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About Flynn's Wines
Greg and Natala searched for 18 months looking at 45 properties before deciding on the current Flynns Wines vineyard site which is located 13kms north of the Heathcote township on a strip of the red cambrian period soil that is sort after for vineyard establishment.
We started establishing the vineyard from scratch in 1998. Undertaking all the work ourselves we put in 2000 trellising posts, strained 50kms of trellis wire and built a barn that would eventually be the winery. We have now been here 11 years!
We have now gained a grass roots following for our wines particularly from the many visitors we have welcomed through cellar door and by consistently providing our customers with quality wines that reflect individuality and Heathcote regional characteristics. Its also very encouraging to receive some recognition by industry leaders like James Halliday in his 2008 Wine Companion (5 out of 5 stars for the winery and one of the ten best new wineries).
We are a little unusual in the current wine industry because we grow grapes, make the wine and sell the wine ourselves through Cellar Door and good independent restaurants retailers across Australia. The majority of vineyards will only undertake one or two of these areas. But we think this gives us better control of the process from start to finish.
Three years ago we built the Heathcotean Bistro which is attached to the winery, so that we could offer visitors to the Cellar Door a great wine, food, and Heathcote experience.
Have a tasting at cellar door with the winemaker before enjoying the gourmet menu using quality fresh ingredients sourced from our own kitchen garden, orchard and local producers which is matched to wines that compliment the food. The wine list also includes our own wines, both current and back vintages and other domestic and international wines.
Flynn's Wines Current Vintages
2008 LEWISROAD SHIRAZ REVIEW
Reviewed on Nicks the wine Merchant website:
"This Heathcote Shiraz includes a 5% Viognier compinent which accounts for the permed nature of the nose. Maturation took place in a combination of French and American oak barriques for 10 months. Deep near opaque dark crimson mauve colour with crimson mauve hue. Perfumed aromas of dark plum, cherry and violets followed by some spicy cedar end notes. Medium weight, the palate displays elegant flavours of dark plum, spice and cedar followed by a touch of earth. Fine grained tannins. Dry finish with aftertaste of plum, cedar and spice.
Cellar 3-4 years (2013-2014).
Alc 13.9%"
www.nicks.com.au/Product/View/2008-Flynns-Wines-Lewis-Road-Shiraz/484274
JAMES HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION 2010
MC Heathcote Shiraz 2007 - 5 glasses and 94/100
Has more briary/savoury elements than prior releases, giving it a certain gravitas; the palate is medium- to full-bodied, balancing blackberry, licorice, spice and pepper against savoury, lingering tannins.
14.2% RATING 94 DRINK 2027
Heathcote Sangiovese 2006 - 94/100
This wine has interesting aromas of spice and leather alongside more traditional sour cherry/red cherry; the fruit flavours have similar nuances, the tannins nicely balanced and intergrated. Australian Sangiovese doesn't come much better than this.
13.7% RATING 94 DRINK 2015
MC Heathcote Shiraz 2006 - 4.5 glasses and 91/100
Fragrant red and black fruit aromas are followed by an unexpectedly vociferous palate, tangy and quiet tanic. MC stands for multi clone, not maceration carbonique
15.3% RATING 91 DRINK 2020
BOUTIQUE WINE AWARDS 2009
MC Heathcote Shiraz 2006
Bronze Medal 48.5 points
FLYNNS WINES 2006 SANGIOVESE
HALLIDAY'S 5 EMBLEMATIC AUSTRALIAN WINES
"This wine has interesting aromas of spice and leather alongside more traditional sour cherry/red cherry; the fruit flavours have similar nuances, the tannins nicely balanced and intergrated. Australian sangiovese doesn't come much better than this."
RATING: 94 DRINK: 2015
James Halliday, The Weekend Australian Magazine, Saturday 18th April 2009
Ten of the best new wineries
"Greg Flynn and his wife Natala are relative newcomers to Heathcote, planting vines on the vivid red Cambrian soil, and letting that soil do its magic on shiraz (principally), plus sangiovese, cabernet merlot and viognier. For good measure, the wines are moderately priced as well."
James Halliday, James Halliday Wine Companion 2008 Edition
The new vintage 2007 reds are now available and 2008 whites.
The 2007 vintage has produced some good quality, more elegant wines with plenty of cellaring potential.
