We’re on vacation and subsequently I wasn’t planning on doing a profile on a vineyard or wine area, despite the fact that we’ve been to some very good cellar doorways within the totally different areas we visited to top off on wine to take pleasure in within the camper. (By the way in which, “cellar door” is the Australian time period for the tasting and merchandising level of a vineyard in Australia. The costs are normally the identical as in a bottle store, however the skill to style the wines before you purchase is a superb plus and visiting a wine area it’s a higher technique to get to know a wine area in comparison with simply ingesting the wines.) However our go to to the cellar door of Singlefile was such a pleasant shock, that I couldn’t resist. It was a shock for 2 causes.
To begin with, I had by no means heard of (or at the least can’t bear in mind — I’ll must verify my wine examine books once I get again to verify as I handed the examination in 2016 and will merely have forgotten) the Nice Southern wine area in Western Australia. Margaret River could be very well-known and that wine area was the principle cause for visiting this a part of Australia, as studying concerning the wine area meant I had discovered concerning the nice panorama and local weather. However once we had dinner in Perth at Gibney Cottlesloe, we had a bottle of Singlefile Household Reserve Chardonnay from Nice Southern, and cherished it. And so once we have been staying in Denmark (not the nation in Scandinavia however a city on the south coast of Western Australia), I appeared up the place the vineyard was. And it occurred to be simply 10 minutes from our campsite. So despite the fact that I had promised Kees this was a vacation and never a wine examine journey, I wished to go to the vineyard.
Second, this was among the best complimentary ‘drop in’ wine tastings ever. What I used to be not but conscious of once I determined to go to the vineyard, was that Singlefile has been named the winner of Connoisseur Traveller Wine’s Greatest Cellar Door or Greatest Tasting Expertise for the Nice Southern wine area annually since 2013. We didn’t have an appointment, however we spent two hours there and tasted 16 wines. Simone took superb care of us, tailoring our tasting expertise to our preferences, and letting us style some wines exterior of the ‘regular’ tasting schedule. An necessary side was that this was a ‘sit down’ tasting the place Simone actually took the time to clarify the wines and speak to us to get to know what we preferred, slightly than the impersonal and hurried expertise at most different cellar doorways. Bear in mind it is a complimentary tasting with out an obligation to buy (though Singlefile does provide some paid experiences that embody meals).
Earlier than I proceed about Singlefile and the wines we tasted, let’s take a look on the Nice Southern wine area. Though it’s geographically massive area (100 kilometres (65 miles) north to south and 150 kilometres (95 miles) east to west) it solely has some 2,500 hectares (6000 acres) of vines. The primary grape varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, and Shiraz. The local weather is usually maritime, but in addition has mediterranean and continental influences. It’s cooler than Margaret River (and the good wine area in WA). The event of the area said within the late Nineteen Sixties and early Nineteen Seventies. The Australian Geographical Indication, Nice Southern, was registered in 1996. There are 5 subregions with totally different climatic circumstances and subsequently totally different grape varities that work finest in every subregion: Denmark, Albany, Mount Barker, Porongurup, and Frankland River.
Singlefile is a household enterprise that was based in 2007, primarily based on an present Chardonnay winery that had been planted in 1986. The Household Reserve Chardonnay remains to be their flagship wine. They make wines from grapes from all 5 subregions of the Nice Southern.
The vineyard has been named after the geese that dwell within the dam (water reservoir) on the vineyard. We have been truly greeted by these geese once we arrived on the vineyard, and so they have been (kind of) strolling in single file.
We tasted the next 16 wines:
- The Nice Southern Chardonnay Pinot Noir NV glowing (84% Chardonnay, 16% Pinot Noir, from 7 vintages 2015-2021, conventional methodology with 18 months on the lees): balanced, creamy mousse.
- Mount Barker Riesling 2024 (100% Riesling, chrome steel): a lightweight Riesling, dry however solely 11.8% alcohol, balanced, contemporary, citrus.
- Nice Southern Fiano 2023 (100% Fiano, chrome steel): mild however with a creamy texture, balanced, almond end.
- Single Winery Albany Fumé Blanc 2024 (100% Sauvignon Blanc, 75% aged in new oak barrels for six months): grassy aromas and a pleasant steadiness between crispy and creamy.
- Nice Southern Semillon Sauvigon Blanc 2024 (55% Semillon and 45% Sauvignon Blanc, chrome steel): balanced, structured.
- Nice Southern Rosé 2024 (95% Sangiovese, 5% Grenache): made in a Provence-like type however with extra construction. Balanced, good fruit and comfortable acidity.
- Single Winery Denmark Household Reserve Chardonnay 2023 (100% Chardonnay, 9 months in French oak barriques (33% new, 67% 1-year outdated), partial malo, lees stirring for six months): structured, balanced between creaminess and acidity, oak, fruit. Nice to drink now however I anticipate that with a little bit of bottle age the oak will combine even higher.
- Outdated Faculty Chardonnay 2022 (100% Chardonnay, 5 months in oak (100% new), full malo and stirring of the lees, cork closure): orange, pineapple, not as creamy as I might have anticipated given the winemaking.
I took a photograph of the cork, as a result of that is the second cork we’ve seen within the final six weeks (the final one was a Chardonnay from Gippsland in Victoria). The overwhelming majority of wines in Australia is screwcap, with corks a really uncommon exception. At dwelling it’s precisely the opposite means round. However let’s proceed with the tasting notes:
- Single Winery Porongorup Pinot Noir 2023 (100% Pinot Noir, 7 months in oak (30% new, 70% 1-year outdated), half complete bunch): barely herbaceous from the stems.
- Single Winery Mount Barker Pinot Noir 2023 (100% Pinot Noir, 7 months in oak (30% new), destemmed): comfortable tannins.
- Nice Southern Tempranillo 2024 (100% Tempranillo, 8 months in 1- and 2-year outdated oak): sticky tannins, ripe, fruity.
- Single Winery Frankland River Grenache 2023 (100% Grenache, 10 months in low toast French oak barriques): structured, contemporary, rosehip jam.
- Single Winery Frankland River Clément V 2023 (56% Mataro, 34% Shiraz, 10% Grenache, 11 months in oak (25% new)): balanced, bay leaf, contemporary, ripe tannins. The identify Clément V is a reference to the pope that Châteauneuf-du-Pape was named after and the wine options the identical predominant varietals, however in a special combine because the French unique is usually Grenache with solely a little bit of Mourvèdre. The Australian identify for Mourvèdre is Mataro.
- Single Winery Frankland River Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 (100% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14 months in oak (30% new). Ripe tannin, contemporary, oak, berry fruit, mild contact of eucalyptus.
- The Philip Adrian Frankland River Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 (100% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15 months in oak (40% new), diminished yield by inexperienced harvest): ripe, balanced, concentrated, comfortable oak.
- Nice Southern Dessert Riesling 2024 (100% Riesling, partially fermented with solely 5% alcohol): mild, floral, like a Moscato d’Asti with out bubbles.
All of the wines have a clearly recognizable clear type with nice steadiness. Though there was in fact a distinction in ‘degree’, there was not a wine on this lineup I didn’t like and these have been definitely a few of the finest Australian wines I’ve tasted, particularly at this worth level. If I had been in a position to take the wine again dwelling to the Netherlands, I might have purchased rather a lot.
