The Forest Hill philosophy is to make individual wines of the highest quality which can express the distinctive regionality of Mount Barker. They have taken aim to produce an approachable, understated Cabernet that’s a pure expression of the unique blocks that lie within the forty year old Forest Hill vineyard. An exuberant wine displaying intense layers of plump black fruits, chocolate box aromas and well integrated, luxuriously tight grained oak. An accomplished Cabernet of finesse and elegance, of power and suitably vigorous varietal definition.
2008
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2008 The Florita Riesling, Jim Barry
£3900Add to BasketThis legendary dry Riesling from Jim Barry has matured under optimum conditions and displays the complexities that fine Australian Riesling develops over time.
The Florita Story
This story is best told by famous Australian wine writer, Huon Hooke and head of the Barry Family, Peter Barry who below tell the wonderful story of Florita…..
It starts in 1946, just after the war, when Leo Buring bought land at Watervale and planted Pedro ximénez for sherry – the preferred wine of Australians at the time. He named the vineyard Florita, which is Spanish for ‘little flower’ – a reference to the sherry flor (or flower), the film of yeast that covers the dry flor sherry as it matures in its ullaged casks. Public tastes shifted, table wine became fashionable, and in 1962 Buring’s winemaker John Vickery began to remove Pedro and plant riesling. “He started to make riesling (wine), which began to be seen as the future of Australian white wine,” says Barry. Indeed, Vickery and the Leo Buring brand became almost synonymous with riesling. “In 1986 Philip Morris (the tobacco company which owned the Leo Buring brand at the time) had six years supply of riesling in its cellars, and no-one was drinking it – chardonnay was the new fashion. They decided to sell the Florita vineyard.
My brothers and I went to the auction. I was 24. Mum said ‘You’re not allowed to buy it’. She said we already had plenty of vineyards. We told Dad he’d better buy it, and that would let us off the hook.
Southcorp (the precursor of Treasury Wine Group) owned the Florita trademark at the time, and although the Barrys began using the grapes immediately, they couldn’t use the name.
“I had to wait eight years until the registration period was up, but then Southcorp renewed it for another 10 years, so I had to wait 18 years all told, and I registered the name Florita two days after it lapsed.Eighteen years is a long time to wait for a drink.”
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2008 ‘La Ciornia’ Shiraz, La Violetta
£4500Add to BasketThe inspiration for La Ciornia comes from Andrew Hoadley time spent working in Barbaresco. Really refined bright, the aromatic nose showing sweet, pure raspberry and cherry fruit with subtle hints of meat, olive and spice. The palate is superbly elegant with pure, seamless, beautifully poised cherry and raspberry fruit. Lovely elegance and freshness I think Matthew Jukes summed it up best for me when be said of Ciornia “I certainly had no idea that a Shiraz from Denmark could have Pinot Noir tenderness under its malevolent, vampiric exterior.”
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2008 Shiraz ‘Westgate Vineyard’, The Story
£4500Add to BasketThis is a single vineyard wine made (in the winemaker’s words) ‘naturally fermented over 21 days in open French oak puncheons, then hand bucketed and pressed to 31% new French oak from Francois Frères, and Gillet cooperages. It was allowed to mature for 14 months (then bottled) without fining or filtration’. The result – very floral Shiraz characters such as violets, graphite, meat, black fruits and black pepper. The palate is full of warm spice synonymous with the Grampians region. A dark, ripe, controlled and firm core of black fruit and spice ripples through the palate, the tannins are generous but supportive, and the finish fresh and lengthy.
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2008 Farrago Chardonnay, Kooyong
£4900Add to BasketA truly stunning rich and elegant Chardonnay. Mouthwatering intense stonefruit, pear and fig notes are on the nose, leading to a rich penetrating palate of ripe nectarine, nuts, brioche and lees/barrel-ferment nuances. Finish is very long, rich with nervy grapefruit acidity. In short its a demi-god of a wine that will live long in the memory.
The Farrago Vineyard
Exclusively planted to Chardonnay, this small block is gently north-sloping with sediments ranging from those higher in sand to those higher in clay. The best fruit within the block comes from the zone higher in clay where the soil has a mottled appearance due to high sandstone pebble content, hence the block’s name Farrago. The Chardonnay from the Farrago block is defined by a precise linear character with strong silicaceous minerality. At its best, this is the premier white wine with the greatest ageing potential.
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2008 The Paringa Pinot Noir, Paringa Estate
£9500Add to BasketParinga’s and arguably Australias top Pinot Noir – made from barrels which were selected as clearly superior at the time of blending and bottling. The wine has rich powerful aromas of spice and dark cherry, combined with charry oak, secondary barrel-ferment mocha/coffee characters that will integrate further to become more Burgundian like with bottle age. On the palate the wine has rich ripe fruit, firm fine-grained tannins helping provide excellent texture and length.
