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De Bortoli
2008 Estate Sauvignon
The fruit for this wine was from four distinct sections of the De Bortoli Estate vineyard at Dixons Creek. All parcels are hand pruned, shoot thinned and hand picked.
The juice is fermented entirely in older French barriques (8-10 years in age). Only the ambient yeast from the vineyard is used. The wines undergo full malo-lactic fermentation also in barrel - with no commercial innoculation either.
Barrel fermentation and maturation is not used to add flavour, but to increase texture and complexity in the wine.
It is Sarah Fagan's and De Bortoli's philosophy that people should taste the vineyard and site, rather than any winemaker inputs.
This wine is tightly structured, with nuances of variety. The palate shows complexity and texture with minerality and a long balanced finish.
2008 Reserve Syrah
The fruit for this wine comes from one particular block of syrah planted in 1971. The block has a very different soil profile, vine age, vine clone from De Bortoli's other Yarra Valley syrah sites.
Once the fruit is hand picked into 8kg buckets, it is hand sorted and tipped directly into the fermenter. 75% whole bunches is employed with the balance (25%) being destemmed. The fermentation is carried out only with the ambient yeasts from the vineyard. Once fermentation and subsequent time on skins is completed, the wine is filled into barrel. No new oak is used, and only larger format (500L) French puncheons are utilised. The wine is always handled via gravity and pumping avoided.
This wine is intriguing and complex. The tannins are supple and integrated. The wine shows characters of graphite and spice which are the identifiable characteristics this particular vineyard site. The wine shows minerality and elegance with a long and balanced finish.
De Bortoli Wines is a third generation family wine company that was established by Vittorio and Giuseppina De Bortoli in 1928. The couple emigrated to Australia from Northern Italy. For more than 75 years, the De Bortoli family tradition of sharing good wine, good food and good times with family and friends remains unchanged. With vineyard operations spanning from NSW to Victoria, De Bortoli present wines to all ends of the market.
De Bortoli Yarra Valley is the leading edge in quality from the winemaking giant of De Bortoli.
De Bortoli
