2017’s TOP TRENDS
Trend : White blends
“Trends in wine come and go, and these point to a year ahead of mighty fine drinking….
Look out for an increasing number of multi-varietal whites, often including riesling, pinot gris and gewurztraminer varieties but also many other more esoteric combinations which provide more savoury senses than pure citrus, stone fruit or apple/pear characters. The totality of the wine offers a more gastronomic experience.” 4 stars, $30, Tony Love, Adelaide Advertiser Jan 18, 2017

“Yields were down 66%. What there is of this wine is smashingly good; put it in your mouth and it’s like bugles on Anzac Day, the fruit singing proud and clear, the oak sure of its role, the trail of flavour out through the finish an enduring reminder. It’s stunning in a way that will never go out of fashion.”  96pts, 12.5%alc, Drink by 2021, $45, James Halliday 2 August 2016

“Absolutely varietal. Tight with tannin, splashed with spice, juiced with cranberry and red cherry and complexed with leather, herbs, wood smoke. It’s almost autumnal but mostly fruity, and yet it’s dry by the nth degree.”  94pts, 13.5%alc, Drink by 2030, $55, James Halliday 2 August 2016

“From a vineyard at 560-580m on the steep slopes of Mt Lofty, with two natural amphitheatres; the grapes were hand-picked into 8kg baskets, whole bunch-pressed, the juice gravity fed to used French barriques in the underground winery (eight separate components in eight barrique), wild-fermented and 6 months on lees, 2% mlf. All about texture, not primary fruit, and will appeal to those who know what to expect.”  93pts, 13.0%alc, Drink by 2018, $28, James Halliday 2 August 2016

“What a labour of love: the single 11yo vineyard is planted on the highest, steepest slopes of Mt Lofty (560-580m), hand-picked, whole bunch-pressed in 10 lots of different clones, rootstocks, slopes and vine age, each in a single barrique, wild fermented and kept on lees for 6 months, 18% mlf. The result is a very complex chardonnay with naked power that runs wild onthe palate, needing more focus and elegance.”  93pts, 13.0%alc, Drink by 2020, $28, James Halliday 2 August 2016

“55/24/21% cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and malbec, wild yeast open-fermented, pressed direct to barrel and matured for 21 months in French barriques (5% new). Has the soft, plushy fruit typical of Langhorne Creek, and is very complex, the apparent impact of oak inexplicable (unless a high percentage of 1yo). All of that said, there’s plenty to enjoy.”  94pts, 14.0%alc, Drink by 2030, $55, James Halliday 2 August 2016

93pts Most outstanding new releases, Wine Business Magazine May/June 2016, Mike Bennie

Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Malbec blend with some 18 months in oak for good measure. Savoury, deeply flavoured, iodine and graphite-like mineral licks. Finishes with saline acidity. Smooth, full, generous and so well balanced for size. 14% $55 94pts Mike Bennie, Top New Releases, WBM Jan/Feb ’16

Grown at roughly 570 metres above sea level in the Adelaide Hills. Barrel fermented with a portion (18%) also allowed to go through MLF. It’s a stylish chardonnay. A bit wild but well tamed at the same time. Complexity certainly isn’t in doubt. White peach, lactose and spicy flavours. Velvety texture. Quite lovely. Drink 2916-2020. $28 93pts Campbell Mattinson, Jan ’16

Pale ruby. Pretty Nebbiolo fruit. Fresh and finely perfumed. 16+pts Walter Speller, Italian correspondent for Jancis Robinson.

Very pale ruby. Impressive, perfumed, sweet Nebbiolo fruit on the nose and soft strawberry fruit on the palate, bitter-sweet tannins. Displays just enough acidity to keep the tension, but overall well executed. 16pts Walter Speller, Italian correspondent for Jancis Robinson.

Adelaide Hills PG of unusual interest. Apple, almond, earthy and smoky aromas introduce a fleshy wine of impressive depth, with good balance of ripe and savoury flavours. 90/100, Value: good Ralph kyte-Powell, The Melbourne Age/Sydney Morning Herald, Tue 1 Dec 2015.

