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Introducing VARIETAL TRIAL wines

We have alluded to the impending release of wines from the Red Ridge vineyard at Wrattonbully, namely a Tempranillo and Sangiovese Cabernet blend in the last couple of editions of "Expressions". Well, the time has arrived, and these wines receive our new "Varietal Trial" livery. These wines, at least in the initial phases, will be produced and reserved exclusively for our Cellar Door and Mail Order customers. They will not be found in the trade anywhere unless some enterprising restauranteurs buy some when visiting cellar door.

Red Ridge vineyard Ian and Wendy purchased the land that is now the "Red Ridge" vineyard at Wrattonbully (some 50kms north of Coonawarra), recognising that the shallow Terra Rossa soils over limestone resembled those of Coonawarra. Added to this the climate there is marginally warmer and drier than Coonawarra, and Ian felt certain that it was the ideal climate for growing Shiraz in particular. In 1998 the vineyard was planted to 20 hectares of Shiraz, and in 2000, 2 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon and 1 hectare each of Tempranillo and Sangiovese were added. Ian & Wendy's fascination with the Italian and Spanish varieties were ignited following a trip to Tuscany and Spain in 1997, where they were particularly impressed with the wines that were being made by the young turks, who had thrown out many of the old traditions and were concentrating on producing clean, new world styled wines from the traditional varieties. On their return a "Trial Block" was planted containing the varieties Nebbiolo, Barbera, Sangiovese and Tempranillo at the "Wilgha vineyard" in Coonawarra. Three vintages suggested that the Tempranillo and Sangiovese were the varieties to pursue, particularly in the warmer climes of Wrattonbully.

Thus 7 years after Ian & Wendy's initial reconnaissance mission to Europe, we bring to you the first release of the "Varietal trial" HOLLAIA (Sangiovese/ Cabernet Sauvignon) and the second release of the Tempranillo.

2003 "HOLLAIA"

HOLLAIA and Tempranillo bottles Sangiovese Cabernet Sauvignon "Hollaia" is a tongue in cheek reference to the great Tuscan wines that flew in the face of tradition to create blends that have achieved great fame on the world wine market. Dubbed Super Tuscans, wines such as Solaia, Ornellaia and Sassicaia typically blend the indigenous Sangiovese with the "rogue import" Cabernet Sauvignon.

The 1997 Solaia was named wine of the year by the prestigious US wine magazine "The Wine Spectator" and the 1985 Sassicaia is regarded by many as amongst the world's great wines. These wines sell for up to $300 on release, a bottle of 1985 Sassicaia will set you back over $1,000.

The 2003 "Hollaia" is a blend of 60% Sangiovese and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon that was hand picked on April 9th. Following fermentation in stainless steel the wine spent 9 months in predominantly second use French oak to enable the wine to fully express the fruit characters of the varieties. As with the wines of Tuscany this is a wine that demands food.

Hollaia is medium weight, displaying savoury cherry fruit flavours with the telltale dry, dusty tannins that Sangiovese is renowned for. The Cabernet Sauvignon contributes ripe blackcurrant and black olive flavours to counterbalance the drying tannins of the Sangiovese. To fully appreciate this wine try it with hearty Italian meat dishes such as Osso Bucco, or with pasta dishes such as Pappardelle with Rabbit & Sage.

Production for the 2003 vintage is only 250 dozen.

2003 "Varietal Trial" Tempranillo

Hand bottling the Tempranillo Tempranillo (pronounced temprah- NEE-yoh) is an important red wine grape native to northern Spain and widely cultivated in the northern and central parts of the country. The best examples of Tempranillo come from the cooler parts of Rioja and Ribera del Duero, where it produces deeply coloured wine. Under the traditional, complicated and prescriptive Appellation systems in Spain, Tempranillo's were required to spend up to 3 years in oak which often resulted in wines that showed high levels of undesirable Volatile Acidity (VA), and other disease problems.

Recently, wines emerging from a younger breed of Spanish winemakers, many who have spent time in Australia, have been made without obeying the rigid traditions that have been followed for generations. Typically the better examples have been made with higher proportions of new oak, and matured for shorter periods in these barrels, thus producing cleaner, more appealing wines. It is these wines that inspired Ian and Wendy to plant the variety.

The grapes for the 2003 "Varietal Trial" Tempranillo were hand picked and following fermentation the wine was matured in French and American oak for 10 months, prior to bottling.

The wine presents garnet red with some typical mahogany tints at the rim. The palate displays intense savoury and dark cherry fruit flavours with a beguiling orange peel character. Midweight on the palate, the wine is instantly appealing and the soft, silky tannins make this a wine that is eminently gluggable. Drink it over the next 3 or 4 years. Why not partner it with paella. Olé

2000 Ravenswood Cabernet Sauvignon

This is the eleventh release of our flagship Cabernet Sauvignon, produced from a selection of the best Cabernet Sauvignon from the Wilgha and Neilson's Block vineyards. Ravenswood Lane links these two vineyards - hence the name. The fruit for this vintage was picked between the 27th and 31st of March, and completed its fermentation in 100% new Seguin Moreau French oak barriques (225L), before a further 18 months maturation in these vessels. As is customary the wine has spent two years "on cork" prior to release.

