Sorrenberg is home to two of Australia’s greatest Bordeaux blends, a red and a white, and gamay.
Three hectares of biodynamically farmed and dry grown vines sit at an altitude of 560m and are surrounded by native forest. There is simply not a better example in Australia of what it means to be a tiny, family owned and sustainable wine producer of integrity, exceptional quality and unbelievable value.
Keppel Smith of Savaterre told me recently that he believed the Sauvignon Blanc Semillon is Australia’s best value white, “if ever I see it on a wine list, I look no further and drink it every time”.
Trying Sorrenberg’s Cabernet Sauvignon Blend for the first time was a revelation, with echoes of Pauillac on Bordeaux’s left bank, cementing my own view of Beechworth’s unsurpassed ability to produce the country’s best wines from the most diverse array of wine styles and varieties.
There is still a kind of contrariness to the region because despite Sorrenberg’s wonderful and original inspiration, few other producers identify with the Bordeaux wine style. To the best of my knowledge, only Adrian Rodda of Rodda wines crafts another Bordeaux style red, and it too is wonderful. It really is a go your own way, follow your instincts kind of place.
The site
The vineyards have been biodynamically farmed since 2000 and were certified in 2008. It’s a largely granitic site, with some mudstone, and has been dry farmed for over 15 years, which is a remarkable achievement given the porosity of the soils and, through that time period, surviving one of the worst droughts in history. The surrounding forest enables a cooling effect at night, and the wines display an aromatic intensity to match the richness and intensity of the fruit profiles.
Not just Bordeaux
Sorrenberg isn’t just Bordeaux. Chardonnay was amongst the original plantings and stylistically has stuck to its guns, old school Burgundy inspiration. Wild ferments, full malo, 30% new French oak and lees stirring. It’s all so simple, the efforts of painstaking viticulture masked by its generosity, complexity and effortless flow.
And in keeping with our French theme; gamay. Sorrenberg’s gamay sits alongside By Farr’s and Sierra Reed’s ‘Love’ Gamay, as the finest in Australia and one of Beechworth’s most cultish and collectable wines. This is serious, serious stuff. Voluminous and complex, with Sorenberg’s signature generosity and effortless flow. It’s deep and intense, no whole bunch, no carbonic maceration, just gorgeous pristine fruit, with the added spine of 10% pinot noir.
Francophiles
Australia has long had an affiliation with France, indeed as a nation we were blooded in World War One, a singular time in our history where we made such a significant and decisive contribution.
Sorrenberg’s wines are an echo of some of France’s greatest and most memorable wines, a kind of homage. Where they differ, is that extra layer of fleshy generosity, soaring aromatics and long gentle tannins. The Australian sun has woven its own special magic. They are also a testament to the small family operation, going it alone and conjuring up some of the most magnificent and affordable fine wines Australia has to offer.
90% Gamay. 10% pinot noir. Hand-picked, cold soaked and wild fermented with a little bit of whole berry. Two weeks on skins and pressed to old French oak barrels for 11 months. Gorgeous from the get-go, a wine you can smell across the room as it’s being poured. Cherry, damson plum, raspberry, strawberry, cassis, clove, mixed florals and compost. Voluminoius, billowing palate and phenomenally complex, so gamay, yet like nothing I’ve tasted before. Terrific tension, of tangy and sweet fruit, dark tones and light, and for all its ease of flowing flavour, there’s tautness and grip and a lovely acid drive. A wonderful wine, utterly unique and a veritable bargain.
Sorrenberg Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc Merlot 2024
Very Bordeaux, very Pauliac, very bloody excellent. Signature aromatics, you just want to keep your nose in the glass. Cassis, dark cherry, pencil shavings, plum, bay leaf, woodsmoke and sweet earth. Generous, full flavoured and detailed. Plush and incisive, with terrific energy and flow, the tannins grainy, a piqued acidity. Effortless power, it’s so richly flavoured, yet drinks so cooly, a study of composure and refinement. Balanced, nothing at all out of place and the finish long and mineral. Alongside Wantirna, Australia’s finest Bordeaux style red.
