I have a confession to make (just between you and me)…

Perhaps I have been channelling the relaxed state of the Moodys after their short trip to Fiji for a wedding last weekend.

Or maybe the source of my distraction has been the gorgeous weather and this little guy (just look at that face! Can you blame me for wanting to spend more time with it?!)…

Whatever the reason, I’ve been a little slack on the blog front this week. If you promise not to tell the Moodys, I’ll promise to deliver some quality next week. Deal?

Luckily for you though we have some quality from Rob. He was at the winery yesterday and sent through a quick update! Here’s what he had to say…

2018 Fumé Blanc

A sample from each of the six fumé barrels was brought into the tasting room. Rob tasted wine from the two oldest barrels first, then on to the newer ones. The differences between the new and older were quite marked. There were some lovely gentle aromas and flavours. He was also very impressed with the role malolactic fermentation (MLF) has played.

Remember: MLF a process in winemaking in which tart-tasting malic acid is converted to softer-tasting lactic acid. It gives our Fumé, Chardonnay and Rosé in particular that unmistakable Somerled softness.

Rob then made a blend of all the barrels and got a useful idea of how the wine as a whole is going. He is very happy with how it looks. It will be in barrel for a bit longer, with a view to bottling in January.

2018 Chardonnay

The same process was used with the Chardonnay – with individual barrels tasted first.

Rob noted how interesting it was to see the difference in colour between the Chardonnay and Fumé, with the Chardonnay being deeper and richer looking. It was also much more savoury than the Fume. He describes it as very French in bouquet and flavour – quite sophisticated and very flavoursome (Heather WILL be happy!).

Again, the composite blend looked terrific with attractive subtle oak and great MLF to go with all the Chardonnay.

2018 Rosé

Rob also tasted the Rosé (which is in tank, not barrels). As expected it is very pale and very elegant – exactly what Rob is aiming for. It has recently finished MLF so is quite cloudy compared with the Fume and chardonnay – despite the barrels being regularly stirred to stir up the lees from the bottom of the barrels both of those wines are very bright and clear.

Why stir up the lees? Remember lees are the dead yeast and bacteria cells left over from the fermentation process. Stirring them through the wine every so often seems to provide added texture and flavour from the lees.

What’s all this talk about Fiji?

Rob, Heather and Lucy made a very quick trip to Fiji over the weekend to attend the wedding of our lovely long-time Jockey Club members Dean and Simon. Just goes to show how important our members are to the Moodys (and vice versa of course!).

After finding out how many THOUSANDS of dollars it was going to cost to send a pallet of Somerled over for all the guests to enjoy, Dean and Simon ended up asking each person travelling from Australia to put two bottles of Somerled Sparkling in their luggage! The thought of having a Somerled-free wedding was not worth considering!

Heather and Rob also took a couple of boxes of Shiraz with them – here is a photo of Simon showing his appreciation!

Congratulations boys – thanks for making Somerled a part of your big day xx