Penley Sparkling Pinot Noir

Wine Producer:

Penley Estate

Winemaker:

Kym Tolley

Winemaking:

Gentle handling is the key with Pinot. Estate grown fruit is gently de-stemmed and crushed to look after the delicate nature of the pinot noir variety. Fermentation is Charmat method.

Wine Style:

Red Sparkling

Winery Info:

This is now our 4th year of working with the wine auteur Kym Tolley and his outstanding Penley Estate wines, and it's been a steadily building success. Later this year, Kym will celebrate Penley's first 20 years since its establishment in the heart of Coonawarra in 1988. Since the word go, the awards have flooded in, both from the grueling and ultra-critical Aussie wine judging circuit, and from international wine critics such as Robert Parker and UK-based Matthew Jukes. Our take on the wines is that they are always elegant and balanced, distinctly European attributes that are notoriously hard to find in wines from the world's driest continent. They also show a marked ability to age gracefully in bottle.

Being Australian, they are distinctive and full flavoured but they are never heavy or clumsy. Coonawarra is situated in the south east of South Australia and is an area that is about 15km long and 2 km wide. It is approximately 4.5 hours drive from the heart of Melbourne or 4 hours from Adelaide. It sits at 37 Degrees latitude which is 450km closer to the equator than Bordeaux. Penley Estate's high scores and warm words from international wine pundits are welcome, but it does mean that we know exactly what we can expect for the next few years. Kym's wines are widely distributed around the world, and the UK has to fight for its allocation the same as everyone else. Despite all this, there is a varied selection of wines.

Vineyard information:

Penley Estate's 166 Ha estate is situated in Australia's famous Cabernet Sauvignon district, Coonawarra. When Kym purchased the land it was a green site and now there is currently there is 111 hectares under vine including cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, shiraz, merlot, pinot noir, pinot munier and chardonnay. The vineyard is established on limestone covered by the famous 'terra rossa' soil of the Coonawarra. This, combined with ideal cool climatic conditions and an abundance of sunshine make a perfect location for vine growing.

Coonawarra experiences warm dry summers and cool wet winters. Generally the cooler the climate the more balanced the flavours and Coonawarra is known for having one of the longest ripening seasons of the world. The approximate annual rainfall is 628mm which is similar to the regions of Bordeaux in France which is well known for its Cabernet producing qualities. Average summer temperature is 18.8 °C whilst the average winter temperature is 9.8 °C. People have been talking about the current Australian drought, and it has caused complete mayhem in the broad acres of Riverland and Riverina where irrigation is essential.

Kym's sustainable vineyards on classic terrarossa soil in Coonawarra, mostly dry-farmed, have been much less affected by this biblical agricultural catastrophe. Yields in 2007 were only 15% down, while 2008 was normal and of very high quality. 2007 Vintage Comment: A dry and cold winter was followed by severe frosts during spring and early summer throughout the region. Summer was very dry with warm to hot days and mild to cool nights. Significant rainfall in January provided relief and enough moisture to carry the vines through to harvest. Below average yields resulted in wines of extremely high quality.

Food Pairing:

On the beach with a barbie! Or in the gloomy British summer , wishing you were on the beach with a barbie!! On its own, with grilled meat salads, but best with barbecued beef steak.

Abv:

14%

Grape Variety:

Pinot Noir

Tasting Note:

Dark cherry in colour with slight purple hues – Bright and vibrant. The aroma is fresh, fruity and varietal driven with strawberry and raspberry notes. Simple but fresh with a touch of spice. A medium bodied wine with soft fruit flavours of strawberries and a touch of blackberry. The carbon dioxide lifts the fragrant strawberry fruit and adds a refreshing soft finish.

This simple, varietal wine is fun, made to be drunk young, and head and shoulders above the sparkling shiraz we have tasted.