The 2012 Casa Freschi Nebbiolo and 2014 Casa Freschi Ragazzi Nebbiolo were chosen by Jane Faulkner, Chair of the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show and leading Australian wine journalist, and Walter Speller, Italian wine correspondent at Jancisrobinson.com, to represent Australian Nebbiolo at the 21st Century Vino tasting at Australia House, London on the 29 September 2015.

The initiative was designed to showcase to a global audience the enormous progress Australian winemakers have made over recent years with Italian varietals, highlighting the diversity and suitability of Australian sites to some of the most exciting grape varieties on the planet.

Salute to old vines made new again

The huge range of Italian grape varieties growing here offers a widening spectrum of flavours beyond the most famous sangiovese. Now we can experience the tastes of old-world regions via a glass of Australian-grown red.

This variety from the northwest region of Piedmonte is favoured by aficionados and while its typical colour may suggest a lighter red there’s a much more complex story to be told in the glass. Here it has captivating cherry and woody herbs, a light broth of veal, and trademark tannin grip giving strength and backbone to a delightfully easy flowing wine, designed to be drunk early. Other nebs can take years to integrate. 4 stars, Value: smart Tony Love, Adelaide Advertiser 24 June 2015

This chardonnay surprises with its all-court press of vanillin, toasty oak, but finds it subdued by grapefruit-pithy acidity and the ripe lick of apple sweetness that accompanies. It’s firm in texture, but fruity enough to charm too. Balanced so well.  93pts Mike Bennie, Wine Business Magazine Apr ’15

Solid range of wines this Ragazzi suite. Juiciness of fruit, pear and floral things going on, but maintains a grassiness and shows slate-like pucker too. Pretty, but with drive and verve. 93pts Mike Bennie, Wine Business Magazine Apr ’15

David Freschi updated his parent’s vineyard with nebbiolo from his ancestral homeland. La Signora is 85% nebbiolo with shiraz and malbec. Nebbiolo’s hallmark rose-petal perfumes predominate, with the region’s rusticity a feature of the deep yet surprisingly adroit palate. Pair with wild-boar ragu. Peter Bourne, Qantas Airways Magazine April 2015

Wild yeast-fermented, macerated for 28 days in open fermenters; unfined and unfiltered. Light body on a sturdy frame. Delicate flavours of mint, dark cherry, soy, twigs and tar. Floral overtones. Beautifully integrated in all respects. 94pts Drink to 2024, $55, James Halliday Wine Companion

The 2013 was excellent. So too this 2014. Casa Freschi is onto something with this Adelaide Hills chardonnay.

It gets the mix of flavour and style right. It has enough stone-fruity oomph and enough bacony oak, but it’s crisp and chalky too, with juicy green apples bubbling through the finish – along with oatmeal and general spice. Well honed. Well flavoured. Well good. 94pts Drink 2015- 2019, $27, Campbell Mattinson, Winefront 11 Feb ’15

Wild yeast fermented in barrel, 14 months sur lie, bottled unfined. Thoroughly interesting wine. The flavours: of hazelnuts, cracked wheat, nectarine and citrus. The texture: satiny. The length: it sings with juicy, slinky flavour. 94pts Drink By 2019, $45, James Halliday Wine Companion 8 Jan 2015

Nebbiolo is Piedmont’s hero variety, echoing pinot noir in growing challenges and diversity of style. Serious nebbiolo is aristocratic, its highpoint age-worthy Barolo and Barbaresco. More everyday versions (nebbiolo d’Alba or nebbiolo Langhe) are summer favourites, their sour-cherry flavours, bright acidity and gently persuasive tannins a favourite with grilled lamb cutlets. Australian “nebbs” run the same gamut of styles: David Freschi’s Ragazzi (featured) is so delicious he should consider bottling magnums.

