Feature article: Seppelt Regional Collection Releases |
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Seppelt Regional Collection Releases
"This is about some really stunning vineyards and getting the best out of them." Seppelt Winemaker Arthur O'Connor, Winefront Monthly, February 2005. The 1 April releases of the Seppelt Regional Collection have got us all excited.
Seppelt has a long tradition of producing wines with distinct regional origins, each with their own unique style and character. The Seppelt Regional Collection is based upon a philosophy of expressing the true nature of each variety, producing wines with balanced flavours and good cellaring ability. The range is sourced from our vineyards scattered across central and western Victoria, harnessing the individual strengths and distinct character of some great regions. The wide range of terroir and aspect offers a wealth of variety to our winemakers, enabling them create a diverse selection of wines with each displaying characteristics that epitomise the cool Victorian climate. Unlike warmer regions, the grapes ripen slowly and retain more flavour, creating wines with a beautiful, refined and elegant structure that is often lacking.
The 1 April release of the regional collection consists of:
2005 Seppelt Coborra Pinot Gris
2005 Seppelt Bellfield Marsanne Roussanne
2005 Seppelt Jaluka Chardonnay
2004 Seppelt Moyston Cabernet Merlot
2004 Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz
2005 Seppelt Coborra Pinot Gris
Sourced entirely from the Drumborg Vineyard in Henty, where Seppelt has been producing Pinot Gris since 1997, this is the second vintage under the Seppelt Coborra label. Henty experiences the coolest temperatures of any mainland Australian wine region, and despite ample sunshine, is still a challenging region for our winemakers. The 2005 vintage began with cold, wet weather followed by extremes of temperature. The weather did settle in autumn and perfect ripening conditions followed which allowed the full flavoured intensity of the fruit to develop, without excessive alcohol or colour. The resulting wine, made by Young Winemaker of the Year finalist Emma Wood, is vibrant and refined and will gain further character with cellaring.
2005 Seppelt Bellfield Marsanne Roussanne
This is the third vintage of Seppelt's Rhône style white blend, sourced entirely from the Glenlofty Vineyard in the Pyrenees. The vineyard was planted in 1995 to allow Seppelt access to new, premium cool climate fruit, and is one of the most picturesque in the Seppelt estate. 2005 was an exceptional vintage with little rain, experiencing consistently dry and sunny conditions up to harvest. The 2005 Bellfield combines the richness of Marsanne with the more citrus Roussanne to produce a wine with great flavour and structure.
2005 Seppelt Jaluka Chardonnay
Like the Seppelt Coborra Pinot Gris, the 2005 Seppelt Jaluka Chardonnay is sourced entirely from the Drumborg Vineyard in Henty. Named after the native placename 'Jallukar', this wine draws on premium cool climate fruit to produce the finest Chardonnay from the House of Seppelt. 2005 was a near perfect vintage for Chardonnay in the region with the long, cool and dry autumn providing excellent ripening conditions. Now, the wine is youthful and restrained with citrus and stone fruit flavours in perfect balance with the natural acidity, characters that will continue to develop with careful cellaring.
2004 Seppelt Moyston Cabernet Merlot
To quote Ray Jordan, wine writer for The West Australian, "for many people this was the red wine that introduced us to red wine." It is indeed a wine with tremendous history, first made by Colin Preece in 1951 when he realised the potential of Victoria's cool climate regions for producing an elegant, Bordeaux style wine. The 2004 Seppelt Moyston Cabernet Merlot uses Cabernet Sauvignon from Bendigo and Great Western and Merlot from Bendigo, both cool climate regions that produce deeply flavoured fruit. The 2004 vintage for both regions was superb with perfect ripening conditions in both regions and a slightly later harvest that produced fully ripe fruit with relatively low baumés.
2004 Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz
This is another wine that was originally made by Colin Preece in 1951, which has gone on to win many accolades in the Australian Show System. The fruit for the Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz is sourced from the Grampians and Bendigo, the Grampians providing elegant fruit with concentrated blueberry and black pepper notes, and Bendigo offering more cherry and red fruit flavours. As mentioned above, the vintage was excellent, producing a wine with delicious layers of flavour and great cellaring potential.
Seppelt will also release the 1906 vintage of the Seppelt 100 Year Old Para Liqueur Tawny. Following a grand tradition that began in 1878 to commemorate the completion of the stone port store at Seppeltsfield, Benno Seppelt placed a barrel of the finest wine from that vintage in the cellar and decreed that it would remain untouched for 100 years. Recognised as one the world's finest wines, awesome in power and concentration, the bouquet is heady and penetrating, and the flavour so intense that a tiny sip will ignite every taste bud, then linger for many minutes more.
These wines will all be released on the 1 April, 2005 and will definitely merit space in any cellar! Look out for them at fine wine retailers or contact the Seppelt Cellar Doors for more information.
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