Nebbiolo Benchmark Pack

The perfect introduction to Nebbiolo from three benchmark Australian producers!

Three Pack contains 1 bottle each of the following :

• Lambert Wines Nebbiolo 2023
• Traviarti Black Springs Nebbiolo 2023
• Jasper Hill Georgia’s Paddock Nebbiolo 2023

Lambert Wines Yarra Valley Nebbiolo 2023

Lambert’s Nebbiolo block sits halfway up Denton’s northwestern slope, catching all available sunshine. There are six acres planted to a patchwork of six clones; Mat 3 accounts for half the acreage, with the balance comprising K6, Mat 9, 10, 230 and 111. The soils here—granitic sand over granite bedrock—provide a unique terroir for the Yarra and Nebbiolo, which in Luke’s words “always contributes plenty of bright red fruit and floral perfume along with gun-flint, graphite characters typical of a granitic soil profile”.

According to Luke, the “excellent growing season gave us a long and slow finish to the Nebbiolo harvest with very good hang time.” The wine itself is a touch riper, and the fruit flavours a darker shade of red compared to the most recent releases. Yet the song remains the same. Again, the Mat 3 clone brings the clout from its small berries and bunches, while the K6 layers in high-toned aromatics of anise, amaro bitter and dried red-flower prettiness.

Despite the musculature, there is no lack of poise and structure, which builds in the glass as the wine takes on air. It is perfumed and brooding with energy, mineral steel and long, complex length. When it all comes together—the right site, the right vine stock, and the variety’s mercurial talent—this is what great Nebbiolo from Australian soils look like. Luke recommends decanting if approached in the short-term.

Traviarti Black Springs Nebbiolo 2023

Very aromatic, with crushed roses, compote of English summer fruits, pickled beetroot and ruby grapefruit. Gorgeous open palate, shaped like the draw of a longbow, with a vein of acidity present from the first tangy red fruits to the close of finessed tannins. And it is tannic, but they are so beautiful and harmonised with lashings of fruit and baking spices you almost don’t notice. Seriously complex, the flavours begin to un-weave in the glass, with darker hedge fruits, tensioned by cherry cola, aniseed, fresh compost and citrus twang. Total bargain! Norris at Waters Wine Co

Ripe dark cherry, dark florals and raspberry lead an invitingly aromatic opening, with woodsmoke and earthy paperbark beneath. A swirl of the glass unlocks a saline savouriness along with tar and gentle star anise. The palate is packed with alluring ripe red florals, dark cherry, raspberry and ripe red apple before ribbons of stacked, powdery tannins constrict the mouth for a coiled, precise and floral finish. Classy and perfumed with excellent structure. Fermented in concrete and raised in ceramic for around 12 months. 94 points – Tom Kline, Decanter

Jasper Hill Georgia’s Paddock Nebbiolo 2023

From 1993 plantings in Georgia’s Paddock. A tiny production wine of great singularity and classicism, it’s hard to imagine such a fine nebbiolo coming from such an inhospitable a place as Heathcote. Fragrant with a compote of red fruits and sweet and savoury spice. Intense, with a wonderful attack of tannin, fruit and acid. The structure and shape really does define the wine, a sweeping plateau of precision and seduction. Notes of spice, turned earth and bitumen are subtle and will no doubt play a bigger role as the wine ages. Mineral tannins are interwoven with the fruit and are apparent right from the beginning, gaining in stature on the finish. Norris at Waters Wine Co

Some wines are ready to go on release, this isn’t. To get an inkling of what’s in store, bring out the decanter and a big bowled glass. The aromatics that emerge will be worth it: violet, rosehip, anise, red licorice, dark cherry and woodsmoke. It’s the start of a wonderful wine trip into the world of the aromatic, the savoury, the earthy and the mineral-flecked direct from ancient Cambrian soils, all under the stern (as yet) direction of steely tannins and bright acidity. Further ageing is definitely recommended. 95 points – Halliday Wine Companion