Press Release: ‘Inaugural Vintage Release’
In November, Macedon Ranges’ Glenhope Vineyard officially launches its 2022 vintage. As a grower vineyard in the northeast of one of Australia’s best cool climate regions, its fruit is much sought-after by local wine icons, including Bindi Wines, Latta Vino, and Silent Way. For the first time, a collection of small batch wines will be released under the Glenhope Vineyard label:
2022 CABERNET FRANC $38.00
2022 CABERNET SAUVIGNON $38.00
2022 MALBEC $38.00
2022 MERLOT $38.00
2022 PINOT NOIR SHIRAZ $32.00
2022 ROSÉ $28.00
2022 B5 “FERROSOL” SHIRAZ $38.00
2022 B3 “GRANITIC” SHIRAZ $38.00
The Vineyard
First planted in 1995, Glenhope Vineyard was established as a site to grow Bordeaux varieties. Under new custodians, the vineyard has been nurtured as a top, cool climate, grower vineyard. And for the 2022 vintage, they have selected fruit for their own label to tell the story of the vineyard.
At 94 acres under vine, it is the region’s biggest vineyard. It is planted to Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Shiraz. The soil profile extends from granitic at the elevated end of the site, to sandy loam, and an ironstone rich, volcanic loam on the eastern ridge. The site is 450-485 metres above sea level with a sloping, mostly east-facing aspect. The cool site has large diurnal temperature range that means slow ripening with long ‘hangtime’ during the growing season, which stretches well into May. Since it’s in the north of the region, stable, ‘continental’ climate influence means optimal fruit ripeness, acid retention, and phenolic maturity.
The Vigneron
Entrepreneurs James and Marlin Gevergizian bought the property in 2021 as a rural retreat, but quickly fell in love with the vineyard. They retained Vigneron Scott Harrington, who had managed the viticulture since 2018. Scott has worked to improve the infrastructure, soil, and vine health, improve water security, and take best advantage of the altitude, aspect, topography, and granitic, volcanic, and sandy loam soils. He is driven to ‘let the vineyard tell the story.’
Over the past 25 years, viticulturalist and winemaker Scott Harrington has worked in Central Victoria, Yarra Valley, Hunter Valley, and Macedon Ranges, with stints at wine domains across Europe. Winemaking mentors Paul Bridgeman and Steve Weber helped shape his minimal intervention practices in the winery; let the vineyard express itself, aided by careful nurturing and observation.
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Technical details attached. Wines are available on the Glenhope Vineyard website and local wine retailers incl. Winespeake and Banks Fine Wine.) To arrange a phone or zoom call with Vigneron Scott Harrington to taste through the wines, images, or samples, please contact Kim Pearce at Wine Brain, kp@winebrain.com.au, 0413 120 385.
Technical Notes
2022 GLENHOPE VINEYARD MERLOT
RRP $38 PER BOTTLE
WINEMAKING: 100% destemmed to ferment whole berries, essential for retention of freshness and brightness. It underwent a wild ferment over 14 days in open top fermenter, encouraging yeasts indigenous to the vineyard. Gently pumped over once daily, the juice was returned to the top of the cap for gentle tannin extraction. Upon completion of fermentation, the wine was pressed and matured in old oak hogsheads for 6-months.
ANALYSIS: Alc./Vol.14.0% pH 3.69 TA 4.95g/L
TASTING NOTE: Bright cerise in colour, with blue reflections. Lifted blood plum, cherry, dark chocolate aromas follow onto the palate with raspberry cane, vanilla, bakery spices, and dried bay leaf. Silky, savoury, dry fruit tannins that recall pomegranate, cacao, and leather. Complex, harmonious, and lush.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Serve with a lean red meat like spiced venison wild mushroom and truffle sauce.
AWARDS: 95 points, Gold, 2023 The Australian Single Vineyard Wine Show (Class 35, Merlot – any vintage) “The top wine was a beautiful example of where Merlot is heading in Australia… bravo.” – comments from Judges Natalie Cleghorn, Andrew Duff, Tara Hardiman, Hayden Tinkler.
