2006 VINTAGE

Good winter rains (the first in seven years) set up an excellent growing season in the Yea Valley. The summer was warm with cool nights to help set good colour in the grapes.

VITICULTURE

In 2005 Marris, our vineyard manager convinced us all to try “Dry Growing” the cabernet blocks on the vineyard - absolute minimum intervention during the growing season. This is a high risk road to follow, as crop levels drop dramatically, so we were anticipating a corresponding increase in wine quality to compensate! Our trust in Marris proved well founded, with the wine winnng a gold medal on its first showing.

WINEMAKING

Fermentation was carried out in small open fermenters with the juice pumped over twice a day to extract good colour and flavour. Maturation was then carried out in small French oak for 18 months. The wine has a lovely aroma of dark berries and chocolate.

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Alc / Vol : 14.0%
Total Acid : 6.5g/l
PH : 3.4

2006 VINTAGE

The Yea Valley is the next valley over from the Yarra. It is higher and drier than the Yarra, with cooler nights and warmer days during the growing season - giving reds of intense colour and whites with great ability to age gracefully. The 2006 season was warm and gentle, allowing reds to mature with excellent colour and flavour. Crop levels were just below average. The Shiraz blocks were harvested in the second and third week of April.

VITICULTURE

The fruit for the 2006 Shiraz came from the original Jenbel vineyard at Murrindindi. This small vineyard is planted in a rocky/gravel soil and always produces a distinctive vineyard style of wine.

WINEMAKING

After harvest the grapes were crushed and transferred to 10 tonne stainless steel fermentation tanks. The must (skins and juice of the crushed grape) was let to “cold soak” for five days prior to a traditional warm ferment. The pressings and free run wine were combined after fermentation and transferred into french oak barriques that were new, one year old and two years old. The wine has a lovely aroma of dark berries, chocolate and spice. The wood is there but it complements the wine rather than dominates. The flavour is balanced, complex and long. We have bottled the wine in screw cap so it will mature slowly and gracefully.

It displays the classic regional bouquet of stone fruit and roasted nuts, with a palate long in flavour with great power and grace.

“Exquisite wine! Staggeringly good wine that will turn the head of anyone who claims Chardonnay is boring.”
The Australian Wine Gourmet Traveller, June/July 2001

“Extremely stylish, complex, long tasting and reserved chardonnay from the emerging high-altitude Yea region.”
Decanter Magazine UK, Max Allen – 5 stars

The bouquet has a lovely currant/spice character and the flavours are of sweet plums and dark cherries. The flavours offer great length and intensity and the finish is complex and dry. The 2001 Cheviot Bridge Pinot Noir will continue to develop in the bottle for the next 2 to 5 years with proper cellaring and is ideal with grilled chicken or mushroom risotto.

“Succulent blackcurrant, green olive and cigar-box aromas. The palate is savoury and more-ish with soft, ripe tannins and a long, gentle, fragrant finish.”
The Penguin Wine Guide 2001-2002

The wine was matured in 1 and 2 year old French oak for 9 months, bringing out plum and dark berries, as well as a rich and intense flavour, which is so often lacking in a varietal Merlot.

“Here's a fine Merlot, that actually display the soft, succulent fruit that you read about on the back labels and so rarely find!”
The Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide

"Fleshy, vibrant with soft, sweet plum and raspberry flavours, supported by soft, ripe tannins."
Cuisine Magazine

Aromas of dark berries and green olives fill the bouquet, while spicy French oak adds complexity. The palate is rich and long with layers of flavour. Although a delight to drink now, this Cabernet Merlot will continue to develop for 2 to 10 years.

“Complex, briary/brambly aromas; concentrated and quite sweet fruit on the palate; smooth finish.”
- 90 pts James Halliday: James Halliday Wine Companion 2005

“Cheviot Bridge is the hottest new label. This stylish, dark cherry flavoured Cabernet Merlot is thoroughly elegant.”
The Weekend Australian Magazine: October 20 2001

“This is the pick…offers juicy black cherry flavours, lightly dusted spices, a hint of leather and understated oak. The palate is tight with excellent balance – soft yet mouth coating tannings on the long finish.”
Wine Magazine: Dec 2001

“A stunningly complete wine, loaded with plummy fruit, fresh cranberry and cherry aromas, and a bit of chocolate.”
Dan Berger on Wine: October 16 2001

Kissing Bridge Chardonnay is a stylish, full flavoured wine that can be enjoyed with or without food.

VITICULTURE

The 2007 growing season across South Australia delivered typical crop levels and full flavoured fruit. The Chardonnay was harvested in early March with full flavour development giving us balance in the final wine.

WINEMAKER'S COMMENTS

Our aim with Chardonnay is to produce a fruit driven style. There is some oak there - but it’s in the background adding depth and structure to the palate. Enjoy the tropical fruit and butterscotch aroma and refreshingly crisp flavour.

VITICULTURE

2008 vintage conditions were hot and dry with restricted water to most regions resulting in small berries with concentrated rich flavours.

