Mudgee’s most awarded winemaker, Jacob Stein, has released a new range of Robert Stein wines; wines designed with a touch of fun and quirkiness in mind. The new ‘Farm Series’ wines offer exceptional value and include the 2018 Robert Stein ‘Farm Series’ Riesling, 2018 Robert Stein ‘Farm Series’ Roséand 2018 Robert Stein ‘FarmSeries’ Semillon Riesling Gewürztraminer.
The new wines were inspired by the Stein family’s farm that surrounds the vineyard and winery. “The farm is my break from the winery. It’s a bit of a hobby that ensures my sanity, especially around vintage and bottling time,” quipped winemaker Jacob Stein.
“We breed a range of animals on the farm. From our free-range Berkshire pigs, Angus cattle, Dorper sheep to the ISA Brown chooks, it’s quite a menagerie and a real passion for me.”
Much of the produce from the farm is used in the winery’s restaurant, Pipeclay Pumphouse, which overlooks the vineyard, as well as for the Pipeclay Produce small goods.
“These new wines are from the near perfect 2018 vintage; a cold, dry winter followed by a relatively dry summer with lovely ripening conditions. While the crop levels were down we were still in a good position to make these new wines.”
The new Robert Stein ‘Farm Series’ Rosé is made from early harvested merlot and shiraz. The juice was left on skins for only an hour in the press to create a soft garnet pink colour and light tannins. The slow ferment was cool in order to preserve the fruit freshness, with four months on lees adding extra flavour, complexity and texture.
The Farm Series white blend follows a long tradition for Robert Stein Wines. Blended from semillon (58%), riesling (25%) and gewürztraminer (17%) it is a unique wine that, with the addition of gewürztraminer, has been made at the winery for 40 years. “We fermented the grapes on skins for seven days then pressed it off to finish fermenting on heavy lees,” explained Jacob. “We wanted to add texture and mouth-feel to this fresh style.”
Riesling continues to be a flagship wine for Robert Stein Wines. “We have access to some of the best parcels of riesling in the region. This allows us to make our Reserve Riesling right through to using some younger vineyard blocks in this new wine.
“We have kept the winemaking simple in order to showcase the region and variety; crushing and pressing extraction to extract the variety’s best expression and fruit character, with a long cool ferment that respects the riesling flavour.”
Distribution: Robert Stein Wines are distributed by Red+White and are available online at robertstein.com.au
- 2018 Robert Stein ‘Farm Series’ Riesling (Mudgee) $18.00
- 2018 Robert Stein ‘Farm Series’ Rosé (Mudgee) $18.00
- 2018 Robert Stein ‘Farm Series’ Semillon Riesling Gewürztraminer (Mudgee) $18.00