Country: Australia  Region: South Australia  Vintage: 2013 Category: Red Wine  Color:  Red Producer: Grosset "For over 36 years, the Grosset Springvale and Polish Hill Rieslings have shown a consistency of style and quality that has made this one of Australia's greatest wineries. The 'hard rock' blue slate of the Polish Hill site results in wines that are steely and magnificently age-worthy, while the red loam of the Springvale vineyard gives more open and easily accessible – if no less complex – wines. Such is Jeffrey Grosset's attention to detail that he noted a small strip (22 metres wide by 300 metres long) in his Springvale vineyard that produced more generously flavoured wines due to a different soil. As a result, he decided to produce a different wine from this site, Alea, which adds to his great canon of Rieslings. As the story of Alea illustrates, Jeffrey is fanatical about the quality of his vineyards, all of which are certified organic and are hand-tended. In the winery, each process is gentle and uncomplicated. No finings are used and sulphur is the only addition. By combining a disciplined approach and decades of experience, Grosset consistently achieves the purest expression of variety and place. Fascinated by the art of blending, Jeff has trialled shiraz-based wines for years, resulting in the newly released Nereus. With just a small amount of Nero d'Avola, it has touch of perfume and freshness, with generous bramble and savoury overtones. It joins the Apiana - a blend of Fiano and Semillon - and his precise and pure Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc, with the latter variety sourced from his Adelaide Hills site, adding an aromatic dimension to the Clare Valley grown Semillon. His Gaia remains one of Australia's best Cabernet blends, while the Pinot Noir is scented, supple and alluring. Jeffrey's keen interest in distilling led him to make Grosset45, a unique spirit made from distilled Riesling wine. No botanicals, flavours or colours were used, resulting in a pure, clean spirit which reflects the character and aromas of the variety." Product Features: Sustainable;Vegan;Vegetarian Winemaker: Jeffrey Grosset and Brent Treloar Vineyards: The Pinot Noir comes from a single, south-facing vineyard in the Piccadilly Valley in the Adelaide Hills. The soils are predominantly mottled yellow course grained clays, and some quartz rich soil over sandstone. In the early 1990s, Grosset was drawn to the intriguing high-acid fruit from these sites, the second coldest place in South Australia. In terms of quality, the rewards of working with such challenging sites have proved to be substantial. Vinification: The grapes were hand picked, then crushed and de-stemmed. 40% were whole bunch fermented. Temperature controlled fermentation lasted 7-8 days and finished in French oak barriques. The wine was aged for 12 months in oak, of which 60% was new. Wine was bottled without fining and aged for one further year before release. Only 430 dozen bottles were produced. Tasting Notes: Bright and vibrant with a restrained nose; subtle black fruit aromatics make way for flavours of blackberry, mulberry and bramble complexed by a hint of underbrush. Well-balanced, the palate shows precision and intensity, with supple, fine tannins which grip gently. The texture is silky; expect age to bring a mellow, velvety quality that will flow seamlessly to a gentle finish of considerable softness and length. Closure: Stelvin  ABV:13.3%   Acidity [g/l]: 6.4