Casa Freschi Ragazzi Nebbiolo 2013 $27

David Freschi is seriously into nebbiolo with La Signora ($50) and a new offering 2012 Nebbiolo ($55). His Ragazzi takes a fresh path, upfront and pure with signature aromatics of rose petal, sour cherries and liquorice. The palate is brilliantly buoyant, a light chill enhancing its energy. Peter Bourne, Qantas Magazine, January 2015

This chardonnay has nutty, nougat-like, slightly smoky aromas that are complex and appealing. It’s soft and rich, deep and satisfying, with real individuality that’s a little out of the mainstream. 13% alc 93 pts $27 Huon Hooke, Sydney Morning Herald & Melbourne Age 20 Jan 2015.

Spends 18 months in oak, working well with the variety’s inherent tannin profile, and delivering a mouthfeel that offers an almost ‘reserve’ strictness of powerful fruit and those tannins. Its perfume is more floral, with briary berries and aniseed scents in tow. 92 pts $45 Mike Bennie Wine Business Magazine Top 100 releases Dec/Jan 15.

Wild yeast fermented in barrel, 25% new oak. This is the wine formerly known as Altezza.

Sweet core of flavour but wild with savoury complexity from there. Nectarine, pine nuts, hazelnuts and cracked wheat. Juicy and long through the finish. Gorgeous wine. 94pts Campbell Mattinson, Winefront

This is now the flagship of the Casa Freschi range. It’s made from the best 15% of nebbiolo grown on the estate. Wild yeast fermented, macerated for 28 days, matured in seasoned French oak, bottled unfined and iunfiltered.

It’s an elegant wine of quiet insistence. It’s light in colour, carries flavour of aniseed, red cherry, dust and dried herbs, and saves its best for the finish, as nebbiolo is so adept at doing. There’s a tarry, nutty character here too, and tips of mint. Tannin lingers beautifully. You kind of need to slow down and listen closely to appreciate this wine, but it has good things to say. 93pts Campbell Mattinson, Winefront

One of three nebs on show at the moment from the ever-interesting artisan winemaker David Freschi: this is designed to drink earlier, crafted to be more open as a youthful wine showing woody herbs, savoury textures, yet it still has some juicy flavour going on as well. Varietal fans will still be pleased that there’s enough trademark tannin to carry its more serious nebbiolo duties with elan. Tony Love, Adelaide Advertiser

Casa Freschi Chardonnay 2013

When David Freschi planted vines just below Mt Lofty Summit he chose arguably the steepest (580m), coolest site in the Adelaide Hills. The slopes are so steep, hand pruning and hand harvesting are required. But the northern aspect provides enough sun for slow and steady ripening of the dry grown grapes. While yield is low, quality of the fruit is consistently high. It is an ideal vineyard in which to grow top class chardonnay.

The Casa Freschi Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2013 is delicate but with robust texture and delicious stone fruit flavors enhanced by maturation in French oak for 14 months.

It is a scrumptious drink now but David says it will continue to improve up to 2025.

Casa Freschi La Signorina 2013

David Freschi grows grapes in a single vineyard at 580m near Mt Lofty. At this height and with very steep slopes, the vines are hand-pruned and handharvested. La Signorina is an unusual blend of riesling and gewürztraminer (each 42%), plus 15% chardonnay and 1% pinot gris. From the dominant varieties the bouquet is heady and highly perfumed while intense flavours of lime cordial with spice and savory notes are enhanced by French oak nuances.

Casa Freschi Nebbiolo 2012

The Casa Freschi Langhorne Creek Nebbiolo 2012 is from owner-winemaker David Freschi’s 2ha single vineyard on the plains cooled by breezes from nearby Lake Alexandrina. Hand pruned and hand harvested the grapes are foot crushed, wild yeast fermented and hand plunged in small open fermenters for four weeks before maturation in seasoned French oak puncheons for 18 months. Dense red with complex aromas and savoury flavours this flagship wine will further develop with medium to long term cellaring.

