Colmar Estate Winery

A few months ago the gorgeous Sarah from Love Swah posted on Facebook that her parents had just won an award for their wine. How exciting is that – parents that own a vineyard, an award-winning vineyard! I had never heard of Colmar Estate but I am a huge fan of cool climate wines so got in touch to try some of their wine.

Bill and Jane Shrapnels’ is a delightful story; a trip through Alsace over thirty years ago inspired them to seek out vineyards in Australia where they could grow similar varieties and make premium wines. They finally found the site a few years ago and recently released Colmar Estate wines with much success, winning a number of trophies in the 2015 NSW Wine Awards and Orange Wine Show.

 

I tasted a few wines from the portfolio and overall what struck me was how pure, crisp and fresh the wines are. Here are my brief notes:

2015 Colmar Estate Riesling

Aromas of orange blossom, tangy lime cordial and some mineral talc notes. On the palate the wine is super concentrated with all the flavours of a summery citrus salad (lime, lemon, grapefruit intermingling), with a sherbetty acid and a long long finish. 

2015 Colmar Estate Single Vineyard Riesling

The nose is more delicate than the estate riesling with subtle floral hints, a touch of musk and again some talc/chalk notes. On the palate these is a really distinct lime juice flavour with tart, green apple acidity. The wine has a really linear structure and is showing great ageing potential.

2015 ‘Le Moche’

A blend of Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Gris; the wine has aromas of rosewater and apple blossom with some spicy ginger and rockmelon. The palate is quite rich and broad with a hint of sweetness and a slightly grippy finish that suggests maybe some skin contact. 

 

Eager to know more about the winery, I asked Bill a few questions about how Colmar Estate came to be.

Australia has so many beautiful wine regions, what was it about Orange in NSW that particularly drew you?

We had long dreamt of owning a vineyard and making great wine but in the 1990s the options in New South Wales appeared limited. However, when a 1997 Orange chardonnay won a major award in Europe it sparked our interest. We bought cases of that wine and were very impressed by how it developed slowly and well in the bottle, in contrast to most of the chardonnays being produced at the time. So we began to investigate the fledgling Orange region and soon became very excited about the prospects for making fine wine. 

When you purchased the Colmar Estate vineyard, it wasn’t planted with the same varieties you produce wine from now. Can you tell me a little about the process of grafting?

Orange is a fascinating region because of the wide variations in altitude and therefore temperature across the district. The vineyards around 600 metres elevation are ideal for the traditional red varieties whereas the high, cool vineyards are best suited to white varieties and Pinot Noir. When we bought our vineyard there were blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz, which had struggled to ripen in our elevation of 980 metres. So the idea of grafting these to white varieties and Pinot Noir was really a no-brainer.

The process of grafting converts a vine from one variety to another. Put simply, the top of the old vine is cut off and the new variety is stuck in its place. Even though the roots of the old variety remain in place the fruit borne by the vine is that of the new variety. This process enables the grower to get a full crop of the new variety after two years, a much quicker process than planting new vines. We converted Cabernet to Pinot Noir, Merlot to Chardonnay and Shiraz to Pinot Gris. Now the vineyard is entirely planted to varieties that are ideally suited to our high, cool site.

You have had some great success in recent wine shows, so soon after purchasing the vineyards. What do you hope to achieve with your wines in the future?

Yes, our wines have been awarded five trophies in our first two vintages, which was way beyond our expectations. This has taught us that our vineyard has the potential to produce excellent wines; our job now is to realise that potential and that relies on producing the best possible fruit for our winemakers to work with. Each year we assess the performance of each block in the vineyard and then consider how we can improve it. We may decide that yields need to come down or that a different pruning technique could produce better results. We observe, learn and change.

We also maintain a regular dialogue with our winemakers, Chris Derrez and Lucy Maddox, about the type of wines we want to produce. For example, we aren’t excited by most of the Pinot Gris wines made in Australia – they are just simple and fruity. We have encouraged our winemakers to emulate the complex Pinot Gris styles found in Alsace. If you know what the target is one day you just might hit it. 

In your ‘other life’ you are a well-respected nutritionist and published author. There is a lot of negative press around Australia’s drinking culture. What part does wine play in your healthy lifestyle?

I have reviewed the literature on alcohol and health at length and this certainly informs my approach to both running a wine business and to my personal enjoyment of wine. There are no secrets here – wine consumed in moderation enriches a meal, promotes conviviality and is consistent with good health. We enjoy wine with our meal every night, but almost never during the day. 

Needless to say, excess consumption of any alcoholic beverage is not good for health and our body sends us a message every time this happens – it’s called a hangover.