Guided by viticulturist Tim Quinlan we chose to plant malbec instead of merlot as a blending variety. Recent results have endorsed this decision with our 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Malbec being awarded the trophy at the 2020 Perth Royal Wine Show for the Best Dry Red Blend. The malbec vines thrive on the gentle, south-facing slope supported by granitic, loamy soils. Now mature vines, they are producing a large volume of high-quality fruit. This has resulted in us being able to make a straight Malbec, leaving sufficient to blend with our Bordeaux-style Cabernet Sauvignon and Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon each year. Malbec is a deep purple wine variety characterised by fruit flavours of black cherry, plum and blueberry. In the Wilyabrup sub region...
Grace Farm viticulturist Tim Quinlan with chairman of judges Huon Hooke. Ten years after planting its first vines, Grace Farm has been awarded the Max Lake Memorial Trophy for the best Chardonnay at the 2016 Australian and New Zealand Boutique Wine Show Awards with the 2014 Chardonnay. The small Margaret River producer received the trophy at the awards dinner at Manjit’s @ The Wharf, Darling Harbour, Sydney on Monday 11 July 2016. The Grace Farm 2014 Chardonnay also received trophies for best white wine and best wine of the show. Gold medals were awarded to both the Grace Farm 2015 Chardonnay and 2013 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (both wines are yet to be released). Accepting the awards on behalf of his family, an...
It is interesting how a difficult growing season can end up producing wines of distinction. The successes of the 2014 Grace Farm wine releases have followed on from a wet, windy spring in 2013 in which flowering and fruit set were disrupted by rain and gale-force winds. Prior to the 2014 harvest we reported lower-than-average yields in whites, coupled with smaller berries than we would normally expect in both whites and reds. After the windy spring weather passed, a favourable summer set in. With mild ripening temperatures and good soil moisture, vine canopies were under minimal stress and the grapes retained wonderful natural acidity as flavours accumulated. Lower pulp-to-skin ratios in whites and reds translated to a lower recovery of juice in the...
