Background
The grape varieties are Semillon and Sauvignon blanc. At low yield but high flavour levels these varieties are capable of making a wine to stand beside the best Chardonnays in terms of complexity, interest and longevity. That is our intent with this wine.
All the three Hills wines are the product of a single vineyard in the southern extremity of the Margaret River appellation. The country around Augusta offers the most interesting circumstances to grow the whole gamut of grape varieties in Margaret River if not mainland Australia. All varieties respond to uniformly cool temperatures during ripening and in a favourable year we have complete freedom from flavour damaging heat spikes into the high 20s.
We think our trellising arrangements provide the right balance between sun and shade to yield golden coloured fruit with little green chlorophyll content and a low quotient of the accompanying astringency.
Growing the vine without water results in an extended root zone which provides a great buffer against adversity in the heat of summer, reliable performance from year to year and the ability to ripen the crop speedily.
Eva and Maria are old family names going back to the 1850s at the time when two brothers Happ arrived in Australia.
In this wine we have used skin contact, barrel fermentation in new oak and yeast lees stirring.
About Eva Maria
In a world of collapsing grape prices Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc seem to be immune and that is a great thing for Margaret River. Without going into a lot of detail that might bore the reader it is possible, using these varieties to produce a wine that is fresh, generously aromatic in character, typical of Margaret River and should be drunk within a year. I speak of the 'Classic'. It has its place and that place is an ever expanding one.
On the other hand, at low yield but high flavour levels these varieties are capable of making a wine to stand beside the best Chardonnays in terms of complexity, interest and longevity. That is our intent with this wine
Tasting Notes
Colour: Pale straw with a green hue.
Nose: An attractive aroma of cut grass, fresh straw, grapefruit bell pepper and cap gun with a note of fruit tingles confectionary.
Palate: This is a rich, textural, complex wine style. It is intensely flavoured with snow pea, honey dew, lemon butter, grapefruit and lime flavours with a tight zesty acid structure and notable minerality.
AWARDS
Silver Medal Perth Royal Wine Show 2009
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Silver Medal Qantas Wine Show of WA 2009
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Silver Medal Margaret River Wine Show 2009
James Halliday: A 50/50 blend of Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc, entirely barrel-fermented, with 25% new oak; deliberately made with the accent on complexity of texture rather than the fresh fruit of the unwooded styles. Screwcap. Rating 91 Drink 2012
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WINERY RATING |
James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2011 |
