Tasting NotesFelicitas 2014
$43.00
A traditional method sparkling made from 100% fiano, with no acid additions or dosage, which spent 15 months on lees. The cuvee name is from the Roman goddess of good luck and happiness Felicitas. In ancient Roman culture felicitas (from the Latin adjective felix, "fruitful, blessed, happy, lucky") is a condition of divinely inspired productivity, a quality expressing the close bonds between religion and agriculture.
The 2014 Chalmers Felicitas sits somewhere between a premium dry prosecco and a blanc de blanc in style, it has a distinctly Italianate palate with the savouriness and texture you would expect from fiano. Made using traditional methods, this sparkling Fiano shows aromas of lemon, lime, pear and grapefruit. The palate is creamy and crisp with flinty minerality and great length.
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Lambrusco 2013
$43.00
Lambrusco is a dirty word in the eyes of many a wine connoisseur because of it's huge popularity as a cheap and cheerful quaff, especially in the 70s and 80s, but a dedicated bunch of fine Italian producers from Emilia-Romagna have been working hard over the last decade or two to change perceptions about what Lambrusco can be. There is a small but strong movement emerging whose mission is to produce and promote more structured, dry Lambrusco wines. And no wonder - because the variety makes a divine drop when treated with care and attention.
The 2013 Chalmers Lambrusco is intensely fragrant showing purple florals, tobacco, blackcurrant fruit and sweet spices of vanilla, cinnamon and clove. The palate shows bright fruit with savoury notes, refreshing acidity and a lasting tannic grip and fine persistent fizz.
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Vermentino 2015
$27.00
The Chalmers family pioneered this versatile Sardinian white variety in Australia releasing Australia’s first home-grown wine from the variety in 2004, a wine that was recently cited by Max Allen in Gourmet Traveller magazine as one of the top 20 Australian wines of the past twenty years. There are now almost 60 producers working with vermentino, growing and crafting some amazing wines from a variety which is clearly thriving in many of Australia’s warmer growing regions.
The 2015 Vermentino is made from the VCR1 clone imported by Chalmers Nurseries in the late 90s. Racy and savoury, this vermentino
shows hints of aromatic herbs and Amalfi lemons. The palate has a chalky texture and fresh, mouthwatering acidity.
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Greco 2015
$29.00
Greco is the name given to a bunch of grape varieties cultivated across Southern Italy, named as such because of the belief that they were brought to Italy from Greece. Whether this is in fact true there have been Greco vines growing in this part of Italy for thousands of years, most notably the strain of greco which makes DOCG Greco di Tufo in Campania and in Puglia where it makes some of the best white wines in the region because of it's high natural acidity.
The greco vines in the Chalmers Heathcote vineyard are Greco di Tufo, imported by the Chalmers family in the late 1990s and planted at Heathcote in 2011. Beguiling aromas of marzipan, juicy white peaches and aromatic spice lead to a chalky, mineral palate of poached quince with appealing phenolic grip and the trademark mouthwatering acidity of greco.
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Fiano 2014
$33.00
Fiano is a grapegrowers dream. This Campania native produces perfectly balanced fruit with little fuss in the vineyard, is drought tolerant and resistant to disease reducing vineyard application requirements, and naturally high in acid, meaning less intervention required in the winery. It has been the best fruit of the vintage at Chalmers on many occasions, which is quite an achievement when you consider there are about 40 different varieties over the two properties.
The 2014 Fiano shows white flowers, fresh white stone fruits and flinty notes on the nose. Almond bitterness and savoury lees contact characters balance more stonefruit on the focused but generous, textured palate completed by a lingering, refreshing finish.
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Montevecchio Bianco 2015
$24.00
Montevecchio Bianco is a co-fermented field blend made from vermentino, fiano and a small percentage of moscato giallo.
Fresh and fruity yet savoury, this wine shows notes of ripe white peach, fresh cut red apple and minerals. It is crisp yet giving on the palate with a clean dry finish.
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Rosato 2016
$27.00
Chalmers’ first rosato wine was released in 2009, from the variety negroamaro. When vintage 2010 came around the sagrantino fruit looked better than the negroamaro, so that became the rosato variety of the year. Since then Chalmers have made rsato from almost every Italian red on their farm. But since 2015 they’re settled into an aglianico/sagrantino blend sourcing the grapes from the highest and most treasured block on their Heathcote property.
The 2016 Chalmers Rosato has a vibrant, pomegranate hue, with prettyaromas of red fruit. The palate is generous yet dry and textural with notes of spice and candied peel. The two blended parcels of tank fermented sagrantino and barrel fermented aglianico make for a balanced and complete wine, and a perfect summer drink.
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Montevecchio Rosato 2016
$24.00
Out of StockMontevecchio Rosato is made from 100% lagrein, a variety prized for its rosato wines in north-eastern Italy.
Lively purple fruit and floral aromatics and a juicy, plush palate with a hint of herbs and a dry finish make the rosato a perfect ‘go to’ wine for the summer months.
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Nero d’Avola 2015
$27.00
This workhorse variety from Sicily was first brought into Australia by Chalmers in 1998. Since then there has been a lot of talk in the industry about the variety potentially being the ‘next big thing’ here. It earned the hype due to the suitability of the vine to hot, dry growing conditions as well as the versatility and characteristics of the wines to be made from it. The first Australian wine from the variety was released by Chalmers in 2009, from their original Euston vineyard, now they’re growing it at both their new sites in Heathcote and Mildura.
