Description
About GilGraves Wines
In 2011 we started developing the vineyard, planting four varieties of vines, shiraz, Malbec, Sangiovese and Viognier. We now have 2550 vines. We consider nature herself to be the author of wine, hence we employed minimal intervention principles from the beginning with the dorper sheep being responsible for weed control.
Just as in food we believe in the principle of nothing added nothing lost. We are uniting the wine growing and winemaking low intervention principles to produce authentic soulful wines.
In March 2017, 2018, 2019 2020 and 2021 we picked our own GilGraves Estate grapes, Shiraz, Sangiovese and Malbec and a small amount of Viognier.
In 2018, 2019 and 2020 we decided to make a Field Blend of Shiraz/Malbec/ Sangiovese. The 2019 GilGraves Field Blend is very popular and is still available. This is a generous and plush wine with well developed structure, met with an abundance of fruit. It has a deep red hue with a well rounded style with rich spice plum characteristics. This is a full vineyard, true field blend style, with one pick of the entire vineyard fermented together. In 2019 we yielded 3 tonne at an average baume of approximately 12.9. Fruit was destemmed and fermented in an open top fermenter, utilising available native yeasts only. Pressed after 18 days, settled and moved to seasoned oak barrels for maturating. Malolactic ferment in spring, racked and sulphured with minimal sulphur in February and bottled in February.
For a field blend, this is exquisitely balanced regarding ripeness…nothing too over nor under ripe in the mix. A challenge to get right, but 19 was a great year for us with a good yield.
Tim form Boomtown said “Validation of the hard work in the vines to this point, and the promise of a bright future for harvests still to come”
The GilGraves Cabernet Sauvignon Rose 2019 and 2020 sold out earlier this year, with the 2021 vintage being released currently. The Cabernet Sauvignon is grown on sedimentary soils south of the Heathcote G.I.
The GilGraves 2020 Sangiovese, again made by Tim from Boomtown is drinking very well. The grapes are from the Chalmers family on the Cambrian soils in Heathcote. Two tonne of fruit was handpicked in March 2020 from Chalmers vineyard, Colbinabbin, at a baume of 12.6. This fruit was destemmed without crushing and transferred into an open pot fermenter. Wild yeast ferment, with no additions during ferment. Fermentation took 3 weeks in total. The fruit was then pressed and settled of gross lees in tanks and transferred to seasoned french oak when dry. Malolactic fermentation finished in October and the wine was racked in December, with a small sulphur addition and bottled in February of 2021.
A youthful expression of Sangiovese, with a bright red hue and palate of raspberry and subtle spice draped along a structure of firm, fine tannin. Not too ripe, not too extracted. A sweet/savoury balance that is too easy to enjoy.
GilGraves added Viognier to the portfolio in 2019, which sold out quickly. The 2020 Viognier is a fresh crunchy wine with honeysuckle fruit flavour. The 2021 vintage will be available in 2022.
This year saw an exciting addition to the GilGraves wine varietals. We purchased 2 tone of Shiraz from a vineyard in Metcalfe central Victoria and made a Carbonic Shiraz Beaujolais style wine. The grapes were esteemed and fermented as whole berries in a tank with CO2 and sealed. This is a process called carbonic maceration. We have called this wine Easy Red because all reports indicate its “so easy to drink” chilled or room temperature any season. We recommend drinking this wine chilled. The subtle palate displays berry and cherries fruit characteristics and is simply delicious!
GilGraves wines are skillfully crafted by Tim at Boomtown in Castlemaine.
