.

"Tradition, respect for nature, elegance: three words to never forget and closely linked to each other."

Based in those gorgeous rolling hills covered in fog that Barbaresco is famous for (a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site), this estate is working with some of the best sites in Barbaresco and farms organically with the intent of sustaining the biodiversity of the area. The soil here is of marine origin, with a compact stratification – the subsoil composed mainly of silt, clay and sand. Gray, bluish and calcareous marl with a notable presence of underground spring water. All of these aspects translate into wines of elegance and finesse. The control of vegetation on the ground is done rigorously with inter-row hoeing, shredding and winter ripening and all treatments based on copper or mine sulphur are kept to a minimum.

We are excited to get this producer out there amongst the Australian audience as they are already highly-respected in Italy - last year's release was well-received and this year the wines are looking even better. We've secured two wines from the 2023 vintage: the Dolcetto d'Alba and Langhe Nebbiolo. These wines are an excellent introduction to this producer as they are much more ready for drinking young and pair well with a range of dishes. From their Barbaresco range, we have the 'Tre Stelle' and 'Marcorino' from the 2021 vintage and have already sold out of the revered 'Rio Sordo'. The 'Tre Stelle' vineyard faces south-southwest at an altitude of 250m-310m above sea level. The 2 neighbours that also farm this vineyard have their fruit end up in Produttori del Barbaresco's Rio Sordo Cru, making this the only release of 'Tre Stelle' by itself. The 'Marcorino', of which this is the very first release, comes from the neighbouring commune of Neive and is the smallest cru in Barbaresco which they share with Albino Rocca. These are both extraordinary wines that will bloom like a rose in your cellars over the next couple of decades, but could also be drunk younger with a generous decant. This is an exciting producer that comes in at a reasonable price for this appellation so be sure to pick up a few bottles and try them for yourselves!

 

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Cascina Pugnane

Cascina Pugnane is situated on a hill where the Municipalities of Barolo, Monforte and Castiglione Falletto meet, in the heart of the Barolo area. The Ghisolfi family have history dating back as far as the year 1600 in the area. Brothers Enzo and Ivo Ghisolfi see themselves as a continuation of a long family tradition. In 1998, they resumed farming after a period of about 40 years when this work was entrusted to third parties for sharecropping and lease contracts. They have reclaimed control of Collina Pugnane and have built a new cellar with state-of-the-art facilities to match their ambitions.

The Ghisolfi brothers own about 6 hectares of land of which 4.5 are dedicated to viticulture with the remainder being divided between Piemonte hazelnuts and of course, the cellar itself. They only produce about 2,500 bottles of Barolo from their vineyards to ensure that they can stay focused on the quality and integrity of the wines while the remainder of the output is sold to others during various stages of production. The resulting wines are ridiculously well-priced for what they deliver in the bottle.

We have a dozen of both the 2019 Barolo 'Pugnane' and 'Bussia' - both are extremely good value considering how legendary the 2019 vintage is. The 'Pugnane' comes from a south-south east facing site with marl and clay limestone soils in Castiglione Falletto. The 'Bussia' is also a historical site - one of the first crus to ever be labelled in 1961 and is South-south east facing with marl and clay limestone soils. These are absolute steals for 2019 Barolo that can already be drunk now with a good decant. Stock up on this great-value Barolo drink now with some game or red meats, or to help you keep your hands off your more expensive Barolos that you're trying to age!

 

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Marabino Tasting

Saturday 8th

3pm-6pm

Join us this Saturday for a tasting of the excellent wines of Sicily's Marabino!


Marabino is located in the sunny southeast corner of Sicily in the heart of Val di Noto in the Contrada of Buonivini. Marabino make wines biodynamically with no chemicals in the vineyard whatsoever and no additives in the winemaking either. The vineyards spanning across the low hills are also interspersed with orchards and olive groves.


Some of you may remember Miki who used to work here - the friendly Italian who worked Monday and Friday nights. Unfortunately he has left us but has joined Italian Wine Importers and will be returning to the store to pour for us this Saturday. These are the wines he'll be pouring:


Marabino Eureka Chardonnay
Marabino Rosanera
Marabino Rosso di Contrada
Marabino Muscatedda


These are some fantastic and expressive wines at great prices. Come on down to the store and try these out for yourself!

Wishing you a great week from the team: Chris, Pete and Aaron.

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