2021 Chalmers Bush Vine Inzolia

Chalmers

Australia / Heathcote / Chalmers

Fruit for the 2021 Chalmers Bush Vine Inzolia was hand harvested on 19th February 2021 and pressed as whole bunches. The wine fermented naturally on full solids with indigenous yeast in a temperature-controlled vat. Maturation was on fine lees in stainless steel for eight months. The wine is unfined and unfiltered, with minimal sulphur addition.
Looking at the wine, pale golden hues shine from the glass. Immediate impressions are of attractive freshness and purity, opening up to fragrant and perfectly ripened peaches, extending to more exotic fruits like fig, quince and cantaloupe. You can start to identify the welcome intensity of fruit on show from the “dry-grown” management of the vineyard. Nice savoury edges develop and a slight toasty note follows, signs of natural ferment and extended lees contact. Intense yellow and orange blossom and preserved lemon lift the wine out of the glass along with delicate wild herbs, fennel seed and a lick of salt bush.
On the palate the same intensity and density of fruit carries through. It’s a moreish mouthful but not without definition. The chewy structure, a character typically associated with red wines, shows grapefruit pith and sweet cooking spices of clove and star anise with an orange-rind biscotti texture. It’s a confident and complex wine balanced with detail and persistence.
This wine drinks beautifully now with potential for ageing too. We look forward to seeing where this wine will go. Food pairing is versatile, from aromatic chicken to pumpkin and dried sage ravioli with burnt butter, rich shellfish fregola, or sticky Asian pork. – The Chalmers family

June, 2022

Campbell Mattinson

The Wine Front

94 points.

It’s a bit exciting, really, as a story. But the wine itself is better again.
This is full-on for character, in a great way. It’s just so generous and lively in both a fruit and non-fruit way. Quartz, stones, yellow stonefruit and quince-like characters charge towards woodsy spice, florals and toast. The flavours tumble over themselves, the mouthfeel keeps everything rolling, the alcohol gives it an attractive kick. There’s body to this white wine, substance, chew. This would slay them at the dinner table; it could easily stand robust food. Wow, we’ve got a live one here.

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About Chalmers

The Chalmers family was justly named 2014 Viticulturist of the Year by Gourmet Traveller WINE. Their commitment to innovation and excellence has made them a pivotal force in the Australian wine scene for more than 20 years. Bruce and Jenni began growing grapes in the 1980s, with their vineyard at Euston developing into one the largest and most diverse privately owned vineyards in the country. Their nursery business was responsible for importing a selection of around 70 new clones and varieties, many of which are now used in the production of Chalmers' Italian variety wines. Since selling the original vineyard in 2008 the family has established two new sites: one in Heathcote, henceforth responsible for all Chalmers wines, and one at Merbein where the family will continue to experiment with new varieties and clones. Very much a family concern, daughters Kim and Tennille are now driving this exciting business forward.

About

Kim studied at the University of Adelaide before joining the family business. She has been director at Chalmers Wines since 2005, managing operations from the vine to the wine list. In 2011 she was awarded an AgriFoods Skills Australia Overseas Fellowship, for which she wrote a paper entitled “Hot climate wine growing, making and marketing in Southern Italy and its application in Australia”. Kim's husband, winemaker Bart van Olphen completed the family team in 2011, a year after sister Tennille joined the business full time following a 10-year career in hospitality, most recently as a sommelier. The Chalmers sisters have been pivotal in turning the Australian Alternative Varieties Wine Show into a major event on the wine awards calendar. In 2015 they also spearheaded 21st Century Vino, an initiative to increase awareness and expertise in Italian vine varieties grown in Australia.