Casa Freschi Ragazzi Chardonnay 2013

2013 was both a high quality and high quantity vintage. Farmer’s delight. Double the quantity of the 2012 vintage, according to winemaker David Freschi.

A wine of elegant power. It was 100% barrel fermented but you’d not pick it. Freshness of fruit is the order of the day, though it’s also textural and well-shaped as it runs along your tongue. Nectarine, pear, citrus and nuttier notes. Pure, glistening fruit through the finish. Very good. 92/100 Drink 2014-2018

Casa Freschi Ragazzi Nebbiolo 2013

Grown on a close-planted nebbiolo vineyard 4km north of Lake Alexandrina. Matured in French oak, then bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Nebbiolo with a bit of impact. Silken and tidy at the same time. Deep, dark cherry, leather, dried spice and floral notes. Surely, varietal. Redder berry notes rise as the wine breathes. Tannin is present but not at all dangerous; overall the wine rolls softly along the tongue, though a firmness lurks in the background. Rusty aftertaste, in a positive sense. Interesting wine. And a good one. 91+/100 Drink 2013-2022

Casa Freschi Ragazzi Pinot Grigio 2013

Wild yeast, barrel ferment, and a tiny amount of mlf.

It’s a beautiful white wine. More pinot gris than grigio but alive with spice, powdered milk, smoke and citrus flavour. Joyous. Lengthy. Textural. Drinking beautifully now. 94/100 Drink 2013-2015

Casa Freschi Nebbiolo 2012

This seems to be a step up from the Ragazzi ranged nebbiolo in the Casa Freschi wine tiers, and also sourced from their red wine vineyard in Langhorne Creek. A new release wine from 2012.

Red cherry, bright red perfume, touch of musk, gentle sweetness. Pretty entry. Juicy and tightly wound flavours, light-on in a way, decent length of flavour but finishes with increasingly sour acidity. It’s a quiet, reserved wine with some delicacy of fruit and steely firm tannins. Feels like a wine that will improve with age; there’s a subtle seriousness in the finer feel of this wine. 91/100 Drink 2014-2025

We are excited to announce the upcoming releases of the 2013 La Signorina, 2013 Chardonnay and 2012 Nebbiolo.

The 2013 La Signorina is the 6^th vintage of this delicious blend, hauntingly aromatic, multilayered and minerally, this year comprised of 42% Riesling, 42% Gewürztraminer, 15% Chardonnay and 1% Pinot Grigio.

The 2013 Chardonnay (previously known as Altezza Chardonnay) is only our 4^th bottling of this wine in 7 years. The extra vine age and dream vintage producing a wine with wonderful depth and compaction, a great follow up to the wonderful 2011 and 2012 vintages and arguably our greatest white to date.

The 2012 Nebbiolo is an inaugural release. The extraordinary quality of fruit in 2012 enabled us to bottle, for the first time, an ultra-premium 100% nebbiolo. Bottled under premium natural cork and wax sealed, we have been aiming to produce a wine of this quality since first planting in 1999. I hope you will agree it has been well worth the wait!

Starts with a light, red perfume, but the nose conceals the savoury complexity that is to follow. Bennie thought it “quite reserved with delicate fragrance and firm, controlling tannins. Red cherry, cranberry acidity with a touch of musk and gentle, sweet flavour. Blink and you’ll miss it.” I found more power to the flavours, and the nose will build to match them in time. — Star performer 3^rd best Australian Nebbiolo AGT Wine Apr/May 2014

Dark Nebbiolo; David Freschi’s La Signora nebbiolo has often been very dry, savoury and mouth-puckeringly tannic in the past, and while this new vintage is still robust and firm, there’s oodles of dark, rich fruit, too. This is a nebbiolo for big shiraz drinkers. — Max Allen, Top Drops of the Month, Gourmet Traveller Magazine September 2014

