2018 Dott. Malvasia Istriana

Chalmers

Australia / Heathcote / Chalmers

Considered the finest quality member of the vast Malvasia family, Malvasia Istriana hails from Friuli where it makes fine, elegant, aromatic and mineral wines. It is mainly grown on clay/lime soils at low elevation in Friuli but it is said to produce the best results in the free-draining gravelly plains of Friuli Grave or on harder hillside sites where the variety’s natural vigour is tamed.
Chalmers introduced a selection of Malvasia Istriana to Australia in the late 1990s, at about the same time that Bruce and Jenni Chalmers were enjoying wines from the grape with Dr. Rod and Stefano de Pieri at his restaurant and dreaming up a revolution in Australian wine. The first table wine was made from this clone by the Chalmers family in 2005; a passito dessert wine followed in 2009. After more encouraging results from the grape in the 2013 #bucketwine project Chalmers decided to plant Bonfiglioli block because it focuses on six north eastern Italian varieties which are a deviation from the mostly Mediterranean flavour of the Chalmers vineyard to date.
Dott. Malvasia Istriana was hand-picked, chilled overnight and whole bunch-pressed into stainless steel for a cool, natural fermentation on fine solids. After a short maturation in stainless steel it was hand bottled on site at Merbein in the late winter.
2018 Malvasia Istriana is golden straw coloured and has delicate spiced apple, lemon and hay aromas with a crisp, mineral palate of fresh cut red apple, fine structure and pleasant acidity. – Kim Chalmers

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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.