The Wines

Sourced from three great shiraz sites in the “spice belt” south of Mt Barker, the 2018 release shows exceptional aromatic intensity, elegance and balance.

Hand harvested, then destemmed without crushing. Fermentation was carried out in small open top fermenters, mostly with hand plunging of the cap, but also délestage by gravity. After pressing off skins, the wine matured for 12 months in new and seasoned French hogsheads (second and third use). No fining or stabilisation.

About the name: Up is a suffix commonly found in place names in Western Australia’s south-west, meaning “place of” in the indigenous Noongar dialect. This wine evokes the ancient granitic soils of its place of origin in the hills around Mount Barker.

Current release 2018.

Reviews

La Violetta 2008 Up! Shiraz (Mount Barker)

The inspiration for La Ciornia comes from my time spent working in Barbaresco in 2002 and 2003. The local varieties (the well-known Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto, and the more obscure Freisa, Grignolino and Pelaverga) encompass the extremes of red winemaking (in terms of site expression, colour, tannin, aromatics, acidity, using oxygen constructively) so you need to think creatively and have a steady nerve to get results.

Also, being an important culinary centre, most often the focus is on how the wines will function in context with food – rather than aiming for maximum ripeness/fruitiness/extraction. When I first came to Denmark and tasted the 2007 shiraz from this vineyard in barrel, I immediately had the desire to get hold of that fruit and see what I could do with it, aiming for a slightly divergent style – a shiraz that my Piemontes’ friends would love to drink – relatively strict and unadorned, expressing the vineyard character.

So, the name Ciornia (meaning ‘dark’ or ‘black’ in Russian) carries the 19th Century Romantic sense of being drawn by a fatalistic necessity to act decisively… ideally people will sing the song ‘Oci Ciornia’ when they are drinking it.

From ‘Oci Ciornia’ (Dark Eyes) by Hrebinka:

Oh, not for nothing are you darker than the deep!
I see mourning for my soul in you,
I see a triumphant flame in you: A poor heart immolated in it.

2015 now available as limited museum release.

Reviews

The 2015 vintage is sourced from a sensitively managed, dry grown old Malbec block near Mt Barker, delivering fruit of remarkable intensity and elegance. A small percentage of Cabernet heightens the intensity. Fermentation took place in small open top vessels, with hand plunging of the cap and délestage using gravity. After pressing off skins, the wine matured for 17 months in one two French barriques. It will develop complexity with at least 10 years careful cellaring. 315 bottles made.

Pourquoi ‘Le Rayon V’?

A violet flash (in French, ‘rayon violet’) or green flash (‘rayon vert’) is a rare phenomenon that may be observed at sunset only under very clear conditions. Caused by the selective atmospheric refraction of sunlight at the horizon, so that shorter light wavelengths are the last to be seen as the sun disappears, it is featured in Eric Rohmer’s 1986 film ‘Le Rayon Vert’. The 19th Century French poet, Arthur Rimbaud, himself an imbiber of note, uses the term in his intriguing work, ‘Voyelles’:

O, suprême Clairon plein des strideurs étranges
Silences traversés des Mondes et des Anges:
— O l’Oméga, rayon violet de Ses Yeux! —

The name Le Rayon V was chosen for this label as it is reserved for small, unique parcels of fruit which may never be seen again. 2015 now available as museum release.

Reviews

‘Inter diabolum et mare profundum’

Almirante y Obispo (the Admiral and the Bishop) is an unholy alliance between small, low-cropped parcels of Spanish grape varieties from Geographe sub-regions. This uncommon blend unites the weight and spiciness of Garnacha, the wild gaminess of Mataró and the minerality and tannic structure of Tempranillo.

Further nuance and complexity is derived from winemaking techniques such as extended cold maceration, natural yeasts, co-fermentation and inclusion of stalks and whole bunches in the ferment. A spicy, gutsy, cosmic red. Say your prayers.

2015 now available as museum release.

Reviews

Sourced mainly from 30 year old, dry grown Gewürztraminer vines near Mt Barker, with the intention of making a barrel fermented sibling for Das Sakrileg riesling. Hand picked and long, slow, whole bunch pressed, juice went straight to old oak with no SO2, settled overnight without chilling, then was racked into 4th use Vosges barrels the next day, retaining some juice solids.

As with the riesling, I find this oxidative treatment provides a natural fining of the juice, enhancing the texture and removing the need for later fining additives. Co-fermented with Mt Barker Riesling (to achieve natural acid balance) and a little Grauburgunder, the wine remained on lees for 9 months before filtration and bottling.

Ü (röck döts) 2021 now available.

Reviews

Partly inspired by winemakers of the Mosel Valley and Alsace, but mostly just to provoke, Das Sakrileg Riesling is produced in small volumes for those with inquisitive palates and a healthy appreciation of diversity. In contrast to the classic, purist Australian Riesling style, juice is oxidatively handled, fermented wild in barrel, matured on unsulphured lees and may undergo partial malolactic fermentation.

Sourced Denmark and Mount Barker sites on sandy loam over clay and granite. The 2021 release shows great phenolic presence and depth of savoury characters, with scents reminiscent of quince, sherbet, beeswax and complex characters derived from wild ferment and extended lees contact. On the finely textured palate, citrus-like acidity is tempered by the richness of fermentation in seasoned oak and time on lees. A splash of Gewürztraminer tosses up a rose petal bouquet. The wine fermented at ambient temperature in a cool cellar and remained on lees in old puncheons and hogsheads for 9 months, before racking and bottling without fining or filtration. 280 cases made.

“If you had me do a list of top ten Australian rieslings, I’d have this wine firmly in there.” Mike Bennie, Winefront.

2021 now available

Reviews