Macedon Cuvée XI Non Vintage
Australia's Equal Top Ranked Sparkling - 96 Points - in James Halliday's 2007 Wine Companion (equal Top with our Macedon LD Late Disgorged Cuvée VI - also 96 points).
In 1983, we planted the first vines in the ‘Jim Jim’ vineyard. Our aim was to make a great Australian sparkling wine. We planted Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the same classic varieties used to make Champagne. We also trained and trellised the vines in the same manner as the Champenoise. In 1987 we made our first base wine. Left on lees in stainless steel, it slowly took on the characteristics of the wines from France that we were familiar with.
Vintage variations made it clear that the key to our success would be to produce a non-vintage style. Champagne is so named because it comes from the Champagne region of France.
The name “Champagne” is carefully protected with regulations regarding plantings, varieties, viticulture and winemaking. Wine producers in the Macedon Ranges Region have adopted similar rules for their own regional sparkling wine, which is called “Macedon”.
So, “Champagne” is from Champagne and “Macedon” is from the Macedon Ranges.
In creating Hanging Rock “Macedon” we have unashamedly modelled it on the non-vintage wines of Krug and Bollinger.
Both these famous French houses carry huge reserve stocks of past vintages for blending to a consistent style and both ferment and mature at least part of their base wine in oak. We have done all of that. Macedon XI - Our eleventh release is a blend of 1987 to 2000 vintages. Cuvée XI is 50% of material from the 2000 vintage and the balance is from all vintages from 1999 back to 1987. All of the components were aged for all of their life on primary fermentation lees until we finalized the blend. A secondary malo-lactic fermentation was encouraged as well, and occurred in oak for most components.
The result is a base wine of immense complexity and creamy softness. The blend is approximately 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, and the Pinot comprises three distinct clones that each have an important impact on the final balance of the wine.
To ensure consistency, each year we bottle only half of the initial blend, the balance being stored, again on yeast lees in barrel , until the preparation of the next blend.
All components in the final blend have had an average of two years of barrel ageing in old French oak prior to bottling.
This release was bottled in August 2001. After 51 months on yeast lees in the same bottle, the second fermentation complete, the bead had become fine and the flavour had developed unmistakeable length due to the yeast autolysis in the bottle.
Disgorgement occurred in December 2005, with absolutely minimum liquering (only 2g/l) and with minimal SO2. Macedon Cuvée XI is a rich, creamy-textured and mouthfilling wine. The colour is bright, golden yellow.
Yeasty, bready, nutty flavours greet the nose. The palate is rich and creamy, simultaneously full flavoured and yet dry; crisp, yet balanced.
In short it is the wine of our dreams - a great Australian sparkling wine!
John Ellis, Winemaker.
|
