August 2022 Update

Welcome to our St Maur newsletter for August 2022. In this newsletter:

• August 2022 Update
• Someone Truly Exceptional – Introducing Mara
• Current Cellar Door Hours
• Latest Lot 41 Release

August 2022 Update

It’s been an interesting year to say the least and preparing this newsletter has filled me with different emotions.

It’s with regret that I have to let you know that our faithful companion Siena, passed in the last weeks. Siena had been dealing with mobility issues as a result of her age. She was greatly compromised in the end and we took the difficult decision to let her pass. She was just over 12 years old.

Many of our members and visitors loved seeing Siena when visiting St Maur. We will miss her company very much, but remember her fondly.

With changes to staff we have adjusted our cellar door hours – see below for the current hours. We have also recently appointed some new staff in the kitchen. This means we will soon resume with our Monthly Members’ Lunches in the Members’ Private Dining Room, so keep an eye out for our email invitations to these popular events.

We have a new release of our 2022 Lot 41 Pinot Noir Rose (our only wine from the 2022 vintage) and we also launch a limited release of a new premium Pinot Noir offer that’s close to our hearts. See below for more details on these.

Someone Truly Exceptional – Introducing Mara

Today, I want to introduce you to a member of our family who was a quiet, but indispensable part of life and business. My mother, Mara passed in 2016 and her absence is still greatly felt, and our memories of her are still strong.

Loved by family and all those who came to know her, mum stood side by side with dad, in family, business and agriculture. Regardless of the circumstance, mum was the solid foundation all the family could rely on.

Her strong and unwavering character was tempered by her gentle nature. These were qualities that protected and inspired the family through droughts and the challenges of agriculture. They were also the constant that would acknowledge and celebrate successes, no matter how big or small.

Mum was incredibly pragmatic and hands on. She spent much time in the vineyard, tending the vines as they grew and matured. Not one to look for the spotlight, she went about her business quietly, but with great determination and resolve. She would bring calm to the table through her love of food, family and farm.

It has always been my intention for St Maur to produce an exceptional wine that would sit above our other wines. It had to be remarkable, with all of the parts of the winemaking process aligning, and our vines reaching a level of maturity that produces something truly special.

Over the years, we’ve gained a little bit of knowledge in viticulture and winemaking. It has taken some time since releasing our first vintage in 2003, and after honing our expertise, we are ready to release a wine that I think is worthy of this position.

Produced as part of the 2018 vintage, a year when everything aligned, we have bottled a limited release of what will become our flagship wine.

We could launch the wine under the St Maur Lot 41 label as a special release, reserve, or chairman’s selection, but that would be like many other vineyards, and sell the wine short.

So, in keeping with our St Maur values and to honour a remarkable woman, I have made the decision to name the wine after the family’s matriarch, Mara.

Just as Mara was an exceptional wife, mother and partner, so is our wine that honours her name. We will only produce the Mara label when the vintage and circumstance befits her legacy and in a very limited release.

Everything about our Mara is truly unique and distinctive.

It starts in the vineyard with the grapes used to make our Mara, selected from a unique parcel in the vineyard. If a vintage shows the climate to be kind, gently nurturing the vines and producing grapes deserving of the label, we reserve them with the intention of producing a limited quantity of our Mara label.

We harvest at the optimum time, hand picking the grapes, selecting only the best clusters and setting them apart. In producing Mara, half of the grapes undergo carbonic maceration and half are hand plunged and open fermented.

Carbonic maceration is a technique where whole bunches of grapes are placed in an oxygen free tank. Carbon dioxide is added, transforming small amounts of malic acid and sugars in the grapes to alcohol and other organic compounds. The grapes literally break out of their skins, releasing their juice, resulting in a wine with lower tannins and acidity but high in fruit notes. The remining half of our grapes are de-stemmed and then crushed immediately, minimising oxidation and promoting the elegance of the pinot noir grapes.

The crush is left to ferment for two weeks (we include some whole bunches in the ferment to add complexity) with little intervention over this period, other than hand plunging. The ferment is then pressed to extract the best from the crush, as gently as possible to achieve Mara’s unique character.

The wine from the two methods are then combined and matured in French Oak barrels for an extended period of almost two years, to develop the intensity and palate. The wine is then transferred into bottles and is now resting further in the cellar.

If you’re interested in Mara, drop me an email – info@stmaurwines.com.au or call (02) 4883 4401 or visit the cellar door – we can arrange delivery for members.

I hope that we can host an event to launch the wine to our Members in the Members’ Private Dining Room in the near future. The date for the event has not been set at the moment, but I will keep you informed as soon as we confirm it.

Current Cellar Door Hours

We’ve settled into new Cellar Door hours and we are now open Saturday, Sunday and Monday, from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm.  Please note that we are not taking group tastings at the moment. 

We still recommend you contact the Cellar Door ahead of your visit so we can ensure the best experience for you. Contact us by email – info@stmaurwines.com.au or call (02) 4883 4401. We hope to see our members soon.

Latest Lot 41 Release

The last year has been very trying for vineyards in the highlands, with the 2022 vintage greatly affected by weather. An abundance of rain and limited sunshine resulted in low sugar in our (and most highlands vineyards’) fruit.

Despite this challenge, we recently bottled our St Maur Lot 41 2022 Pinot Noir Rose – its available now and drinking very well. The Lot 41 2022 Pinot Noir Rose is the only wine we have produced from the 2022 vintage. It was picked early and is available in a very limited quantity. We recommend you order now to avoid the disappointment of missing out on the only wine from the 2022 vintage.

The 2022 Pinot Noir Rosé is a cool climate gem with a nose full of bright fruit – cherries and raspberries dominate, over hints of strawberry. Clean and crisp on the palate, the wine finishes light and dry. Serve chilled and drink now.

I am looking forward to our Monthly Members’ Lunches commencing again and we will let you know when the next events will take place by email soon. If you’re interested in the Limited Release Mara 2018 Pinot Noir or the Lot 41 2022 Pinot Noir Rose can I recommend you get in early and order you bottles now as both wines are available in very limited quantities.

For the moment, i trust you all continue to be safe and take care.

With kind regards,

Marco

This post was written by St Maur Wines