A blend of nebbiolo, shiraz and malbec; 22 components were separately wild yeast-fermented and pressed into used French puncheons (nebbiolo), the remainder into new and used French barriques, with minimal handling. The vintage has provided this wine with a perfect stage to strut its stuff, and that it does, the perfume of the nebbiolo given free reign without the penalty of its tannins, these covered by a panoply of fruit from the other varieties. — 95pts, Drink to 2027, James Halliday Wine Companion 2015

Hand-picked, whole bunch-pressed direct to used French barriques for a wild yeast fermentation; each barrique receiving an individual pressing of the 10 different blocks; 4% mlf; selectively blended prior to bottling. Obviously enough, complex, but the intensity of the fruit has soaked up the oak, allowing the delicate grapefruit/grapefruit zest/white peach fruit to have its say. — 95 pts, Special value, Drink to 2020, James Halliday Wine Companion 2015

When David Freschi travelled around his parents’ native Italy, he was seduced by the elusive charms of nebbiolo. On his return home to the family vineyard at Langhorne Creek, he planted a tiny plot for his pinnacle red, La Signora and this fresh, bright yet savoury Ragazzi. It has a lifted perfume of fading rose petals and fennel seed, fresh raspberry and boysenberry fruits and a hint of mint. Fine-boned almost delicate wine with distinct red fruit flavours and a touch of charcuterie. Spicy tannins carry the gentle, even and long-flowing finish. — Best Buy Wines $30 and under, Peter Bourne, AGT Wine Aug/Sep 2014

The 2006 La Signora has been selected as the first branded Australian red wine for the specials list at Jamie Oliver’s newly opened Italian restaurants around Australia. It is wonderful to have our first nebbiolo bottling, now drinking at its optimum, enjoyed alongside world-class dishes.

This is superb. Very complex, it has a nutty, smoky lees-influenced bouquet with smoked chicken hints giving a resemblance to a slightly feral style of chardonnay. It’s rich and mouth-filling, happily not sweet, but balanced and clean. — 92/100 $25, Top 100 releases, Huon Hooke, AGT Wine Magazine, Dec/Jan 2014

A crisp, crunchy Grigio that does its best to emulate the flavoursome, refreshing styles of north east Italy but showing a touch extra personlaity of fruit – a generosity and lees derived smokiness. Easy drinking, with varietal personality.— 92/100 $25, Top 100 releases, Mike Bennie, Wine Business Magazine, Nov 2013

From one of the highest vineyards in the Adelaide Hills on the steep north-facing slopes, with 10 clones separately harvested, whole bunch pressed and wild yeast barrel-fermented in used French barriques (+6% mlf) All this has proved worth the effort, adding layers of texture, yet not stultifying the varietal pear/apple fruit expression.— 94pts Drink by 2015, 13.0% alc, James Halliday Companion 2015

An amazing nebbiolo, made from a close-planted (in ’99) multi-clone block, with lesser performing clones removed and replanted in ’05; destemmed, foot-stamped, pressed to used French barriques for 10 months. Utterly exceptional purple-crimson hue; this is a brilliantly pure wine, full of dark cherry fruit, and I am totally mystified by its low price.— 96/100 $27 Drink by 2023, Alc 13% Halliday Wine Companion Newsletter 18 June 2014

A blend of riesling, gewurztraminer, chardonnay and pinot grigio, this has a complex bouquet of spices, caramel and smoky sulfides. The palate is full of flavours backed by lively acidity, giving it a lemon-sherbet tang. It is balanced with refined texture and length. — 92/100, Top 100 releases, Huon Hooke, AGT Wine Magazine, Feb/Mar 2014.

Medium-light straw yellow colour; a complex and attractive bouquet of smoky sulfides, caramel and spices. The palate is also full of interesting flavours, backed firmly by lively acidity, giving a lemon-sherbet tang. Good balance, refined texture and length. An entertaining dry white. — 92/100, Top Wines for Summer, $30, Best within two years. Huon Hooke, Sydney Morning Herald 26 Nov 2013.

