WOODFIRED is a word that conjures up winter comfort and it applies to a batch of new good-value reds to come to my tasting bench from the Victorian arm of the De Bortoli family wine company.
De Bortoli debuted the Woodfired brand in 2015 and it has just released four big, rich Heathcote wines - 2021 shiraz, 2020 cabernet sauvignon and 2021 grenache table reds and the Woodfired Heathcote Sparkling Shiraz all priced at $22 a bottle.
The 2021 grenache is making its inaugural appearance in the Woodfired lineup and the sparkling shiraz has had a brilliant wine show career, including the 2019 version winning the 2021 Sydney Wine Show trophy for best sparkling red.
The Woodfired releases have been crafted by De Bortoli Victoria joint CEO and chief winemaker Steve Webber and a team that includes his daughter Kate.
Steve says the development of the Woodfired range was prompted by the resurgence of woodfired oven cuisine and charcoal cooking in Australia. The warm climate and rich, deep red soils of the northern Heathcote area produced dense and complex wines with ripe dark fruits, cedar-wood and balance that perfectly suited the charcoal and smoked food flavours.
De Bortoli was founded at Griffith in 1928 by an Italian farm boy who came to Australia with a few coins in his pocket and all his possessions in a tote bag.
Today it is Australia's eighth-biggest winemaker and has grown far beyond its NSW Riverina birthplace.
The powerhouse Yarra Valley arm, run by joint managing directors Steve Webber and his wife Leanne De Bortoli, produces wines from the Yarra Valley, King Valley, Heathcote and Rutherglen.
De Bortoli's six-region empire has its Griffith home base at Bilbul with a cellar door, 367 hectares of vines and a state-of-the-art winery and since 2002 it has had Hunter vineyards, a winery and cellar door at the intersection of Wine Country Drive and Broke roads, Pokolbin.
Kate Webber is a fourth-generation De Bortoli family member in the business and confesses not being overly interested in wine when growing up. That changed after school when she took a gap year and travelled to France, working as an au pair in Lyon and touring Beaujolais and other wine regions.
Returning home, she completed a Monash University science degree, after which came an extended time overseas and doing vintages in Burgundy and Napa Valley. Back home in the Yarra Valley she spent two years working in the De Bortoli winery laboratory after which she joined the winemaking team.
WINE REVIEWS
SMOOTHLY GRENACHE
SMOOTH and plush, the 14.5% alcohol De Bortoli 2021 Woodfired Heathcote Grenache has bright garnet hues, potpourri scents and ripe cherry front-palate flavour. The middle palate displays mulberry, briar, mint and cedary oak and the finish chalky tannins. At shop.debortoli.com.au, the De Bortoli Road, Bilbul, cellar door and bottle shops.
PRICE: $22.
FOOD MATCH: coq au vin.
AGEING: six years.
RATING: 4.5 stars
CABSAV INTENSITY
THIS multi-faceted De Bortoli 2021 Woodfired Heathcote Cabernet Sauvignon glows inky purple in the glass and has 14.5% alcohol and berry pastille scents. The front palate features intense blackberry front-palate flavour, the middle palate plum, blueberry, licorice and savoury oak elements and the finish minty tannins.
PRICE: $22.
FOOD MATCH: rack of lamb with mint sauce.
AGEING: eight years.
RATING: 4.5 stars
ACE SPARKLING RED
WITH 13.7% alcohol, deep purple hues and persistent tiny bubbles, this lovely De Bortoli Non-Vintage Woodfired Heathcote Sparkling Shiraz shows gamey aromas and supple plum front-palate flavour. The middle palate has cassis, bramble jelly, spearmint and mocha oak and the finish smooth earthy tannins.
PRICE: $22.
FOOD MATCH: cherry-glazed roast duck and balsmic dressing.
AGEING: seven years.
RATING: 5 stars
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