52.5 points, Silver, Daylesford Wine Show 2023 (Class F Merlot and blends)
88 points, Bronze, 2023 Cowra Wine Show (Class 135, Merlot)
87 points, Bronze, 2023 Macedon Ranges Wine Exhibition (Class 7, Other Reds & Blends)
Huon Hooke, The Real Review, 92/100 Silver. “Good depth of colour and a plummy/tobaccoey, meaty, gently berry-ish aroma, soft and forward on palate as well, with a trace of grip but the tannins are gentle all the same. Drinks really well now. A very smart merlot. Tasted 20 AUG 2023. Drink 2023–2030.”
2022 GLENHOPE VINEYARD MALBEC
RRP $38 PER BOTTLE
WINEMAKING: 100% destemmed to ferment whole berries, essential for retention of freshness and brightness. It underwent a wild ferment over 14 days in open top fermenter, encouraging yeasts indigenous to the vineyard. Gently pumped over once daily, the juice was returned to the top of the cap for gentle tannin extraction. Upon completion of fermentation, the wine was pressed and matured in old oak hogsheads for 6-months.
ANALYSIS: Alc./Vol.14.0% pH 3.74 TA 5.25g/L
TASTING NOTE: A brooding garnet in colour. The nose is full of violets, rosemary, red plums, and a wet, gravelly, minerality that follow on the palate with black cherry, raspberry, chocolate-mocha, and pomegranate that is both unusual and beguiling. A juicy, soft mouthfeel, with a persistent spine, and dusty tannins that cries out for rich protein.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Serve with tender cuts like standing beef rib eye on the bone, roasted or barbequed.
AWARDS: 93 points, Silver, 2023 Macedon Ranges Wine Exhibition (Class 7, Other Reds & Blends)
92 points, Silver, 2023 Victorian Wine Show, (Class 26 – Other red varieties, 2022)
90 points, Silver, 2023 Cowra Wine Show (Class 149, Other Red Variety – any vintage)
Stuart Knox, The Real Review 92/100 Silver. “Deep ruby with a purple tint at the rim. Blackberry, violets, and graphite aromatics. Ripe black fruits sit soft on the palate with a hint of exotic spice which adds character. Good length and judicious tannic dryness ensure it has good length and a note of salt beef adds interest into the finish 24 AUG 2023. Drink 2023–2031.”
2022 GLENHOPE VINEYARD CABERNET FRANC
RRP $38 PER BOTTLE
WINEMAKING: 100% destemmed to ferment whole berries, essential for retention of freshness and brightness. It underwent a wild ferment over 14 days in open top fermenter, encouraging yeasts indigenous to the vineyard. Gently pumped over once daily, the juice was returned to the top of the cap for gentle tannin extraction. Upon completion of fermentation, the wine was pressed and matured in old oak hogsheads for 6-months.
ANALYSIS: Alc./Vol.14.0% pH 3.75 TA 4.65g/L
TASTING NOTE: Deep garnet in colour, with blue reflections. There are aromas of lavender, blueberry, blackcurrant, and tobacco leaf on the nose, which follow on the soft palate with raspberry coulis, damson plum, baked rhubarb, blackcurrant, turned earth, and sumac spice. Plush sweet-savoury fruit, silky tannins, and persistent length.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Try with Peking duck or roasted pheasant with grilled asparagus or artichoke.
AWARDS: 96 points, Gold, 2023 Macedon Ranges Wine Exhibition (Class 7, Other Reds & Blends)
93 points, Silver, 2023 Victorian Wine Show, (Class 26 – Other red varieties, 2022)
88 points, Bronze, 2023 Cowra Wine Show (Class 149, Other Red Variety – any vintage)
50 points, Bronze, Daylesford Wine Show 2023 (Class K Other Reds and blends)
Huon Hooke, 88/100, Bronze. “Bright crushed leaf and blackcurrant aromas, a trace of peppermint, the palate lean and crisp, sinewy and pleasantly flavoured, if lacking a bit of flesh and fruit-sweetness. Distinctive leafy cabernet franc character. Pleasant wine but it would benefit from blending varieties to fill the palate. Tasted 20 AUG 2023. Drink 2023–2029.”
2022 GLENHOPE VINEYARD CABERNET SAUVIGNON
RRP $38 PER BOTTLE
WINEMAKING: 100% destemmed to ferment whole berries, essential for retention of freshness and brightness It underwent a wild ferment over 14 days in open top fermenter, encouraging yeasts indigenous to the vineyard. Gently pumped over once daily, the juice was returned to the top of the cap for gentle tannin extraction. Upon completion of fermentation, the wine was pressed and matured in old oak hogsheads for 6-months.
