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Available by the dozen
Vincenzo Conte immigrated to Australia in 1952, sowing Shiraz and Mataro vines on a property just outside of Shepparton. His son took over management of the precious low yielding vineyard until 2003, when the site came to the attention of a seasoned old salt with a deep penchant for small batch, Rhone varietal wines. Keith Brien makes old world styles, with a view to bottle development of each vintage before release. The powerful mouthfilling richness and velvet textures are complemented by a length of deep, fine tannins, the fruit of cosseted, unirrigated old vines. Keith Brien has been a winemaker for decades, establishing his own label under the Silver Wings moniker. Brien continues to pursue his passion for making long lived, superior vineyard wines, he is consumed by his love for the old vine styles of Valley Rhone, Shiraz, Mourverdre and Grenache, assembling the noble trio into exquisite wines of rich, spicy rich flavours supported by deep and delicious, tannic complexities. Mataro is harvested off the Vincenzo Conte block in Shepparton and treated to macerations for maximal extract of colour, flavour and tannin. The ferments are transferred to a selection of seasoned and new French and American oak hogsheads for malolactic and extended maturation.
TASTING NOTESDeep garnet red. Violets and bramble are supported by a seasoning of gamey spice notes, milled peppercorn and clove. A fragrant red cherry palate, underpinned by layers of savoury fruit characters, black olive, leather and thyme. An earthy, pastoral style on a framework of firm, sleek tannins and supple, disciplined cinnamon oak, the perfect accompaniement to a length of flame grilled, wild boar snags. |
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A former commercial pilot, Keith Brien gave up his career in the clouds to start a new life from the ground up
Keith trained with prestigious winemakers in the Burgundy commune of Pommard, founding the Cleveland wineworks on the Macedon Ranges in 1989. He continues to observe, teach and participate in viticultural and winemaking experiences throughout the world. Brien quickly learned that a combination of the most up to date technology and traditional practices produce the finest wines. He also learned that as vines grow older, they begin to struggle and produce lesser yields of more expressive grapes. The fruit of Old Vines is highly prized because of its intensity and depth of character, a quality for which there is no substitute in the art of winemaking. The fruit for the Old Vines Vincenzo range comes from plantings established in the early 1960s. The gnarled, fully mature vines show a natural suitability to the rugged soils and warm climate. Keith Brien»
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