Translation missing: en.Ganevat + Brezza + Kusuda + Ossa Wine Tasting Saturday 4th 3pm-6pm + CLO Chardonnay Special: Ganevat + Brezza + Kusuda + Ossa Wine Tasting Saturday 4th 3pm-6pm + CLO Chardonnay Special
Ganevat
Jean-François Ganevat is one of the legends of the region of Jura, a small area slightly east of Burgundy known for producing some of the best and distinctive wines in the world. After some 10 years working in Burgundy, Ganevat returned to his family estate in 1998 bringing his Burgundian knowledge to the terroir of Jura making wines that are sought by wine nerds all over the world.
Jean-François is based in La Combe - a tiny hamlet above the village of Rotalier in the southern half of the Jura region. All of Ganevat's wines are classified as Cotes de Jura AOC, the largest of the few Jura appellations. He brings his Burgundian techniques to Jura with low yields using the classic grapes of the region: Savagnin, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Poulsard, and Trousseau. Ganevat is also certified biodynamic by Demeter. Most of Ganevat's wines are made using the “ouillé” method i.e. topping up barrels with small amounts of wine as it ages to prevent oxidation. This is how most wines around the world are made; however, here in Jura, it is common for producers to make wines “sous-voile” i.e. without topping them up and allowing a thin layer of yeast to develop on top of the wine. In this sense, Ganevat's wines offer a point of difference within the region of Jura and allows the terroir to shine through more.
We have a wide range of Ganevat's wines from both his neogicant label and estate line. From the Anne et JF Ganevat negociant range, we have: '23 'Cuvee Nadelon Nature Rouge', '23 'De Toute Beaute Rouge', 'Cremant de Jura', '23 'J'en Vieux Encore Rouge', '23 'Mon Rouge Gamay', '21 'Victor de la Combe Chardonnay', '21 'Le Courage Riesling', '23 'La Colline des Dames Pinot Noir', '18 'Sul Q 375ml', '21 'Savagnin Le Carre' and the '20 'Les Clos Savagnin'. From the legendary estate range, we have: '20 'Chalasses Vieilles Vignes Poulsard', '23 'En Billat Pinot Noir, '23 'Cuvee Julien Pinot Noir' and the '20 'Cuvee Florine Chardonnay'. I don't expect these wines to last quick so don't hesitate to secure your share of the cult Ganevat wines!
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Brezza
The Brezza family have owned and operated their winery and vineyards since 1885 and bottled their first wine under the Brezza label in 1910. Just outside the village of Barolo, Brezza are nestled in these steep hillsides with their winery, restaurant and hotel which are all owned by the Brezza family. With four generations of family vineyard management and winemaking, the estate sits in the traditionalist camp as far as Barolo winemaking goes but are not afraid of some modern technical know-how in the cellar.
Brezza own 23.5 hectares of land in Langhe of which 20.5 are vineyards and the remaining 3 hectares dedicated to hazelnut groves and forests. All of these vineyards are farmed organically and biodynamically which is extremely rare in the region with Brezza serving as a benchmark for biodynamic viticulture in Barolo. They believe that 95% of the wine is made in the vineyard and their careful hand in the cellar aims to highlight this hard work. As far as their traditionalist methods go, they use long macerations and and ferment with natural yeasts in large Slavonian oak barrels. However, they do use gravity-fed cellars, temperature control and meticulous tannin management.
We've just picked up some of the Brezza Baroli from the incredible 2021 vintage - a vintage that has been heralded by critics and has produced fresh, pure and age-worthy wines. First, we have the '23 'Langhe Nebbiolo' which is macerated for 6-10 days and aged in stainless steel, aiming to highlight the fresh fruitiness of Nebbiolo in its youth. The '21 'Barolo Classico' is comprised of grapes from 3 communes: Barolo, Monforte and Novello and sees the same winemaking as the single vineyard wines with a slightly shorter maceration. This is a excellent Barolo for the money. The '21 'Barolo Cannubi' comes from what is considered one of the best sites in Barolo and always produces perfectly balanced wines with a long ageing potential. Finally, the '21 'Barolo Sarmassa', the Cru for which they are most known, comes from silt-clay soils at 300m above sea level. All of these wines are bottles unfined and unfiltered. Both of these Cru bottlings scored an impressive 98 points from Wine Enthusiast. These are some stunning expressions of Barolo at a reasonable price for a vintage that many people are calling the greatest of all time. Don't miss out on these!
