By John Rozentals.
Rebecca Willson officially bears the title of winemaker at Langehorne Creek’s Bremerton Wines, while her sister Lucy Willson wears the tag of marketing manager, but I reckon that the pair have a pretty equal say in most of the winery decisions.
They certainly share a sense of fun amid the otherwise serious, hard-working rigours of vintage time.
That much can be seen from the accompanying image, which shows the pair of them enjoying a lie-down in a vat of fermenting red grapes.
As the song goes, “girls just want to have fun”.
But as can be seen from the winemaking results, there’s a very serious side to their efforts as well.
Bremerton turns out a highly impressive, mostly incredibly modestly priced range of wines.
Rebecca and Lucy have just released the latest versions of their charming Silhouette and Signature ranges which retail for $17 and $22 respectively.
And you guessed who gets to be the signatory. Yes, it’s the sister with the winemaker’s title.
WINE REVIEWS
Bremerton 2018 Mollie & Merle Verdelho ($17): The name of this dry white honours the Willson sisters’ two grandmothers. Most Australian verdelho is grown either in the Swan Valley or a continent away in the Hunter Valley, but has been part of the Langhorne Creek viticultural scene for more than a century and a half. The wine is fresh, crisp and what I call racy. It would be a lovely wine to wash down half a dozen fresh oysters. And keep some aside for a main course of grilled white-fleshed fish.
Bremerton 2016 Selkirk Shiraz ($22): This robust dry red takes its name from the Scottish border town that was the ancestral home of the Willson family. Bremerton’s vineyards are located at Langhorne Creek, not that far east of McLaren Vale, home to some heroic red reds indeed. I reckon, though, especially from a food perspective, that reds such as this are more elegant than the Vale’s. Sure, it’s richly laden with spiciness and dark fruits and is certainly full-bodied but it also shows marked restraint.
WINE OF THE WEEK
Robert Stein 2018 Half-Dry Riesling ($35): I’d developing a serious liking for this slightly sweeter style of riesling. The touch of residual sugar in this Mudgee white acts as a beautiful foil for the high acidity that the wine carries and creates a sense of balance that most palates will find agreeable. Beneath all that is a powerful burst of lovely citrus flavour. I’m tempted to discard a food recommendation and use the wine as an aperitif.
