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William Downie + Saison Aperitifs + Loire Valley Offer + Hoddles Creek Tasting Saturday 3rd 3pm-6pm

by Annandale Cellars

William Downie

William 'Bill' Downie is one of the greatest winemakers in Australia and has built a cult following with his expressive Pinots from sources around Victoria. Bill started in the big leagues of Australian Pinot working alongside Phillip Jones for 2 years at Bass Phillip in South Gippsland followed by leading the winemaking team of Burgundy's Romain Lignier for the '04 and '05 vintages after his sudden passing and then becoming the Senior Winemaker at De Bortoli in 2006. All of this experience proved to be vital as Bill led a new wave of Pinot in Australia.

Bill has been making Pinot under his eponymous label since 2003. Bill and his wife Rachel (also an important figure in the wine industry) own their farm in Guendelain, Gippsland which is a primary source of fruit alongside other plots in Gippsland. Downie's ideal of Pinot is one that expresses its sense of place, without winemaking artifice in the way. In Australia, this translated into a style that was more fragrant and elegant with less extraction and without plunging or pumping the caps until later in the ferment. This rendition of Pinot Noir was well ahead of the lo-fi curve in Australia and has seen many younger winemakers follow in his footsteps, although rarely to the success that Bill is able to achieve with his wines.

We've picked up 3 of Bill's wines that represent excellent value in his range. The '24 'Cathedral' is a blend of 40% Upper Goulburn, 35% King Valley, 15% Alpine Valleys and 10% Mornington Peninsula and insane value. We used to sell this for $37.50 and have recently brought it down to $31 - an absolute steal. The '24 'Mornington Peninsula' is a blend of 2 sites - one from Balnarring and the other from Merricks North. This wine surprised me the most with a really silky texture and beautifully integrated red fruits and spices. Finally, the '24 'Gippsland' is perhaps the most representative of Downie's work; being from the region where he is located and has the most experience with. These are all great wines that should be sought out by any lover of Pinot. Snap these up before they sell out!

 

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Saison Aperitifs

Saison Aperitifs was founded by Dave Verheul in 2020 - a celebrated chef (Embla in Melbourne) and lover of bitter drinks with the notion that vermouth and amaro could be brighter, fresher, more singular in flavour. The name Saison stems from the fact that they aim to capture their favourite seasonal moments in the bottle.

Every aperitif they make starts with a core ingredient that is picked at its peak with seasonal notes added to enhance the expression, not to obscure or mask anything. They source wild foraged herbs, fruit and flowers from small-scale growers and multiple Australian varieties of the required herb wormwood which they know how to get the best out of with decades of kitchen experience.

The Saison Aperitifs always sell well here - its crazy how many people will specifically seek them out from us and tell us how difficult they are to find! The 'Red Vermouth' is their take on the classic Italian Rosso and made using 22 distinct botanicals including vanilla, saffron, rose, caramelised blood orange and licorice, infused and blended with Moscato and Shiraz. If you are looking for a "red vermouth" for cocktails, this is the one for you. The 'Fallen Quinces Vermouth' is made from wood-fired pineapple quinces with some saffron, herbaceous bay leaf, and dried blood orange for support. This is great going late autumn/winter. The 'White Flowers Vermouth' is their attempt at capturing a warm day in summer. This is a fusion of jasmine, elderflower, white rose and chrysanthemum blossoms with white peaches from the outskirts of Melbourne blended into a base of Victorian Moscato and Frontignac. The 'Rhubarb Vermouth' uses a moscato base wine, along with magnolia, lavender, and violet blossoms then bittered with two Australian wormwoods and then rests on roasted rhubarb and fresh lilacs. Finally, the 'Blackcurrant Leaf Amaro' is a new addition to our store and made from early summer blackcurrant leaves, their wood, wild picked elderflowers, jasmine and meyer lemon and green coffee, sweetened with organic sugar and bittered with fresh wormwood and gentian. These are easily the most popular vermouths in our store - pick some of these up to find out why!

 

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Loire Valley Offer

The Loire valley is easily the most diverse region in all of France. The region follows the Loire River which comes in from the west coast which is the area with higher rainfall and maritime influence known for textural Muscadet, then further inland to the appellations best known for Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc, then further along still to practically the centre of France - the home of Sauvignon Blanc.

There is always more to explore with Loire Valley; so many appellations and upcoming producers mean that there is always something new to discover or rediscover in this region. In a sense, it could be argued that Loire is one of the most underrated regions of France from a quality/price ratio perspective. You can find sensational Muscadet for less than $40 and even the absolute best of the best doesn't fetch prices like average Burgundy.

To try and get even more people hooked on the wines from Loire Valley, we've selected 6 wines below that we believe represent excellent value for money, even the more expensive ones and are exciting wines in their own right. The Pichot is classic Vouvray and one of the best-selling wines in the store - we order this in 5 dozen every time! The Francois Chidaine is just a sensational dry Chenin Blanc from an underrated appellation known as Montlouis-Sur-Loire. Francois' wines punch well above their weight and would appeal to lovers of Chablis for their high acid and fine-boned minerality. The Pascal Cotat is one of the best expressions of Sauvignon Blanc out there - absolutely nothing like the mass-produced monstrosities of Marlborough and can age for decades. The reds here are the Cabernet Franc show - the flagship red of the region. Both the Alliet and Domaine des Closiers are complex medium-bodied wines that would make great gifts for someone looking for a red around the $100 mark. The Domaine du Collier is a sensational wine, made by the son of one of the founders of the best producer in the region - Clos Rougeard. This would be a great option for someone that is a fan of Bordeaux but looking to branch out. This is just a small snapshot of our Loire Valley range, try some of these or reach out to us for more guidance if you are keen to explore this wonderful region!

 

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Hoddles Creek Tasting

Saturday 3rd

3pm-6pm

Join us for a return to Saturday tastings with the exciting wines of Hoddles Creek from Yarra Valley!

Hoddles Creek are a classic producer from the region and make arguably the best value Chardonnay and Pinot in the country. As the name suggests, the vineyard sits
adjacent to Hoddles Creek and next to Gembrook Road. The site sits on a slope that makes it impossible to work with machines so everything in the vineyard is done by hand. All of their wines are estate-grown, single-vineyard and made in their 300 tonne winery which was built just over 20 years ago. These are the wines we'll be pouring on the day:

2024 Hoddles Creek Estate Chardonnay

2024 Hoddles Creek Estate Pinot Noir

Pop into the store after voting and try these incredible value wines!

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

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