Vigna Bottin Vermentino sweeps the 2013 McLaren Vale Wine Show
Quiet achievers Paolo and Maria Bottin have moved the family photographs from the mantelpiece to make room for five trophies awarded to their single vineyard Vermentino at the recent McLaren Vale Wine Show.
The top awards are the first for the second generation Italian family winemakers who have been growing high-quality grapes in the McLaren Vale region since 1970 and whose small-batch wines are, Paolo says “what I get out of bed for every morning.”
The awards include: Best Single Vineyard wine, Best White Wine other, Best Viticulturalist and the Chairperson’s Trophy awarded by Chief Judge Tom Carson.
On deciding the Chairperson’s Trophy, Tom Carson said it was the energy and life in the Vigna Bottin 2013 Vermentino that initially captured his attention.
“It’s a stunning effort: floral, dried herbs and scrubby bush/herb notes with a palate of wonderful depth and layers of flavor,” he said.
Viticulturalist Paolo was inspired to graft Vermentino onto his fifteen year old Chardonnay vines five years ago, after spending time at the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show (AAVWS) and seeing just what this native Italian grape could do in and under the Australian soil and sun.
“We had always grown mainstream varieties to suit the demand of buyers, but I’d always wanted to grow Italian grapes and from the first crop, I knew it was the right decision. The grapes were bursting with intense flavour,” Paolo says.
“The similarity in climate and coastal influences here in McLaren Vale to that of the Mediterranean make McLaren Vale an ideal place to grow Vermentino.”
Paolo also grows Sangiovese and Barbera for the Vigna Bottin range, which picked up Silver and Bronze medals respectively (both 2011 vintage) in the 2013 Show.
For the 2013 vintage Paolo recruited friend and winemaker Glenn James-Pritchard to help make the Vermentino.
“It was a great collaboration. We hand-picked the grapes together in late March before gently de-stemming and pressing and allowing to ferment with its natural yeasts without any additions. The wine was then aged on lees til September prior to bottling with a minimal sulphur add.”
Glenn James-Pritchard says Vermentino seems to be at its best when it’s near the ocean as well as needing the degrees of warmth that McLaren Vale has.
“The Vale has struggled to find white wines that suit the climate or that express the region to it fullness – but Vermentino is able to where more mainstream varieties have failed to do so,” Glenn says.
“It was bottled just weeks before the Show. We knew it was a great wine but we were shocked and humbled at just how good the Show has judged it to be,” Paolo adds.
DETAILS:
Vigna Bottin McLaren Vale Vermentino rrp $24 a bottle
Order forms available at vignabottin.com.au
Wines are also available at selected fine wine retailers and restaurants
Media enquiries: Amanda James-Pritchard 0413 44 55 34
