Tasting Notes - Clovely Estate (Qld)
Queensland's largest winery
Clovely Estate, Red Hill, Queensland
Clovely Estate, in the South Burnett region of Queensland, has similar climatic and viticultural conditions to the Hunter Valley so it's not surprising they produce a range of consistently excellent and highly acclaimed wines, all finely crafted and representing value for money. These are some of their standout wines including the Double Pruned Shiraz and chardonnay, both defined as 'must try' by wine writer Winsor Dobbin:
2006 Shiraz - Clovely Estate Double Pruned
The term 'Double Pruned' means just that. The vines are pruned as normal in winter and then pruned a second time in late November / early December after the vines have flowered and set the next years crop. The second crop has smaller and fewer bunches and berry size is reduced considerably leading to a lower yield of concentrated fruit. The fruit also ripens much later than other blocks that have not received this second pruning. It may well be that Clovely Estate processes the first and last shiraz in the country! The result is a much more intensely coloured and flavoured wine of significant concentration and length. Although double pruning greatly reduces crop levels and increases costs, there's no doubt that the resulting high quality wine is very much worth the sacrifice and effort.
The shiraz has a lifted and complex nose displaying cedar, quince, raspberry, star anise, leather and spice. Palate is rich and textured revealing layers of ripe red berries with distinct vanilla, chocolate, toffee and roasted coffee beans from the new French oak. Cellar 2012+
Try with: ideally suited to rich, slow cooked red meats and game
RRP A$60
2007 Clovely Estate Chardonnary
Bright straw in colour, this wine exhibits a complex array of vanilla, peach and candied lime aromas. The palate is rich and textured showing a harmonious balance between fruit and oak. Layers of fleshy stone fruit and honey combine with cashew and exotic spice to give an integrated generous palate. This wine will continue to develop complexity with bottle age.
Try with: richly flavoured poultry dishes or cream based pastas
RRP A$28
2007 White Label Shiraz Merlot Cabernet
The three varieties were processed separately in the winery allowing us to vinify them in a way that expresses the strengths of each wine. The Shiraz and Cabernet spent 18 months in new and seasoned American and French oak hogsheads respectively while the Merlot was left unoaked to highlight its soft fruit flavours. The wine was blended just prior to bottling before being traditionally fined using egg white and lightly filtered.
A blended wine made from select parcels of shiraz, merlot and cabernet sauvignon. Intense aromas of ripe cherries and dark chocolate are overlaid with sweet spices and hints of black pepper. The palate is soft and supple with layers of raspberry, plum, blackcurrant and vanilla. Time in both French and American oak has produced a full bodied yet easy drinking style with seamless tannins and great length.
Try with: slow cooked lamb shanks
RRP A$13
2008 Left Field Barbera
Barbera is a relatively early ripening variety usually harvested in the first week of February. As this variety retains good levels of natural acidity, very few additions are made at the crusher. The grapes are fermented in small ‘open top’ fermenters with a Barolo yeast strain and hand plunged four times per day. After ferment the wine is aged is seasoned Hogsheads so that very little oak influence is seen in the wine. The philosophy with barbera is to intervene as little as possible allowing the wine to express its varietal characteristics more clearly.
Aromas of plum and spice lead to a palate that is clean and bright with cherry, dark chocolate and hints of green tomato. With very little oak influence this wine is aromatic with a rustic and savoury finish.
Try with: spicy tomato based dishes and home made pizza
RRP A$20
2006 Left Field Semillon
The semillon for the Left Field range is picked 10-14 days earlier then the rest of the Semillon in order to capture high natural acidity and low sugar levels. This combination of high acid / low sugar / low pH coupled with grassy, citrus characters produces a wine of relatively low alcohol with excellent ageing ability. The wine is fermented at low temperature in a stainless steel tank with a neutral yeast strain and bottled as a fresh, zesty youthful wine before being hidden away in the cellar to develop for a few years.
An essential white variety of Bordeaux, France, semillon is known to produce some of the longest lasting white wines ever made. This wine will start its life with subtle flavours of lemon and cut grass. As it develops this wine will become very rich with aromas of hot buttered toast, dried apricots and marmalade. Touches of honey and fig adds complexity with a long finish showing lime and citrus peel.
Try with: fresh seafood
RRP A$20
2009 White Label Verdelho
Steady November rain followed by warm and sunny conditions in the lead up to harvest has produced an exceptional crop of verdelho. The fruit is harvested in early January with high levels of natural acidity and pronounced primary fruit before being cold fermented in stainless steel tanks followed by minimal winemaking intervention.
Pale green in colour displaying lifted floral aromatics with hints of stone fruit and citrus. The palate is fresh and vibrant with tropical fruits supported by fleshy white nectarine, grapefruit and lime. A crisp, clean style with an abundance of primary fruit and a slight mineral, citrus finish. This unwooded aromatic style is an ideal accompaniment to spicy Asian cuisine or simply to be enjoyed by itself in its youth.
Try with: fresh seafood or spicy Asian cuisine
RRP A$13
Regions
- Fraser Coast (QLD)
- Fraser Coast (QLD)
- South East Queensland (QLD)
- South Burnett (QLD)
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Sip on Clovely Estate wine from South Burnett in Queensland, get a taste for the sweet things in life with a gift hamper from Beechworth Honey, join the Masterchef ... you could win these wonderful winter prizes »
Located in the center of South Burnett on the Fraser Coast, Clovely Estate is Queensland's largest vineyard. Established in 1997 Clovely Estate has very similar ... read more
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