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Name: Kurrajong Vineyard
Address: 614 Hermitage Road
Suburb: Pokolbin
State: NSW
Postcode: 2320
Phone: 02 6574 7117
Country: Australia
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Full Description: 2005 Vintage Report from our winemaker, Tish Cecchini.
26th February 2005
The 2005 vintage has been most exciting for me as a winemaker. This is my fifth year as a winemaker for Kurrajong Vineyard and finally I can say that 2005 unlocked the potential this vineyard was bound to realise in its flavours and integrity to each of the five grape varieties.
2005 Semillon was the first variety harvested. Selectively hand picked I welcomed a classic Hunter Semillon style to the winery. Picked at an ideal 11.5 Baume with a firm grape acid structure on the palate, my job was rendered easier to release the natural semillon aromas and flavours with winemaking.
Golden colour with hues of light green and straw indicate Semillon picked at its optimum. Crisp, clean with vibrant length of palate soaked with the characteristic Semillon varietal flavour. A full bodied dry white. A sweet citrus and passionfruit nose with the classic grassiness to identify that it is a true Hunter Semillon. Now only just finished its' fermentation in stainless steel vats, a few more finishing touches to clarify and stabilise the wine and it will be ready for bottling. This style of Semillon will have a bottle storage potential for up to 10 years or more. It will develop further complexities with bottle age but it will be exciting as a "drink now" wine.
2005 Verdelho was the second variety we harvested. Picked at 14.2 Baume ! Heaven for a winemaker although there has to be extreme care that at this high Baume the colour is not too intense and it does ferment out to ideal dryness. I have succeeded. I did not press the grapes to an extreme pressure and thus utilised the strength from the pulp or must. The Verdelho is now completely dry and my guess is that the alcohol is 14.1%. This high alcohol is backed up by its' vibrant lemony and full bodied mouth feel. Passionfruit and just ripe bananas on the uplifting alcoholic nose.
2005 Shiraz was the third variety to be harvested at 13.7 Baume. The usual tormenting weather had nil effect on the structure of the Shiraz. This Shiraz is currently going through its' fermentation process. The colour extraction is already indicative of the deep blood red colour with violet and blue ink deep hues. The chocolate, earthy pepper and spice is in fine form on the nose. Resplendent in varietal flavour. A work in progress. This will be oaked upon completing fermentation to dryness in a variety of French and American Barriques where it will mature for a further 16 months before bottling.
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon was the fourth variety to be picked. Only a small parcel of premium Cabernet which is being handled in an open fermenter. Winemaking the old fashioned way! Hand picked at 13.2 Baume. I can already taste that it will lend itself only to French oak casks. Black current and green pepper aromas infiltrate this parcel of Cabernet. Almost already purple in colour with only just a few hours on its' skins. Again, still a work in progress.
2005 Merlot was the final variety off the vine picked by hand. My immediate description is full of flavour. So very ripe at 13,6 Baume. Much thinner skin than the Cabernet Sauvignon and thus I will handle it with more delicacy. Plump and fruity in its flavour. Squid ink in colour. I haven't decided on the future oak type as this parcel will intrigue me until it finishes fermentation in one of our stainless steel wine vats.
Tish Cecchini, Winemaker.
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Listed by: Kurrajong Vineyard
Phone: 02 6574 7117
Homepage: http://www.kv.com.au
Info: urrajong is a working vineyard and guests are welcome to walk through it. We have 18 acres of vines, in five grape varieties. Verdelho, a white grape from Madeira, which was first planted in 1992 and is grown in two blocks, there are also two blocks each of Semillon and Shiraz established in 1994. In 2001 we planted two more blocks, one of Merlot and the other Cabernet Sauvignon.
The vineyard yeilds exceptional fruit and much can be attributed to the management practices which includes soil moisture sensors connected to a sophisticated analysis system. This greatly assists in keeping the right amount of water available to the vines especially during the summer prior to harvest.
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