Aussie Young Guns: Red

Samantha Connew, who hails from the South Island of New Zealand, is a name that has been gaining increasing attention for all the right reasons in the Australian wine industry. Previously the Senior Winemaker at Wirra Wirra (McLaren Vale, South Australia) for a decade and having worked for the Australian Wine Research Institute as well as in Spain, Italy, Oregon, Sam’s experience truly traverses the world of wine. Stargazer, named in honour of Abel Tasman as the first European to sight Tasmania and then the South Island of New Zealand in 1642, was born in 2012 after Sam fell in love with the quality of fruit and potential that Tasmania offers. 

Rada is a blend of Pinot Meunier from Pipers Brook with the Pinot Noir coming from the Coal River Valley of Tasmania. It draws its name from former socialite Rada Penfold of the eponymous iconic Australian winery Penfolds, who asked Max Schubert, the man behind Penfolds Grange, to create a new blend for a special event she was throwing. While that wasn’t a Pinot Noir/Meunier blend, its unusual blend parallels Sam’s approach of blending Pinot Noir and Meunier together for Rada. The two varieties work harmoniously together, with the sweet fruited red berry notes of the Pinot Noir juxtaposing a touch of savouriness from the Meunier. It ferments naturally and only sees old and larger oak barrels to retain the purity of fruit expression. Sam continues to drive the world of wine forward as a member of both Wine Tasmania, along with being on the advisory board of the Australian Women in Wine Awards. 

Born with winemaking pedigree from Margaret River royalty, Nic Peterkin comes from the lineage of icons Pierro and Cullen, which naturally spelled his destiny to work with grapes. Forging a different path outside of the family’s estates, Nic aims to challenge the status quo in one of the country’s most highly regarded wine producing regions. He largely eschews the traditional varieties of Margaret River in favour of alternatives which he believes suit the climate and conditions, such as Touriga Nacional, Sousao and Chenin Blanc. 

His Pirate Blend contains three Portuguese varieties: Touriga Nacional, Tinta Cão and Sousão. Touriga Nacional provides structure and depth whilst Tinta Cao adds aroma and finesse. Sousao is an incredibly dark berry and as the wine saying goes, ‘the darker the berry, the sweeter the fruit’. The Pirate Blend is something very much like pirates themselves – rule breakers who lust after life with gusto, being people who “drank with a passion that was truly magnificent”. In Nic’s own words, “this blend is an ode to those salty sea dogs we left behind and those still sailing. Those willing to break the rules and live a life according to nothing but passion and the pursuit of personal desire.” The fruit is sourced from a 40 year old dry grown vineyard in Yallingup, of Margaret River. It spends 12 months in French oak before being bottled. 

L.A.S. (Luck Art Science) Vino is one of the most promising ‘new guards’ coming from Australia, with quality wines that challenge the paradigm and expectations from the region. Known to be unafraid to speak his mind on a range of topics, Nic’s wines similarly speak with their own personality and presence. 

Corymbia is one of the most exciting recent ventures within the Western Australian wine industry, produced by the current generation of the Mann family – one of the founding families of WA wine– who are further making their stamp on the Swan Valley. Jack Mann, Rob’s pioneering grandfather, worked a staggering 51 consecutive vintages at Houghton’s of the Swan Valley. Rob & Genevieve Mann now have an organically farmed single vineyard that challenges the conventional wines of the lesser-known & often maligned Swan Valley region with wines of tension, structure and approachability. Coming full circle, it is a vineyard that Rob helped his father plant as a young boy. His winemaking career that has taken him around the world including some time in Napa Valley as Senior Winemaker at LVMH’s Newton Vineyard, and South Australia at Hardy’s Tintara and Cape Mentelle of Margaret River, where during his ten-year tenure, the winery was twice awarded ‘Australia’s Producer of the Year’ and Rob himself ‘Australian Winemaker of the Year’. Returning home, he founded Corymbia. 

The Corymbia red is a blend of 58% Tempranillo, 30% Malbec and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. A fascinating blend that you seldom see together, they present a “sum of their parts” approach expressed through a medium-bodied, ultra fine tannin wine with an rare youthful approachability. 

Corymbia is a scientific genus of about one hundred species of trees, along with Eucalyptus and several smaller groups, and are commonly referred to as eucalypts. The label represents not only the blossom of the Marri tree, but if you look closer, you’ll see that it maps the weather pattern for the year with temperature, rainfall and harvest date expressed through each line. The fastidious approach to even label design is representative of Rob’s attention to detail in all aspects of Corymbia.