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Kusuda
Kusuda is the tiny-scale project of Hiroyuki Kusuda who found potential in New Zealand's Martinborough region for producing exceptional Pinot Noir among other grapes. Hiroyuki had a passion for wine as a teenager and travelled Europe visiting all the greatest châteaux while studying law in Japan. While working in Sydney's CBD he travelled to New Zealand a few times where he tasted Pinot that rivalled Burgundy and went on to study Oenology and Viticulture in Germany. Hiroyuki eventually migrated to New Zealand in 2001 to pursue his dream of making Pinot Noir that would be acknowledged at the highest level.
As is quite common with Japanese winemakers, their diligence, rigorous work ethic and high standards result in some truly outstanding wines. Each vintage, 20-30 of Hiroyuki's Japanese friends fly over at their own expense to help with picking the berries and work in the cellar. 1 tonne of Pinot Noir grapes will usually take 2 days to handpick, each bunch selected at optimal ripeness, after which, each individual berry is inspected after being run through a de-stemmer. Only the best of the best (of already high quality grapes) make the cut for his wine. Some wine writers have called this the most extreme berry-sorting they've ever seen. Despite Hiro falling in love and moving to Martinborough primarily for Pinot Noir, he also produces some of the best Riesling and Syrah in New Zealand. Both of these grapes have enormous potential in the region with Hiro setting the blueprint.
We've picked up the usual 3 spectacular Kusuda wines (but have already sold the all the Pinot) as well as an extremely rare 4th bottle. There are only about 1000 cases in total produced each year and 70% of that goes to Japan with the remainder being split between Australia, U.S. and U.K. making these wines extremely rare. We have the 'Riesling' in both the '23 and '24 vintages which comes from the Boulders Vineyard in Martinborough Terrace and undergoes fermentation in stainless steel tanks for 3 weeks with only a touch over 1g/L of residual sugar for both vintages. This is an extremely elegant and detailed Riesling. We have the '22 'Syrah' which sees almost a month of maceration then 22 months in French oak of which roughly 20% is new. Finally, we have only 3 bottles of the '22 'Trockenbeerenauslese Riesling 375ml' which comes out at 308g/L of residual sugar and ferments in old French oak for 19 days. Hiro doesn't believe he'll see a vintage that can produce a wine like this ever again. A sweet Riesling of unbelievable concentration that will age for decades. These are some seriously limited and ridiculously good wines that we're honoured to be able to stock and share with you. Don't hesitate to snap these rare bottles up!
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Ossa Tasting
Saturday 4th
3pm-6pm
This Saturday we have an amazing tasting of the wines of Tassie's Ossa lined up!
Ossa are a young estate with their first release in 2022 but have already captured the attention of wine nerds and drinkers around Australia. Based just outside of Swansea, the estate is massive, breath-taking and throughtfully planned to produce high-quality grapes.
The distributor of these wines - Greg (who will be pouring on Saturday), from Vinous Solutions was generous enough to take me down on a trip to Tasmania last week and see the estate first hand and taste the wines with the winemaker. These wines just keep getting better with each release. These are the wines we'll be pouring on the day:
2023 Gruner Veltliner
2022 Chardonnay
2023 Syrah
Come down to the store this Saturday and try these spectacular Tassie wines for yourself!
Wishing you a great week from the team: Chris, Pete and Aaron.
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WEEKLY SPECIAL!
CLO
This week we are running a special on the store favourite CLO Wines made by the owner Chris!
CLO Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2021 - Regularly
$45 per bottle / NOW $33.75 per bottle*
This is a saving of 25%!
OFFER: BUY 6 BOTTLES OF CLO TUMBARUMBA CHARDONNAY AND RECEIVE $67.50 OFF!
The CLO wines are a micro-negoce project using throughtfully grown grapes from local NSW vineyards mainly in Orange and Tumbarumba. The wines aim to capture the nature of the season and to be both drinkable and thought-provoking. All CLO’s are produced naturally. Fermentation is wild, old oak barriques and foudre are used, elevages are lengthy, and the wines are bottled unfined, unfiltered and without sulfur under cork. This particular wine is sourced from the Glenburnie and Mountain View vineyards at 700m above sea level from soils of basalt and granite, respectively. The grapes are handpicked and direct pressed to old barrels where they mature for 18 months before being bottled unfined, unfiltered and unsulfured.
*price per bottle when ordering 6 bottles of CLO Tumbarumba Chardonnay 2021 in-store or online. Offer available while stocks last or until the end of the week - finishing at 11:59pm on Sunday 5th October.
Get in quick!