Tasting Notes
I have always had a fascination with Grenache. It can show so many different shades, from lighter rosé to darker, more brooding, age worthy reds, and everything in between. This cuvée is a small portion from the Shays Flat Grenache left for extended maturation.
Grown and hand picked from the famed certified organic vineyard Shays Flat in the Landsborough Valley, Victorian Pyrenees. 25% of bunches left whole, the rest of the stems removed. 12 months ageing in used french barrique followed by a further 12 months in stainless.
Dark cherry, plum and bay on the nose. Wonderfully tight, succulent tannins, almost italianate in a way. Crushed raspberries to dried apricots. Really starts opening up with some air, as the fruits come to the forth and the scrubby herbs push to the back. A dusting of gravelly, earthy cocoa to finish. - Winemaker Note
Charlie Mann traded in the recording studio for winemaking after a chance meeting with Owen Latta. An epiphany with one of Latta’s wines saw him ditch his long commute to take up work at Eastern Peake Vineyard. The Charles Oliver label was born in Mann’s second vintage. The offering is compact, focused on organic vineyards and earlier picking. Reds and whites both clock in at lower alcohols, with texture and fragrance uncluttered by oak, and are bottled with no fining or filtration and only a small dose of sulphur.
“It’s great fun making and sharing wine with family, friends and strangers,” says Mann. “I like experimenting as well, nothing too crazy, but still testing the boundaries to see what happens. As for making wine without additions, this is how I have been taught, and how I think wine should be made… Less large-scale industrial products, more small communities with lots of growers, makers, creators and producers feeding these communities.”
Growing up, Mann’s main passion was music. He trained with a few instruments and was encouraged by his parents to pursue music throughout his schooling. “I was lucky enough to attend a secondary school that had a strong music program. This is where I found my passion for recording music. I went on to pursue this as a career, working in recording studios in Melbourne, mixing live bands etc.”
While that career was a fulfilling one, the commute between his home in Ballarat and Melbourne started to take its toll. “I became tired of that and started floating the idea of looking for other work in another industry,” Mann says.
Wine was not remotely on the horizon then, but a chance meeting with Owen Latta (Eastern Peake and Latta Vino) in 2019 through a mutual friend saw him change course immediately. “He showed me some Eastern Peake pinot noir, and I was blown away. I remember thinking, ‘So, this is what wine really tastes like.’
Striking up a friendship, Mann went on to work that year’s harvest with Latta at his family’s Coghill’s Creek winery. “Chris Dilworth was working there also,” Mann says. “I stayed for the pruning and then the spring and summer. By the time the 2020 vintage rolled around, I was hooked. I asked Owen if I could make some wine there. He said yes, so Charles Oliver Wines was created with a tonne of certified organic Grenache from Shays Flat.”
| Product Type | Wine Red Grenache & Friends |
| Volume | 750ml |
| Country | Australia |
| Region | Victoria |
| Sub Region | Pyrenees |
| Winemaking Practices | Minimal Intervention |
| Vineyard Practices | Organic/Biodynamic |