Located at Gumeracha in the Adelaide Hills, the site for the vineyard is unique. At an altitude of 450 - 480 metres, it is at the top of a steep and rocky slope with a north-north-westerly aspect. In utilising eight-foot posts with four sets of foliage wires, many aspects of the vineyard are reminiscent of those found in nebbiolo’s native Piedmont.
Colour
Bright cherry-ruby red
Bouquet
The intense bouquet shows notes of deep red roses, dark berry fruits, black cherry and spiced (cloves) citrus peel. Beautifully floral and perfumed.
Palate
The palate is tight and vibrant with firm, deeply structural acid balanced by sweet, dark fruit, and the floral notes follow through from the bouquet. The fine-grained tannins carry the flavours through to the long finish, with a characteristic Nebbiolo tannin/acid tweak and a hint of anise.
Service
Decant well ahead of service at 16 degrees Celsius (or aerate vigorously). Superb with a wide range of richly flavoured foods, particularly Piemontese regional specialties such as a rich, creamy risotto ai funghi or Tajarin al tartufo (fine egg based pasta with truffles). The 2006 ARRIVO Nebbiolo is also an excellent accompaniment to roasted saltbush mutton and ripe, hard cheeses such as Parmesan.
Cellaring
Great drinking now but the 2006 ARRIVO Nebbiolo will continue to develop in bottle for 8 to 10 + years and beyond.
Harvest
In 2006 the ARRIVO Nebbiolo was hand-harvested on April 11th. It seems like a long time ago now climatically speaking! The season broke very suddenly and quite early, bringing substantial rain, very cold nights, and a deep sense of shock to Adelaide Hills grape growers. The weather did improve for a brief period, but the forecast was dire so we made the impulsive decision to harvest - and within 24 hours we had all of our grapes safely in the winery. This was undoubtedly the right decision, as the following days brought hail and heavy rain that would almost certainly have destroyed the entire crop. The grapes were therefore harvested perhaps two weeks earlier than anticipated, but they were in perfect health and were physiologically ripe. Consequently the wines are intensely perfumed, and exhibit wonderful varietal clarity and remarkably tight acid structure. We really identify with Nick Stock’s description of our wines as having ‘deeply sprung acidity’.
Wine Making
ARRIVO winemaking is a compilation of traditional Piedmontese and well-defined high quality Australian red winemaking techniques. All the ARRIVO Nebbiolo is picked and fermented at the same time, in a series of contemporaneous ferments, each treated differently. As the ferments progress they are gradually recombined, and the timing and manner of this process is crucial to achieving the desired outcome in terms of optimal tannin extraction and colour stabilisation.