A wine writer or any taster for that matter can go wild sniffing this, rose, musk, lychee, apple, florals, blonde toffee, fresh cut tobacco and black tea. The medium bodied palate starts apple and orange citrus with floral edges with creamy mid palate, exotic fruit complexity and layered pithy mouth watering finish that suits food with a subtle display of apple, mandarin, white stone fruit, papaya and creamy lees. — 94/100, Drink to 2016, $30, 12.5% alc, Robert Geddes MW, Australian Wine Vintages Gold book 2014.

Wines that make me thirsty, Rob Geddes MW posted 12 Aug 2013,
WTMMT #114 – Casa Freschi La Signorina 2012. Watch on Youtube.

From a single vineyard set at around 550 metres in Mount Lofty. Sees ten months in oak and is a blend of riesling, gewurztraminer, chardonnay and pinot grigio. Unfined and sent to bottle. Has a mealy, vanillan, yoghurty aroma with lemon curd and pawpaw aromas in tow. Pretty exotic to taste, almost a little oxidative note creeping in, not sure if style or fault here. Not too untoward, and ebbs away with time in the glass. Shows more creaminess of oak, a clang of appley flavour and chalky phenolics to finish with succulent texture and a belt of spiky, steely minerality throughout. It’s pretty wild, and I kind of like it for that, but it’s also easy to drink. Personality in spades. — 90/100, $30 Drink 2013-2017, 12.5% alc, Mike Bennie, Winefront, July 2013.

Plenty of colour, this field blend white (riesling, gewurztraminer, chardonnay and pinot gris) is fragrant and savoury on the bouquet, offering lemon zest, wet slate, fennel and a touch of bracken; the palate is racy, edgy and linear on entry, with savoury backbone of nutty flavours lingering on the extended finish. — 92/100, $30 Drink by 2017, 12.5% alc, Ben Edwards, James Halliday Wine Companion, July 2013.

The aromas are complex with a mix of winemaker and fruit derived elements, baked apple, fresh apple, subtle pineapple and gentle honeyed aromas that suggest hazelnut will come into town. The palate has creamy texture, considerable concentration of fruit richness, delicate acids that sustain and refresh the flavour, and a long palate with hazelnut oat meal flavours in the finish. This wine shows excellent grape-growing and thoughtful winemaking and that will suit restaurants and drinking in the summer of 2014. — Top 100 wines 94/100, Drink to 2016, $45, 12.5% alc, Robert Geddes MW, Australian Wine Vintages Gold book 2014

Wines that make me thirsty, Rob Geddes MW posted 22 Oct 2013;
WTMMT #144 – Casa Freschi Altezza Chardonnay 2012 & Ragazzi Nebbiolo 2012. Watch on Youtube.

Spends 10 months in French oak, is unfined and comes from a vineyard location in the upper reaches of the Adelaide Hills at around 550 metres above sea level. Chill to the bone. Altezza wines are reserved for special vintages only. Interestingly smells quite marine, oyster shells and sea breeze kind of thing, but a twang of cedary oak and floral notes. Attractive anyway. Clear, crisp fruit character, slippery textured and finishing pure and true with green apple kind of flavours and a crispness of alpine herb bitterness. It’s a style that likely lends itself to a few more years to flesh out and mellow, not seeking trim refinement, but showing sluicy, juicy personality of the variety. $45 Drink 2013-2019, 12.5% alc. — 90/100 Mike Bennie, Winefront, July 2013.

David Freschi has been growing nebbiolo in Langhorne Creek since the late 1990s. He produces two varietal wines from his grapes: a serious, full bodied, dense, ageworthy wine called La Signora and this lively, drink-now version. Nebbiolo is often compared to pinot noir, and you can see why when you taste this wine. It’s pale vermillion in colour, light, floral and fragrant to smell, and although it starts all stemmy and spicy (like a whole-bunch fermented pinot) it narrows into a firm, grippy, distinctively nebbiolo-tannin finish, $25. — Best buys $30 and under, Max Allen, AGT Wine magazine Oct/Nov 2013