Selected from our top block which gives a more elegant and perfumed character to the Nero d’Avola grapes from Heathcote, this wine has fresh and vibrant forest fruit aromas of raspberry, blackberry and a hint of savoury spice. Berry flavours carry through on the juicy palate, supported by soft but present tannin.
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Aglianico 2011
$43.00
In southern Italy aglianico is hailed as the noblest of red varieties. In Australia it has proven to produce wines of finesse, structure and elegance in the most adverse of climatic conditions. At Chalmers the aglianico wines have always been considered top-tier reds within the range. To reflect that the latest planting has been established on the prized, top elevation, rocky site on the ridge of the Mt Camel Range at the Heathcote vineyard which is similar in characteristics to the variety’s native terroir.
The 2011 Aglianico is vibrant, showing earthy cherry, aromatic spice and delicate perfume on the nose. The balanced, savoury palate shows subtle fruitcake spices, herbal notes and candied orange rind with a pleasant mouth-watering acidity and the fine, smooth, building tannins you would expect of the variety. An elegant and structured wine with excellent potential for long ageing.
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Sagrantino 2012
$43.00
One of the most tannic varieties in the world, sagrantino is relatively small player in Italy where there are only about 250 hectares of the grape grown in the Montefalco region of Umbria. Despite this it is a highly revered wine with DOCG status since 1992. It has been growing in Australia since 2000 with the first Australian wine made by Chalmers in 2004. There are now a number of producers making great examples of the variety which has proven to perform fantastically well in both extreme heat/drought conditions and wet vintages like 2010 and 2011.
The 2012 Sagrantino is our first from the Heathcote vineyard where the vines are growing in a special site close to the top of the ridge in deep rocky Cambrian earth. The wine is deep and robust with ample dark cherry and plum fruits. The palate is finer than the nose suggests with the tannins driving all the way through to the finish.
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Montevecchio Rosso 2014
$24.00
Montevecchio Rosso is a co-fermented field blend made from an assortment of red Italian varieties. They can include nero d’Avola, sangiovese, negroamaro, lagrein, aglianico or sagrantino in varying percentages depending on the vintage.
Aromas of vibrant rasberry and purple fruits are balanced perfectly with a savoury meatiness and refreshing acidity. This medium-bodied wine has plenty of supple fruit, soft tannins and is designed to be enjoyed in its youth.
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Arturo Malbec, Heathcote 2013
$26.00
In the mid ninteenth century the Governor of Mendoza engaged a French Agronomist to bring a selection of new grapevine cultivars from France to Argentina, creating a training ground for teaching viticulture with the aim of improving the quality of local wines. One of those varietals was Malbec, now the signature variety of the nation.
These vines were exported immediately before the great phylloxera epidemic, and the particular selection of Malbec which was shipped is now believed to be extinct in Europe. It has subsequently evolved over the last century and a half into a clone which is distinctly different from its French forebears.
In the late twentieth century Arthur Bruce Chalmers imported a selection of grapevine cultivars from around the world to Australia in an effort to broaden vineyard diversity and improve wine quality by clonal selection. In that shipment were six clones of Malbec, selected from the best vineyards of Mendoza.
Arturo Heathcote Malbec is made from those special clones, grown on the unique Cambrian terroir of the Mount Camel Range in Heathcote.
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Le Sorelle Shiraz, Heathcote 2014
$26.00
Le Sorelle is a project of siblings Kim and Tennille Chalmers; the name itself means the sisters in Italian. The Chalmers girls grew up surrounded by vines and after pursuing their own independent careers for ten years - Kim in music and Tennille in hospitality - they have both succumbed to the inherent passion for viticulture and vino and joined the family business of growing grapes and making wine.
Le Sorelle is a single vineyard Heathcote shiraz from the Chalmers vineyard on the northern end of the Mt Camel range. The vines for the Le Sorelle Shiraz were propagated from a special vine selection out of the Chalmers family's original nursery block. Le Sorelle shiraz is grown in the famous red Cambrian earth of the region, tended with care, hand picked and made in small quantities each vintage.
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Montevecchio Moscato 2016
$24.00
Montevecchio Moscato is made from 100% Moscato Giallo, a superior moscato selection imported by Chalmers from northern Italy.
This refreshing, light and fruity wine has just a hint of spritz, allowing the bright sherbet, elderflower and honeysuckle flavours of the moscato giallo grape to take centre stage. It balances sweetness, acidity and alcohol perfectly in a style reminiscent of the great wines of Asti.
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Sagrantino Appassimento 2013
$48.00
Appassimento is the process of drying wine grapes to concentrate their sugar in order to make dessert wine. Italy calls these passito wines, but since this word is protected Chalmers have named their wine appassimento. Sagrantino has been made as a passito wine for thousands of years - in fact the style is much older than the dry table wine from Sagrantino. This kind of sweet wine from a red grape creates an interesting mix of sweetness and tannin which is alluring and unique.
Made from naturally sun-dried grapes, this dessert wine has a pretty nose of dark plum and sweet spices. The complex palate is woodsy with cherry, bay leaf, bitter chocolate and orange rind and an alluring finish balancing drying tannin and sweetness.
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Extra Virgin Olive Oil 750ml Bottle
$30.00
From a mixed planting including Frantoio, Leccino, Pendolino and Verdale, every year the Chalmers family produce a small amount of estate grown cold pressed extra virgin olive oil.
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Extra Virgin Olive Oil 20L Drum
$250.00
From a mixed planting including Frantoio, Leccino, Pendolino and Verdale, every year the Chalmers family produce a small amount of estate grown cold pressed extra virgin olive oil.
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