Congrats to Franco for the very enthiastic writeup by Halliday in today's Australian. Interesting that he focused on the Chardonnays and didn't mention the Pinots. I am curious to know whether your phone/fax has been ringing off the hook Franco?
Cheers
Michael
Hoddles Creek in The Australian
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Michael McNally
- Posts: 2091
- Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2005 3:06 pm
- Location: Brisbane
Hoddles Creek in The Australian
Bonum Vinum Laetificat Cor Hominis
Re: Hoddles Creek in The Australian
Thanks Michael, been a great weekend.
I think he was really taken back with how the wines age, especially the Chardonnay. All the whites going back to '03 still had years ahead of it. He didn't focus on any current release Pinot Noir's as there aren't any. In '09 there is no Hoddles or Wickhams. Really hard as we will lose some good restaurants with no continuation of vintages/stock. Prefer not too ruin our reputation in one vintage.
Cheers and Thank You
franco
I think he was really taken back with how the wines age, especially the Chardonnay. All the whites going back to '03 still had years ahead of it. He didn't focus on any current release Pinot Noir's as there aren't any. In '09 there is no Hoddles or Wickhams. Really hard as we will lose some good restaurants with no continuation of vintages/stock. Prefer not too ruin our reputation in one vintage.
Cheers and Thank You
franco
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Waiters Friend
- Posts: 2961
- Joined: Mon May 02, 2005 4:09 am
- Location: Perth WA
Re: Hoddles Creek in The Australian
Franco wrote:Thanks Michael, been a great weekend.
I think he was really taken back with how the wines age, especially the Chardonnay. All the whites going back to '03 still had years ahead of it. He didn't focus on any current release Pinot Noir's as there aren't any. In '09 there is no Hoddles or Wickhams. Really hard as we will lose some good restaurants with no continuation of vintages/stock. Prefer not too ruin our reputation in one vintage.
Cheers and Thank You
franco
Bugger! A helluva shame the bushfires got you, and I miss out too by not getting your Pinot. I've recently picked up 2008 Chardonnay - I assume there is a 2009? Was harvest before the bushfires?
I applaud your quality stance (easy to do as I'm not wearing the cost) but I feel for you, not just in lost sales, but in the pruning, etc for grapes that weren't harvested.
Cheers
Allan
Wine, women and song. Ideally, you can experience all three at once.
Re: Hoddles Creek in The Australian
Hi Allan,
Whites aren't really affected by smoke.
In years like '07 and '09 for whites we tend to whole bunch press them, rather than break up the skin with crushing/destemming/pressing. This is too get the juice out of the skins as quickly as possible. Obviously with reds, you have to ferment on skins and the skins contain smoke compounds.
There is quite a bit of research on smoke taint with reds, but with no solid conclusions. Trouble is they really haven't identified all the compounds. So it makes it hard to test for smoke taint. It only really takes a small amount of smoke to contaminate a whole vineyard.
In the Yarra, most producers won't put out an '09 red, however the whites look stunning. At least we have whites to sell!
Cheers
Franco
Whites aren't really affected by smoke.
In years like '07 and '09 for whites we tend to whole bunch press them, rather than break up the skin with crushing/destemming/pressing. This is too get the juice out of the skins as quickly as possible. Obviously with reds, you have to ferment on skins and the skins contain smoke compounds.
There is quite a bit of research on smoke taint with reds, but with no solid conclusions. Trouble is they really haven't identified all the compounds. So it makes it hard to test for smoke taint. It only really takes a small amount of smoke to contaminate a whole vineyard.
In the Yarra, most producers won't put out an '09 red, however the whites look stunning. At least we have whites to sell!
Cheers
Franco