Since taking over the winemaking duties at his family winery, Jacob Stein has raised the bar in terms of quality for both the winery and the Mudgee region.
Two new wines, the 2009 Robert Stein Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz ($60) and 2012 Robert Stein Riesling ($40) were two of the wines that contributed to Jacob winning the Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine ‘Young Winemaker of the Year‘.
“We’ve have some success with our wines, particularly Riesling,” commented Jacob, who spent a number of vintages in Germany, including Rheingau and Rheinhessen. “Mudgee Riesling is proving to be well suited to Mudgee. The elevation and continental climate provide the cool nights during maturation, allowing better natural acid retention resulting in balanced, clean, and crisp wines.”
“There is a lot of work being done in the Mudgee region, both with winemaking and in the vineyards. The quality of the wines are certainly improving and Riesling may well prove to be the region’s flagship variety.”
The Robert Stein vineyard was established in 1976, with vines planted on the 75 hectares eight kilometres north of Mudgee. “2012 was a wet season, so the vineyard strategies, particularly the canopy management, was crucial to ensure a successful vintage for the Riesling.”
“On the other hand, 2009 was a lovely warm season ensuring a long, full ripening period for the Cabernet and the Shiraz. We whole-bunch fermented the Shiraz component, which allows greater skin contact and therefore building tannins, colour and flavours, with indigenous yeasts.”
Following fermentation the components were matured for 22 months in a combination of new French and American hogsheads to further build complexity and balance the bright Mudgee fruit prior to bottling without fining.
At 28 years of age the winemaking future of Robert Stein Wines is bright.
2009 Robert Stein Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz $60.00
- Trophy, ‘Best Red Wine Blend’, 2012 Australian Highlands Wine Show
- Gold Medal, Class 27, 2012 Australian Highlands Wine Show
2012 Robert Stein Riesling $40.00
- Trophy, ‘Most Outstanding White Wine of Show’, 2012 Mudgee Wine Show
- Trophy, ‘Best White Wine (not Chardonnay or Semillon)’, 2012 Mudgee Wine Show
- Gold Medal, Class 3, 2012 Mudgee Wine Show