In this issue
Welcome
Welcome to the Spring and Summer newsletter 2008 for Angelicus Wines.
We look forward to bringing you up to date with all the goings on at Angelicus and to introduce you to new members of our team.
We have been producing some delicious drops this year and we look forward to having the opportunity to show them to you. We have won some awards and received some great accolades for our wines and in the last couple of months we have been out and about introducing our wines at exhibitions in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne.
back to top Accolades
Angelicus has been receiving accolades and been winning awards at both the 2008 Perth Royal Show and the 2008 Qantas Wine Show.
The 2005 Angelicus Pinot Noir received the highest rating in its class of aged Pinot Noirs at the Perth Royal Show, amongst some pretty steep competition from Tasmania, Adelaide Hills and New Zealand.
It also received a great review from James Halliday in his 2009 Wine Compendium and Peter Forrestal in the June/July issue of the Gourmet Traveller and the Sunday Times.
Our newly released 2007 Angelicus Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot won a bronze at the 2008 Qantas Wine Show, we believe with some additional bottle aging it will be moving up the medal count in the next few years, if it lasts that long.
back to top Vintage Report 2008
What a great vintage 2008 was. It was a couple of weeks earlier than other years but more normal than the difficult vintage of 2006 and the oh so early vintage of 2007. We had a good wet winter which lead into a mild and wet Spring, we missed out on the hail that seemed to affect other areas and skated into a nice dry spell for harvest.
The first batch of the grapes, Pinot Noir, were hand harvested for our sparkling Panis in mid February, chilled and sent down to the Vintage Wineworx for making into one of the components of the base wine, this followed by the Chardonnay which too was picked in two batches, one for the sparkling and the balance for the table wine.
The Pinot Noir for the table wine was picked in mid March and showed some delicious flavours, nice small berries which will give it great colour.
The Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot and Cabernet Merlot were all off the vines in mid April and were eagerly snapped up by Smithbrook Wines.
We believe the whites were very full flavoured with lower sugar levels than normal and the reds with average yields had good rich fruit flavours.
back to top The Team
We are delighted to introduce you to Ruve Kerr, a local lass who assists Sue in the office and with dispatch of the orders and running the mailing list. Ruve was born a Kiwi but is now a devout “Sand groper” who loves the great outdoors, her horses, her beautiful three girls and a glass of wine when she has the time to kick back and relax. Ruve is a trained chef and we hope to take advantage of her skills in the not too distant future.
In Sydney and Melbourne we are now represented by Nigel Ward, yes he is a nephew. Nigel has an interesting background in a previous life worked in sales and then went on to train as a chef and has worked with some of Sydney’s leading restaurants. Nigel is passionate about produce and transforming it into delicious food, and he is bringing this passion to being involved in Angelicus.
back to top Out & About
John and I ably assisted by Nigel took Angelicus Wines to Melbourne at the 2008 Fine Food Show, a hospitality show which is absolutely huge, held in Jeff’s shed in late September. We saw coffee machines that were reminiscent of fine motor vehicles and products and equipment that covered all facets of the hospitality industry from around the world.
Angelicus was one of few boutique WA wineries that took part and we enjoyed meeting many new people who had read about our wines and were keen to take advantage of the opportunity to have a look at them. We are pleased to say that they are now gracing some of the wine lists of some of the best restaurants in Melbourne and in distinctive bottle shops.
We also participated in Restaurant 08 in Sydney and again we received a huge response to our wines from expert sommeliers and wine buyers from many restaurants and independent bottle shops, which was certainly a thrill for us. Again our wines can now be found in some specialized shops and some great restaurants such as Lucio’s Italian in Paddington and Sean’s Panaroma in Bondi Beach alongside some fabulous food.
The Perth Fine Food and Wine Show in July was our biggest ever Show as again after receiving fantastic press for our wines this brought many new wine lovers to our Stand. For a small producer to be able to sell our wines directly to our customers is a fantastic opportunity for us as Perth is a very difficult market for little guys like us to get a foot hold into many retail outlets or restaurants. Interestingly the businesses that do buy our wines have developed into great relationships with us as we pride ourselves on looking after our customers with great service.
back to top New Releases
2007 Angelicus Cabernet Merlot
This wine is made up of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Merlot. John and I made this wine at Angelicus where we hand plunged it 3 to 4 times a day during ferment and this resulted in lovely smooth tannins with great colour and flavour then we sent it off to be polished and buffed by the crew at Vintage Wineworx into a smart wine. It’s a delicious drink now but we believe with some bottle age it will develop into a luscious drop.
2008 Angelicus Unwooded Chardonnay
A lemon sherbet bomb! This wine is made from 100% Chardonnay fruit grown at Pemberton. Fragrant citrus blossom on the nose followed by a intense flavour of lime and green melons which is made more accessible by being a bit lower alcohol than normal at 11%. We believe its perfect as an aperitif on a balmy summer evening or alongside some fresh seafood or salad on a hot summer day.
To order these wines or any of our range check out our new online ordering on our website: www.angelicus.com.au
back to top The Cellar Club
We have made summer drinking so easy for the Members of our Cellar Club with the following assortment of wines being delivered in the next couple of weeks, in plenty of time for Christmas.
The Summer Pack contains:
2005 Panis sparkling Pinot Chardonnay
2006 Angelicus Sauvignon Blanc – raved about by James Halliday
2007 Angelicus Semillon Sauvignon Blanc
2008 Angelicus Unwooded Chardonnay
2004 Angelicus Pinot Noir – so delicious lightly chilled
2005 Cleavage Cabernet Merlot
If you would like to become a Cellar Club member have a look at our website and download a form, send us an email at info@angelicus.com.au or give Sue a call on 08 97213838. A terrific Christmas present, that comes twice a year!
back to top New Horizons
Angelicus is looking to a new horizon. We have purchased 127 acres of steep granite land on the hills behind Bunbury looking north over the Collie River Valley and also westward out to the Indian Ocean. This land will be a much warmer site, than Pemberton. It is a spectacular location which will benefit from the cooling summer south westerly breezes and the good winter rains.
We will only use a small area of the property as a boutique vineyard to grow premium grapes for our Angelicus label. Once again we intend growing grapes that will make wine that reflects the earth from which the vines are grown. To this end we are investing our money and our manhours into a new vineyard that will be sited on a northerly facing saddle of land where we intend planting Spanish varietals, such as Tempranillo, bush vine Grenache, Albarino and Verdeljo. Exciting times are ahead.
back to top Up & Coming Events
Once our new premises is completed we are planning a small celebration for our Angelicus friends by holding a long table lunch where Nigel will cook some delicious food for us accompanied by Angelicus Wines where great conversation and a little music will be on hand for a great day on the first weekend in March. Mark it in your diary and we shall bring you more details in the very near future. If you would like any information now please feel free to give Sue a call on 0429481425.
We hope we get to catch up with you soon, until next time
Cheers for now,
Sue and John
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