| Clemens Hill Vineyard overlooks the picturesque Coal Valley in Southern Tasmania. The vineyard has 3.8 hectares of Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc and embodies true boutique cool climate viticulture. Our wines are hand crafted with emphasis on growing delicate fruit and capturing the unique terrior. The reserve wines of Clemens Hill comes from a small original planting in front of the house established in 1994. The vines receive extra care throughout the growing season in order to create a near perfect canopy. The manicured canopy is then spoilt and only has to support a very limited yield. In 2006 the yield was 3.5 ton/ha or in the old numbers 1.45 ton/acre that equates to a mere 70 cases produced. The 2006 vintage was one to go down in history. The 2006 Clemens Hill Estate Pinot won 3 trophies, indicating just how exceptional the fruit was for the vintage and setting the stage for the 2006 Reserve. The season was dry and warm in the spring leading to healthy early shoot growth and good fruit set. Summer remained dry and warm and thecanopy filled the trellising and the berries and bunches reached a healthy size not requiring excessive fruit thinning. The autumn however was the real draw card it was a drawn out Indian summer with great fruit ripening potential, allowing us to optimise harvest time with fruit flavour.The winemaking was fairly simple with an extended cold soak, cultured yeast and regular hand plunging. Once dry the batch was basket pressed and put to French oak for maturation. The wine was barrel matured for 14 months and bottled with minimal finning. A quick note on oak use, this wine is evolving a little every year. In 2006 we have reduced the amount of new oak used to a point where this wine received none. Using only clean 1 and 2 year old barrels we are hoping to let the site characteristics dominate the wine and the oak to play a minor supporting role. |
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CategoriesHand Crafted |
Clemens Hill |
