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Travails Of Tahbilk»
Returning to his home along the Nagambie Lakes after the completion of service during World War II, Eric Purbrick discovered a cache of wine, hidden circa 1876 under the family estate cellars. Though pale in colour, it was sound and drinkable after seven decades. The promise of long lived red wine inspired Purbrick to establish new plantings at Chateau Tahbilk in 1949, today they are some of Victoria's oldest productive Cabernet Sauvignon vines. Having barely scraped through the ravages of phyloxera and a period of disrepute, the fortunes of Tahbilk were turned around by Purbrick who was the first to market Australian wine under its varietal name. Tahbilk proudly hosts the largest, single holding of Marsanne on the planet. Tahbilk's original rows of Shiraz are commonly cited as one of the great vineyards of the world, regularly sampled at international competitions against illustrious icons such as Romanee Conti and Chateau Lafite, Vega Sicilia and Chateau.. Phyloxera, ancient cellars & seriously old vines»

Alta Vineyards Alta Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc CONFIRM VINTAGE

Sauvignon Blanc Adelaide Hills South Australia
A vital expression of Sauvignon Blanc grown to high altitude vineyards from Kuitpo through to Kersbrook. Alta captures the wondrous cool climate charm of Adelaide Hills, an area so very renowned for stylish white wine. Alta initially debuted onto the market with the aim of producing the single best effort possible, exclusively Sauvignon Blanc. Individual parcels are chosen for their strong varietal intensity and regional eloquence, each contributes its own character to the finished wine. Made to drink now, generous with fruit flavours and crisp palate structure.
Available by the dozen
Case of 12
$239.00
Sauvignon Blanc is harvested throughout the cool of night, when flavours are most intense and the balance ideal, grapes are crushed with open rollers to minimise phenolic and colour extraction. The biggest challenge is to ensure that the fresh flavours and finesse of juices are retained throughout the winemaking. Several yeast strains are used based on their ability to highlight varietal flavours and enhance palate structure. Free run and pressings are vinified, some on skins, in a combination of fermenters and large 4000 litre French oak casks. Batches are racked on lees after the completion of ferment and stored cool prior to assemblage.
Pale, icy green hue. Fragrant citrus blossom, passionfruit and spicy guava. Instantly mouth filling with rich pear, fleshy lime and spicy lemongrass penetrating the mid palate. Crisp acid adds exuberance and persistence whilst providing balance and freshness. Alta offers the solid backbone of fruit character to accompany bolder flavours, goujons almandine, chillied muscles or thyme and garilc chicken.
Alta Vineyards
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Alta Vineyards
Winemaker Sarah Fletcher, had a very clear vision for Alta from day one

Sarah wanted to showcase South Australia's Adelaide Hills as an outstanding cool climate wine region, selecting specific varieties and handpicking quality fruit. This has allowed her to create fresh, varietal wine styles with depth and obvious regional character. "My aim is to produce wines from varieties that thrive in the cool climate of the Adelaide Hills, each showing strong varietal character and distinctive regional expression."

Alta Vineyards

In February 2005, Sarah became involved with Alta and took on the position of Winemaker. The 2005 vintage was her first, which followed the successful 2003 and 2004 releases. Four years at Adelaide University's Roseworthy Campus studying Oenology and seven years working for Orlando Wyndham as both red and white winemaker, producing wines from all over Australia, was enough to convince Sarah that the Adelaide Hills is an outstanding and distinctive wine region.

Working at Orlando gave Sarah the opportunity to work alongside many industry legends, such as John Vickery and Philip Laffer. Her knowledge and experience lead her to pursue her dream of owning her own brand. Of all the wine regions, she was most impressed by the uniqueness and potential of the Adelaide Hills so, when approached in 2005 to take on Alta, she jumped at the chance. Since then, Sarah has produced a consistently award winning Sauvignon Blanc, in addition to releasing three new varietals; Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir and Pinot Noir Rosé.

Wine grapes were first planted in the Adelaide Hills in 1839. Situated east of Adelaide, the long and narrow Adelaide Hills wine region runs through the southern Mount Lofty Ranges. It is one of South Australia's largest wine regions, stretching from the edge of the Barossa and Eden Valleys in the north, to the boundaries of McLaren Vale and Langhorne Creek in the south.

Alta Vineyards

The region is renowned for its variation in mesoclimates, with topograpy ranging from gently rolling hills to deep gullies with steep slopes. The majority of vineyards lie within an altitude of 400 - 700 metres with average rainfall 1,250mm. The altitude and steep topography have a major cooling effect on climate, which along with high rainfall, lend themselves to the production of earlier ripening, cool climate varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir.

Alta Vineyards