ANALYSIS: Alc./Vol.14.0% pH 3.78 TA 5.25g/L
TASTING NOTE: Deep garnet in colour. Varietally faithful aromas of cassis, anise, violets, and dusty spice follow on the silky palate with blackcurrant, blackberry, and liquorice, dried bay leaf and roasted meats, with talc-y tannins in harmony with its purity of fruit. Length, precision, and presence.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Slow cooked beef cheeks in red wine with Paris mash. Or with a cheese course, aged cheddar, Gouda, or Roquefort.
AWARDS: 93 points, Silver, 2023 Macedon Ranges Wine Exhibition (Class 7, Other Reds & Blends)
49.5 points, Bronze, Daylesford Wine Show 2023 (Class H Cabernet Sauvignon)
83 points, 2023 Melbourne Royal Wine Awards (Class CAB001 – Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 & Younger)
83 points, 2023 The Australian Single Vineyard Wine Show (Class 31, Cabernet Sauvignon – 2021 & 2022)
Huon Hooke, The Real Review, 90/100 Silver. “Deep and bright purple-red colour with a powerful peppermint and forest-floor aroma, fresh and lively and fragrant, while the palate is medium-full bodied and firm with some edginess in the tannins that a bit of bottle-age should resolve. Tasted 20 AUG 2023. Drink 2024–2032.
2022 GLENHOPE VINEYARD PINOT SHIRAZ
RRP $32 PER BOTTLE
WINEMAKING: A new wave Aussie blend made in the ‘Nouveau’ style, this 17-acre plot was planted to Syrah in 1996 and grafted to Pinot Noir in 2014. The graft only took on around half, so this parcel became a kind of ‘field blend’ 50% Syrah and 50% Pinot Noir. Whole bunches were sealed in a static fermenter and underwent “carbonic maceration” co-fermentation over 14 days. Juice from the bottom of the fermenter was pumped over once daily. Upon completion of fermentation to dryness, the wine was pressed and matured in old oak hogsheads for 6 months.
ANALYSIS: Alc./Vol.12.5% pH 3.78 TA 5.20g/L
TASTING NOTE: A vibrant, magenta colour. Lifted fruit cake spice, liquorice, and cherry fruit on the nose follow on the palate with raspberry clafouti, blackberry, porcini mushrooms, and turned earth. Deeply layered with lashings of fruit, texture, and suppleness. Smashable.
AWARDS: 89 points, Bronze, 2023 Macedon Ranges Wine Exhibition (Class 7, Other Reds & Blends)
50 points, Bronze, Daylesford Wine Show 2023 (Class K Other Reds and blends)
82 points, 2023 The Australian Single Vineyard Wine Show (Class 48, Red Blend)
Aaron Brasher, The Real Review, 93/100 Silver. “Bright and youthful in the glass. Really enticing aromas of sap, spice, bramble, underbrush, sarsaparilla, blueberry and a bunchy lift. Lively and crunchy on the palate, mid-weight and mouth-filling. There are vibrant blue fruits along with white pepper, spice and satsuma plum. The tannins are shapely, and firm and the acidity has punch and kick. A quite delicious pinot and shiraz blend Tasted 08 SEP 2023. Drink 2023–2033.”
2022 GLENHOPE VINEYARD ROSÉ
RRP $28 PER BOTTLE
WINEMAKING: Merlot was pressed straight after picking, settled overnight, and racked to old oak hogsheads to undergo wild fermentation with indigenous yeasts. Daily batonnage (lees stirring) developed texture and creaminess in barrel before transfer to tank on full lees for partial malolactic fermentation, to build further depth to the wine.
ANALYSIS: Alc./Vol. 13.0% pH 3.15 TA 5.85g/L
TASTING NOTE: Pale salmon in colour. The nose is full of aromas of strawberry and cream, orange blossom, and ripe rockmelon rind. Red strawberries and cherries follow on the palate with a creamy, textural mid-palate generosity, great complexity, and persistent length that finishes savoury and dry.
