Bellarmine is a fully endowed, auspicuously high quality vineyard that yields restrained, savoury wines full of good flavour and fine balance. Since inaugural vintage, Bellarmine has been recognized for its stunning wines which have earned impressive critical acclaim. The property is an elevated site with gravelly laterite soils, established by Dr Willi Schumacher and his wife Gudrun. The couple are passionate about great wine and searched the world for a great site to plant vines before settling on the sensational property which is Bellarmine Vineyard.
Harvested at optimum flavour levels when the tannins are ripe and the seeds are brown, determined by the winemaker taking regular samples in the vineyard. Fruit is managed carefully to ensure a maximum yield of five tonnes per hectare, to achieve even ripeness and maximum quality potential. Crushed and destemmed gently to allow some whole berries through into the ferment, the must is inoculated with a neutral yeast. Once the cap of skins has risen, the juice is pumped over the skins twice daily so that colour and flavour is extracted from the skins as the ferment cools. Once complete, the wine is racked and seeded with malolactic bacteria. Matured fourteen months in extravagantly new French oak barriques.
Deep purple red. Rich ripe aromas of mulberry and chocolate with spicy oak and plum fruit characters. Rich and savoury plum and berry fruit on the palate are supported by fine tannins. In the Rhone style, a rich yet elegant, cool climate dry red Shiraz. In Rhone fashion, elegant yet rich, cool climate dry red style, a match to entrecote or fillet du porc.