WINEMAKER'S COMMENTS

Kissing Bridge Cabernet Merlot is a full flavoured blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The Cabernet gives the wine its structure and full rich flavour while the Merlot gives the wine a juicy, long palate.

Enjoy the blackberry and cedar like aroma of the wine with grilled meats, pasta and good cheese.

In this fast paced changing world, it is nice to know that some things just stay the same. With each new vintage we search for the best wines from throughout Australia to ensure that the Kissing Bridge Moscato you drink this year, will be the same outstanding wine for each year to come.

Kissing Bridge Moscato is a refreshing, fruity wine with very fine bubbles and a lovely crisp finish.

What is Moscato?

Moscato is the Italian word for Muscat. The Muscat of Alexandria grape, commonly known as Gordo Blanco in Australia, is the grape used in Kissing Bridge Moscato. A variety that loves the warm weather and is perfectly suited to the warm inland climates in the Murray Darling region.

The Moscato style originated in the Asti region of northern Italy. Moscato D’Asti wines are slightly fizzy with a lower alcohol. The wines are released soon after vintage to preserve their naturally fresh character.

Winemaker’s Comments

The key to making Moscato is to capture the natural fruity, spice aroma and flavour of the Muscat grape. The grapes are crushed and pressed quickly then the clarified juice is put in a pressurized fermenter. During fermentation the carbon dioxide is captured giving the wine its frizzante character. The ferment is stopped early leaving the grapes natural sugar and flavour intensity as the wine’s key feature.

The wine displays aromas of fresh peaches and spice. The flavor is long and rich with a clean dry finish. Enjoy over the next 2 years with shellfish, pasta and veal.

Kissing Bridge shiraz displays aromas of plum and spice. The flavour is full and rich with a lovely berry like character, while the finish is dry and long. The wine is a delight to drink now with grilled meats and pasta dishes.

Viticulture

Following New Zealand’s Sustainable Winegrowing® methods our philosophy is to allow Marlborough’s dramatic landscape to shine in every bottle. Opening a little later this year the season boasted bright blue skies for flowering setting the stage for a wonderful harvest.

Marlborough’s natural environment stirs the imagination but its climate is all about balance. The season’s temperatures, especially overnight, were cooler than recent years infusing the wine with zesty acidity and a striking purity of fruit. Fine dry days with no sight of rain enabled us to harvest later this year, we collected healthy bunches as each block arrived at full ripeness. Every bunch was intense with the classic cool-climate pungency of Marlborough in a terrific vintage.

Winemaking

Our winemakers are passionate about allowing our Sauvignon Blanc’s unique character to flourish in the vineyard, they work gently with minimal handling in the winery to ensure every glass is filled with this vivid signature. The vineyard components were individually fermented, long and cool, with selected yeast strains to showcase their personalities. Once assembled, after a month resting on fine lees, these batches each took a role in the style of the finished wine as it was bottled fresh and early.

Winemakers Comments

Every sip of this superb Sauvignon Blanc expresses pure Marlborough magic and the vivacity of a great vintage. Crisp aromas of gooseberry and kiwifruit dart from the glass and over the palate to excite the senses. Passionfruit, red capsicum and lime zest complete the picture as the fine acid stream carries the supple core of fruit into a flavoursome and very persistent finish. Enjoy young and fresh with steamed shellfish and coriander or poached salmon fillets with caper berries and homemade hollandaise sauce.

The principal vineyard for Braided River sits on the confluence of the mighty Wairau and Waihopai Rivers in Marlborough, New Zealand.

Winemaking

Early in this vintage’s development, the vines pushed through a cooler December to form the year’s buds, finishing this crucial stage with a bunch count down about 20% over the previous year. Nature takes away but relented later giving back with a near perfect flowering under crisp, bright skies. Carrying lower bunch numbers the vines energies were focussed on building intensity into a smaller number of berries.

Fruit sourced from our dramatic Awatere Valley vineyards were the basis of this year’s wine, with complimentary parcels sourced from The Confluence and Lannark Lane vineyards in Marlborough’s Wairau Valley. This access to fruit in both of Marlborough’s sub-regions allows us to select contrasting parcels of fruit that best express the clarity and flavours we are searching for.

Gathered in the crisp of the morning the individual parcels were completely destemmed directly into a combination of open top and closed fermenters. A cold-soak over a week, extracted colour and the delicate aromatic compounds while cap-plunging endowed the juice with tannin and structure. Post fermentation one half of the new wine was tank aged cool on very fine lees. More common for white wine, this practice enhances the aromatic profile and mouthfeel. The remaining parcel was raised in French oak barriques for an eight month sojourn.

Winemaker’s Comments

Anchored in a fine acid balance this Pinot is effusively appealing with a lift of fresh summer raspberries and an appetising flaked chocolate note. Sitting in the background the soft, restrained tannins frame a supple mid palate making for a forward style characterised by a clearly varietal personality.

Vintage Information