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
Dense, bright ruby-garnet red.
Bouquet
The bouquet is deep and extremely complex with intense aromas of black fruits, fresh red roses, anise, mocha and a hint of vanilla. Ethereal and high-toned, the 2006 ARRIVO Nebbiolo Lunga Macerazione has tremendous purity of Nebbiolo character.
Palate
The palate is full, rich and textured from the unique tannin structure that results from the long maceration. We refer to them as ‘dynamic’ tannins, - tannins that explore the interactions between different surfaces in your mouth. They also appear almost ‘sweet’, yet the long palate finishes unmistakably dry and savoury with lingering notes of preserved orange peel and anise.
Service
Decant well ahead of service (or aerate vigorously), at 15-16 degrees Celsius. Superb with a wide range of richly flavoured foods, particularly Piemontese regional specialties such as: Pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans in bianco), Brasato al Barolo (beef braised in Nebbiolo), Tajarin al tartufo (fine egg based pasta with truffles) and mature, hard cheeses.
Cellaring
Great drinking now but the 2006 ARRIVO Nebbiolo Lunga Mazcerazione will continue to develop in bottle for 8 to 12 + 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 Australia 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 stabilization. Throughout much of the 20th century, producers in the Langhe kept their Barolo and Barbaresco wines for a long period in contact with the grape skins, - for 2 months or more, effectively giving them a long maceration (lunga macerazione). The ARRIVO Nebbiolo Lunga Macerazione pays homage to this great Piedmontese tradition, spending 72 days ‘on skins’, making it almost certainly the last red wine to be pressed in Australia each vintage.