|
|
|
|
|
Brought to you by...
|
|
|
|
|
Chardonnay
Of historic importance to the Australian wine industry is the import of the Chardonnay grape from France and how this grape made its way to the Craigmoor Winery in Mudgee.
1832 - Chardonnay grape varietals were first imported into Australia by
James Busby. Plants were divided between Sydney Botanical Gardens and Busby's estate "Kirkton" in the Hunter Valley.
1857 - Adam Roth a free settler arrived in Sydney
1858 - Adam Roth was given a grant of 37 hectares of land in Mudgee, NSW. Craigmoor Winery was established
1887 - J. McLean established Kaluna Vineyard (near Fairfield in Sydney) and this was managed by Ambrose Laraghy who had worked at Kirkton Vineyard
1918 - Ambrose's son Arthur purchased Kaluna and traveled to Mudgee to purchase grapes to make fortified wines. He gave chardonnay cuttings from Kaluna to Bill Roth (son) which were planted at Craigmoor Vineyards. These cuttings came from Busby's original collection at Kirkton and it is suggested that Kaluna was the only Chardonnay source left at this time
1930 - Jack Roth (son) had bought out his brother and consolidated winemaking at Craigmoor Winery.
1969 - At this time a nameless grape variety was identified by Professor Denis Boubals, an ampelographer from Montpellier (France) as Chardonnay, one of the best disease-free clones he had seen. In this way, Mudgee became the first wine-growing area in Australia to grow Chardonnay
1970 - Pieter van Gent comes to Mudgee in December 1970 to take up the position of Winemaker/Manager for Craigmoor Wines
1972 - Craigmoor marketed straight Chardonnay under the Chardonnay label.
Pieter remained at Craigmoor Winery until 1979 and firmly established Craigmoor as one of the leading wineries in Australia and contributed immeasureably to the establishment of Mudgee as an important wine region.
Tasting Notes
This is a special wine sourced from the oldest Chardonnay rootstock in Australia. It has received traditional treatment with barrel fermentation in new French and American oak hogsheads (300 liters) for 10 months.
It was rested on yeast lees before bottling in January 2009.
Bouquet:
It is a sumptuous aged wine showing medium straw hues with a rich buttery bouquet and soft integrated oak on the palate.
Palate:
This Showcase Chardonnay is a full flavoured well balanced wine showing mouth-filling ripe fruit. Fermented in new oak hogsheads and aged on lees, it has a firm finish.
Food:
Mandarin Duck, Moroccan Lamb
Cellaring Notes:
A superb wine to enjoy now or cellar for 1 to 10 years.
|
|
|
Mudgee region - current videos
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|