Freeman Vineyards

Dear Wine Explorer,

Congratulations, you have discovered the home of two of Australia’s very different wines.

Freeman Vineyards was established in 1999 in the Hilltops region of New South Wales, a location largely overlooked by expansionist wine companies – other than the McWilliam family whose Barwang brand is well recognised. Best known for cherries, stone fruits and top quality merinos, the terroir of the Hilltops is also ideally suited to viticulture, especially the classic red varieties, cabernet sauvignon and shiraz.

But you don’t have to have a Charles Sturt University wine science degree to realise Australian drinkers don’t necessarily need another cool climate peppery shiraz label. That’s partly why I opted to plant two Italian-origin varieties – Rondinella and Corvina – the backbone grapes of Italy’s Amarone and Valpolicella wines.

The home block of the 40-hectare estate was propagated from just six cuttings of each variety sourced from the CSIRO’s grape breeding collection. Time and effort, trial and error, have combined to create this unusual red wine that is inspired both by Italian tradition and local Hilltops horticulture.

To create the Freeman Rondinella Corvina we dry a portion of the grapes in a neighbour’s solar-powered prune dehydrator. The grapes are layered on racks and gently heated in air tunnels at 40C for three days, a process that concentrates flavours and modifies the tannin structure of the seeds. The dried grapes are then added to the fermentation tanks. Subsequently, the wine is aged for 12 months in a combination of old French and American oak barriques.

The traditionalists of the Veneto probably wouldn’t approve, but I do hope this different savoury wine appeals to you.

Northern Italy also provided the inspiration for the new Freeman Fortuna 2006 our first white wine, which has just been rated one of the 'World's 100 Most Exciting Wine Finds' in the prestigious WINE REPORT 2008 by Tom Stevenson. Within months of its release is was chosen in the Top 40 of the 2006 NSW Wine Awards.

This unusual wine is a savoury, textural aromatic blend of several varieties – pinot gris, riesling, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, plus a dash of Aleatico. It is reminiscent of some of the multiple white varietal blends of the Alto Adige and Friuli, an ideal unconventional Italian-style white companion for the flagship Rondinella Corvina.

Both wines are available from the winery by Mail Order and will be couriered to our nominated Australian address FREIGHT FREE. Or contact your local fine wine stockist.

Cheers,
BRIAN FREEMAN