AU T U M N
2018
ISSUE N O.
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PEPPER TREE WINES
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Gwyn’s Vintage Review Harvest started early for us this year, with the Hunter Valley kicking off on January 10th following one of the driest spring and summer periods in the last ten years.
We started with Chardonnay, which came into the winery with great fruit flavours. Verdelho and Semillon followed shortly after that with the Verdelho exhibiting their hallmark guava and tropical fruit notes as soon as the fruit hit the crusher. The Semillon is impressive this year—intense perfume and mid palate fruit coupled with lingering acidity. The Shiraz started quickly following the Semillon and is some of the more intense Shiraz I have seen. Tannin, colour and flavour reminds me of the 2007 vintage so shaping up to be wines of poise, purpose and timelessness. The Hunter was all finished by early February with Orange looking to start towards the end of February. It has also been dry out in Orange so we expect an avalanche of grapes as soon as we start there! Wrattonbully and Coonawarra are looking good, with a March start date looking likely. In other exciting news, new vintages of most of the Varietal range are heading down the bottling line this week. Keep an eye out for our new look Varietal labels, which will be followed by a new look for our Limited Release range. Exciting times ahead!
Gwyn Olsen Head Winemaker
AU TUM N 2018
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The Venus Block derives its name from the first name of the woman who ran a grazing property on the land for many years. Situated at our high altitude vineyard in Orange, the ‘Venus Block’ is 800m above sea level, ensuring a long cool ripening season, perfectly suited to Chardonnay.
RRP
$38.00 •
CLU B MEMBER PR ICE
NEW R E L E A SE
Venus Block
Chardonnay 2017
$32.50 •
Q4 MEMBER PR ICE
$28.50
The block was handpicked on flavour ripeness and then destemmed and pressed cold. The resulting juice was fermented in French oak puncheons. The final wine was left to mature for 9 months before being blended and prepared for bottling. The result is an intense cool climate Chardonnay with flavours of stone fruits, fig and melon seductively integrated with barrel ferment complexity. A crisp and elegant style of Chardonnay, showing great purity of fruit.
PEPPER TREE WINES
4
Introducing Patrick Haddock
Q4 Club
For tailored tastes.
New Business Development Manager
Pepper Tree Wines would like to welcome Patrick Haddock to the team. Patrick will oversee the Pepper Tree Wines direct to consumer departments and will work in conjunction with the marketing and wholesale teams to build brand awareness and increase visitation. Patrick has over a decade of experience in the wine industry including direct market copywriting, wine writing, Wine Show judging and Owner-Operator of a wine bar. Living and working in the Hunter region for the last ten years, he is an enthusiastic and active supporter of the local wine industry. In 2015 Mr Haddock attended the Len Evan’s Tutorial with our Head Winemaker, Gwyn Olsen. Patrick will be based at the winery so be sure to say hi on your next visit!
The Q4 is an exclusive invitational membership which provides priority access to all Single Vineyard and Limited Release wines upon release as well as Museum offerings. The membership is available to only a limited number of positions and we currently have some openings. The membership comes with personal recommendations from our Head Winemaker, Gwyn Olsen as one of the extensive benefits.
Q4 BENEFITS J Receive 25% off Single Vineyard and Limited Release Ranges. J 30% off all Varietal Range. J Complimentary invitation for you and your guest to attend one of Pepper Tree’s Member events of your choice throughout the year. J Invitation to exclusive Q4 events such as the Benchmark Tasting, Winemaker’s Table Luncheon and ‘Q4’ Cruise. J Detailed tasting notes included in every wine delivery. J James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion upon release each year signed by our Head Winemaker Gwyneth Olsen.
J Upon your 1 year anniversary of the Q4 Club, receive a voucher for two at ‘Chef Hatted’ Restaurant Bistro Molines to the value of $150.00. You will also receive a complimentary bottle of Sparkling ‘Silenus’ to enjoy on your arrival. J Free freight Australia wide on all purchases plus much more! If you are interested in becoming a Q4 member or would like more information on how you can receive an exclusive invite to the Q4 membership please express your interest: Pepper Tree Wine Club on 1800 655 965 or email ptwclub@peppertreewines.com.au
THE VINTAGE
2018 Staff Picking Day
Every year the staff meet at dawn to pick the final fruit of harvest. Despite bleary eyes we got a record crop off these historic vines.
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PEPPER TREE WINES
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Autumn Special AU T U M N R E D DOZEN T HR EE OF E ACH: 2 015 L I M I T E D R E L E A S E
The Pebbles Shiraz Viognier Wrattonbully 2 014 P E P P E R T R E E
Merlot Wrattonbully 2 016 L I M I T E D R E L E A S E
Shiraz Hunter Valley 2 014 S I NG L E V I N E YA R D
Elderslee Road Cabernet Sauvignon Wrattonbully ONLY
$260.00 SAVE $114.00 RRP $384.00
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2018 E V EN TS C A L E N DA R
April
July
October
Taste in the Park Sun 8th April
Brisbane Members’ Dinner Date TBA
Hunter Uncorked Balmoral Sun 7th October
Brisbane April Members’ Dinner Fri 20th April
Red Release Date TBA
Gala Dinner Fri 12th October
Bicentennial Park—Tamworth NSW
Moda Restaurant—Brisbane QLD
TBA—Brisbane QLD
TBA—Sydney NSW
Balmoral Beach—Balmoral NSW
TBA—Sydney NSW
August Q4 Winemakers Table Luncheon Sat 11th August PTW Winery—Hunter Valley NSW
Hunter Uncorked Sun 22nd April
Wahroonga Wine & Food Festival Sun 28th October
The Village Green Dunbar Park—Avalon NSW
Wahroongah Park—Wahroongah NSW
November
May
Q4 Harbour Cruise 2pm-5pm Sat 3rd November
Harvest Luncheon Sat 12th & 26th May
Sydney Harbour—Sydney NSW
Muse Restaurant—Hunter Valley NSW
Pooch Picnic Sun 12th August
PTW Grounds—Hunter Valley NSW
Manly Food and Wine Festival Sat 26th & Sun 27th May Manly Esplanade—Manly NSW
June Canberra Members’ Dinner Fri 22nd June
The Boat House—Canberra ACT
Book a wine club event:
ptwclub@peppertreewines.com.au 1800 655 965 Due to the extremely high and growing demand, some events may have set ticket limitations per membership. Event details subject to change.
September Spring Food & Wine Sat 8th September
The Grounds of Alexandria—Sydney NSW
End 2 End Festival Sat 15th September
Cypress Lakes—Pokolbin NSW
Taste of the Bay Sat 3rd & Sun 4th November Nelson Bay NSW
Evening Cruise 7pm–10pm Fri 9th November
Sydney Harbour —Sydney NSW
Afternoon Cruise 2pm–5pm Sat 10th November Sydney Harbour—Sydney NSW
86 Halls Road, Pokolbin NSW 2320 Phone 02 4909 7100 Freecall 1800 655 965 ptwclub@peppertreewines.com.au
peppertreewines.com.au