AWARDS: 83 points, 2023 Melbourne Royal Wine Awards (Class ROS002 – Rosé 2022 & Older)
83 points, 2023 Cowra Wine Show (Class 125, Rosé – any vintage)
81 points, 2023 The Australian Single Vineyard Wine Show (Class 25, Rosé – any vintage)
Aaron Brasher, The Real Review, 88/100 Bronze. “Aromas of red berries, nettle, spice and bramble. Savoury, textured and lively on the palate. Cherry, strawberry and there's a decent lick of acid keeping things fresh. Tasted 09 SEP 2023. Drink 2023–2026.
2022 GLENHOPE VINEYARD B5 “FERROSOL” SHIRAZ
RRP $38 PER BOTTLE
WINEMAKING: Grown on the ironstone rich soil of the B5 plot in the vineyard, this shiraz was 40% whole bunch and 60% destemmed, to include whole berries in the ferment for freshness and brightness. Over 14 days, it underwent wild fermentation in a static fermenter, encouraging yeasts indigenous to the vineyard. Gently pumped over once daily, the juice was returned to the top of the cap for gentle tannin extraction. Upon completion of fermentation, the wine was pressed and matured in old oak hogsheads for 6-months.
ANALYSIS: Alc./Vol.14.5% pH 3.78 TA 5.25g/L
TASTING NOTE: Vibrant, ruby red in colour. A rich nose, full of ironstone, sandalwood, ripe plum, and fruitcake spice. Those notes follow on with ripe blackberry and blackcurrant, anise, savoury thyme, cured meats, turned earth, and chewy, integrated tannins on the mouth-filling and silky palate.
AWARDS: 91 points, Silver, 2023 Macedon Ranges Wine Exhibition (Class 7, Other Reds & Blends)
83 points, 2023 The Australian Single Vineyard Wine Show (Class 41, Shiraz – 2021 & 2022)
83 points, 2023 Cowra Wine Show (Class 138, Shiraz – 2021 & 2022)
Huon Hooke, The Real Review, 92/100 Silver. “The colour shows some premature development and the bouquet is dominated by vegetal stemmy whole-bunchy aromas, pepper, nutmeg spice and foresty undergrowth nuances. The wine is medium-full bodied, with again dominant vegetable/spice characters on palate that last the full length of the wine. Soft finish renders it quite approachable young. Tasted 18 AUG 2023. Drink 2023–2034.”
2022 GLENHOPE VINEYARD B3 “GRANITIC” SHIRAZ
RRP $38 PER BOTTLE
WINEMAKING: Grown on a seam of granitic soil on the B3 plot in the vineyard, this shiraz was 30% whole bunch and 70% destemmed to include whole berries in the ferment for freshness and brightness. It underwent a wild ferment over 14 days in open top fermenter, encouraging yeasts indigenous to the vineyard. Gently pumped over once daily, the juice was returned to the top of the cap for gentle tannin extraction. Upon completion of fermentation, the wine was pressed and matured in old oak hogsheads for 6-months.
ANALYSIS: Alc./Vol.14.5% pH 3.82 TA 5.20g/L
TASTING NOTE: A deep garnet in colour. The nose is full of lavender and violets, ripe plums, white pepper, and wet stone minerality. These follow on the palate with vibrant blackberry, black cherry, and star anise, bazaar spices, and dried orange peel. A fine spine of acidity carries the length, with supple texture, and integrated tannins.
AWARDS: Trophy & 96 points, 2023 Macedon Ranges Wine Exhibition (Class 7, Other Reds & Blends)
85 points, Bronze, 2023 Victorian Wine Show, (Class 19 – Shiraz and Shiraz Viognier, 2022)
85 points, Bronze, 2023 Cowra Wine Show (Class 138, Shiraz – 2021 & 2022)
84 points, 2023 Melbourne Royal Wine Awards (Class SHZ001 – Shiraz 2022 & Younger)
Huon Hooke, The Real Review, 95 points, 5-stars. “Very appealing spice and crushed-rock bouquet, nicely balanced with darker and redder fruit aromas and a hint of whole-bunch ferment character. Cool-climate pepper in abundance. Delightful medium-full bodied shiraz. Refreshing acidity on the finish. Long carry. Truly a gorgeous syrah-style shiraz. Tasted 18/8/2023. Drink 2023 to 2037. #6 of 61 2022 Shiraz tasted from Australia.”