V I N T A G E C O N D I T I O N S
The 2019 and 2021 season here at Delamere were quite similar and both exceptional. They were both warmer seasons, which s always an advantage in a cold are like Pipers Brook. The warm temperatures carried through December and January with a cooler change coming through in February. This allowed fantastic retention of acidity in the fruit. We had below average rainfall throughout the season, which meant disease pressure was non-existent, allowing us to take our time as the fruit ripened, and harvest only as it reached perfection. Crop levels were just below forecast giving us excellent depth of flavour. Coupled with near-perfect balance and racy acidity, a winemaker couldn’t ask for better material.
W I N E M A K I N G
Ratafia is a delicious traditional fortified wine produced in Champagne. It is made by fortifying freshly pressed grape juice. We discovered it in 2017 while we were in that exceptional region conducting research for Fran’s Don Martin Fellowship. Shane (who has always harboured secret aspirations to become a fortified winemaker) was hooked and returned to Tasmania determined to produce Delamere’s own version.
Being a purest as heart, he started out by having some of our sparkling pressing from the 2018 vintage distilled. Over the next few years, he used that spirit to fortify one or two barrels of sparkling pressings juice each vintage. He was fascinated with the way the wine’s complexity developed with time in the barrel (aged in 228L french barriques) and decided this was an element he wanted to capture. In 2023 the inaugural blend was completed, with 60% coming from the 2019 pinot noir parcel and 20% each from the 2021 pinot noir and chardonnay parcels.
T A S T I N G N O T E S
Notes of sweet delicate caramelized orange rind, preserved red fruits, almond with a hint of star anise spice. Think a marmalade of tangerine rind steeped in Amarone with lifted aromatics. A wine born from tradition with new world freedom