Like many of the 2000 vintage reds from Coonawarra, the wine showed some austerity in its youth, but with time in the bottle it has softened and now shows wonderfully fragrant, blackcurrant laced Cabernet fruit characters, as well as great density and length of flavour. These wines really need 10 years to fully integrate, but the early indicators are that this is one of the best of this lineage.

2002 Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon

The majority of the Shiraz in this blend is from the "Red Ridge" vineyard at Wrattonbully. The third crop of Shiraz from this vineyard produced very low yields, and the mild autumn ensured that the grapes achieved desired ripeness by late March and great intensity of fruit flavours. The 2002 vintage has turned up the intensity switch on previous vintages, as a direct consequence of the fruit from the warmer Wrattonbully site, whilst retaining the Hollick hallmark of soft tannins. This one is a blend of 75% Shiraz and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and will certainly reward cellaring for 4 to 7 years plus.

2003 Pinot Noir

Again we were lucky enough to secure two parcels of high quality Pinot Noir from south of Coonawarra, where the cooler climate is especially suitable for this variety. Low yields enabled the Coonawarra portion to be picked at 13.2 baume on March 14th, and then fermented in open tanks where they were hand plunged and left 'on skins' for 7 days. The wine was matured in primarily second use vessels to enable the fruit to express its varietal complexity.

The 2003 Pinot Noir offers aromas of cranberries and perfumed black cherry, with some lavender and cinnamon notes. The wine displays a soft and silky mouthfeel and a long palate of spicy dark cherry and ripe satsuma plums. It is a wonderfully vibrant Pinot, and now has a great following in the UK, where it is seen as a wellpriced alternative to Burgundy.

Latest Review

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
2000 Wilgha Shiraz

Classic Coonawarra elegance. Lovely succulent fruit, juicy and pure with restrained depth and fine-grained tannins. A fine future still. Drink 2 - 5 years.

Decanter.com - South Australian panel tasting

More Export Success

It has been a bumpy ride with regards to exports of late. The rapid appreciation of the Australian Dollar, particularly against the greenback has thrown a cat amongst the pigeons. To add to the confusion competition from other countries and other Australian wineries in light of an emerging surplus is adding intrigue. In spite of the challenges we have had a few wins of late. The Government monopoly in British Columbia has just agreed to list the Hollick Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, which is a great achievement given that we have just entered that market. Sweden (another monopoly market) is racing through the Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, and currently has the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot under consideration for future listing. As we reported in the previous "Expressions", Cathay Pacific are now serving the 2002 Reserve Chardonnay to their first class passengers between Australia and the UK.

Vintage in progress

As this is being written, the harvesters are making their first forays into the vineyards for the season. Vintage has commenced about 10 days later than the norm following a cooler than average summer that included the coldest January on record. The good news is that we have been enjoying an "Indian Summer" with a dry and sunny autumn thus far. Fingers crossed that these wonderful conditions will continue until the completion of the harvest.

"UPSTAIRS" Happenings

The restaurant continues to fire on all cylinders, where the "full house" sign has been trotted out rather regularly since Christmas. Ian and Sean have found time to pen their autumn menu that features seasonal and local produce.

We have been hosting quite a number of corporate functions and weddings "Upstairs", with guests most pleased with the ambience, food and of course the wines. Naturally, the opportunity to include pre dinner tastings and winery tours is attractive for the conference organisers. Enquiries contact Katie on (08) 8737 2752

Dorinda Haffner drops in

Dorinda Haffner Upstairs at Hollicks In February Dorinda (pictured) was invited by the recently formed Limestone Coast Food Group to provide some valuable feedback on their members produce. The event was held at "Upstairs" and for a full morning. Dorinda touched and tasted the local produce and provided invaluable guidance to the producers on how best to market and present their produce. We are very keen to encourage the local producers to value add their produce, and we hope to showcase even more local produce in the future.

Vintage Dinner in July

In the December edition of Expressions we promised a vintage dinner at the winery. Well, time, vintage and overseas commitments have conspired against us, and we now have revised the date to Saturday July 31st. The program allows plenty of time to explore the rest of Coonawarra and the surrounding district. The programme is as follows.
3.00pm : Meet at Cellar door for a winery & vineyard tour, followed by a barrel and new release tasting.
7.00pm : Degustation Dinner "Upstairs at Hollick" hosted by Ian & Wendy Hollick including a selection of museum wines.
Cost $100
Please RSVP to Wendy Hollick on (08) 8737 2318

Coonawarra goes to the USA

The Coonawarra Vignerons Association in conjunction with AWEC (Australian Wine Export Council) this year embarked on a regional promotion of Coonawarra in the USA. This is a new initiative for AWEC to promote specific regions, who have previously concentrated on the promotion of Brand Australia, with the view that the market is not mature enough for regional promotions. A component of the year long promotion was the presentation of a Coonawarra regional stand at the annual Australia Day Tastings, this year held in New York, Chicago & San Francisco, and also at the Boston Wine Experience.

Ian Hollick, Frank DiGorgio (of DiGorgio wines) and John Innes (Rymill) flew the flag for Coonawarra at each event. Ian was very impressed with the level of interest in the Coonawarra wines, particularly from the younger attendees, who also were surprisingly knowledgeable about the wine regions of Australia. The year long promotion continues with participation in a huge wine fair in Aspen during their summer, and Coonawarra recently hosted 3 influential US based wine writers for 3 days. So the assault on the US is well underway, and educating the market about Coonawarra can only have positive benefits for Hollick wines.