By John Rozentals.
Mudgee’s Robert Stein Wines has introduced a new, funkily packaged range of wines that celebrates the property’s livestock.
Jacob Stein … “The farm is my break from the winery.” Image: A Davenport.
The range includes the Robert Stein 2018 Farm Series Riesling, 2018 Farm Series Rosé and 2018 Farm Series Semillon Riesling Gewurztraminer, with all three retailing for $18.
The new wines were inspired by the 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,” said 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.”
WINE REVIEWS
Robert Stein 2018 Farm Series Rosé ($18): I’m an unashamed fan of this dry, lightish style of rosé that seems to be emerging from all over the place in Australia. They have a fresh, simple fruitiness that goes just so well with the lifestyle and climate we enjoy for so much of the time in so much of Australia. This version is made from early-harvested merlot and shiraz, and has been fermented on skins for just long enough to give the wine a lovely blush of pink.
Robert Stein 2018 Farm Series Semillon Riesling Gewurztraminer ($18): The fragrant Gewurztraminer variety dominates this white blend despite being third in the pecking order, and you’d have to be a great fan of its intense, perfumed flavours to really enjoy this wine. I confess that I’m not in that category but can see that many imbibers would be, and it has the spiciness to go very well with Thai food.
WINE OF THE WEEK
Robert Stein 2018 Farm Series Riesling ($18): Jacob’s German forebear Johann Stein played a significant role in introducing riesling vines to Australia and Jacob has certainly confounded me by elevating the status of this delicate white variety so much in the warm red-dominated climate of Mudgee. The wines produced from the variety, and exemplified here, are a refreshing citrusy joy. They can be enjoyed on their own and as accompaniment to dishes such as fresh garden salads, white-fleshed fish and oysters. Buy more of wines such as this, and less Kiwi sauvignon blanc. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the difference.