View Flynn's Wines current vintages below:
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Flynns Wines 2009 Verdelho : $25
Aroma: Tropical fruit, citrus and honeysuckle
Palate: Mouth filling, medium dry, lingering finish
Wine Making: This wine was made from a small parcel of hand picked fruit. To increase the complexity and texture of this vibrant and fruit driven wine, we barrel fermented approximately 20% of the wine and aged it for a short time in new French oak barriques. A variety not known for ageing, this Verdelho's aroma and depth of palate develops very well with up to 3 years cellaring.
Alc: 12.6% Cellaring approx up to 3 years.
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Flynns Wines 2008 Viognier - SOLD OUT : $
Aroma: Spiceness, dried apricot, butter and a touch of pineapple
Palate: Fruit characters carry to the palate, savoury, lingering finish
Wine Making: This wine is made form a small batch of hand picked fruit which has been partially fermented in new French oak.
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Flynns Wines 2007 Sangiovese - SOLD OUT : $33
Aroma: Cherry, mineral and violets
Palate: Sour cherry and red fruit
Wine Making: Aged for 14 months in French oak barriques. The subtle aroma and palate make this an excellent accompaniment to food. This wine was made using traditional wine making methods of hand picked fruit, hand plunged caps and basket pressed. |
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Flynns Wines 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot : $30
Aroma: Herbaceous, aroma of wild berries, mulberry and blackcurrant
Palate: Elegant style with good tannin acid balance
Wine Making: The cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot were basket pressed and aged seperately for 14 months in French oak barriques till blending. This is a limited release wine, which displays the unique qualities of the Heathcote region.
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Flynns Wines 2007 MC Shiraz : $34
Aroma: Slight mint, cherry, oak and pepper
Palate: Mild tannin, spice and pepper with lingering finish
Wine Making: MC Stands for Multi Clone. When establishing our vineyard we planted a number of different clones with the aim to increase the complexity of the final blend. This wine was made using traditional wine making methods of hand picked fruit, hand plunged caps and basket pressed. It was aged for 14 months in a combination of 40% new American and French oak barriques |
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Flynns Wines Lewis Road 2008 Shiraz Viognier : $20
The 2008 vintage was a little cooler with some welcome rain produced elegant wines with plenty of fruit on the aroma and palate. Our Lewis Road Shiraz has had the addition of 5 % Viognier (the white grape) this gives a more lifted floral aromatics of cherry, spiciness and a touch of white pepper. The mouth filling palate is medium bodied with soft tannins and a lingering after taste. Cellar for approx 4 years. Or enjoy it now with a Fettuccine of pancetta, spinach and white truffle oil. |
Flynn's Wines Bistro
The bistro has a seasonal menu created by local chef Wendy White and Natala, inspired by fresh produce from our kitchen garden, orchard and local producers. Each dish is matched to a selected wine list of Flynns Wines and local, domestic and international wines. The bistro and courtyard has great views looking over the vines, Mt Ida and Mt Camel in the distance. A couple in for lunch recently, live in France and said "our place was like being in Provence!"
Family friendly, wheelchair access.
" A comfy little place serving food with big city flair, using local produce, and home- grown fruits and veggies" Ralph-Kyte Powell
FUNCTIONS - We cater for functions e.g. wine groups including vineyard tours and tastings with the winemaker, engagement parties, corporate days, family get togethers, cocktail style or seated dining. Please contact Natala and Helen for any of your function requirements or special arrangements.
KITCHEN GARDEN and BISTRO
23.8.10
We bought 2 new chooks last week, one of them lasted a day before she did a disappearing act, very sad! Still harvesting citrus and more citrus, making cordial, cakes, marmalade with the harvest. The broad beans are finally growing well with the warm sun and spring just around the corner. Out snow peas which Zoe planted weeks ago are 1m high now and almost flowering.
10.8.10
Rain, rain and more rain, we have not seen this sort of weather for years. The vege patch is not doing much as the soils are too wet and cold with exception the herbs, citrus, silverbeet and roquette are thriving. The poor chooks had a scare with Mr fox earlier in the week but lucky our Kelpie Lara was on the job and scared him away for now, needless to say the girls did not lay any eggs that day!
Wendy is baking our French lemon and lime zesty tart again this weekend which sells out very quickly for it is so yummy!
27.7.10
So many citrus coming out of the garden, what a nice problem to have. Dad brings me over a bag of grapefruit each morning off the tree outside his window. We have them for sale in the bistro 3 for $2, very sweet, chemical free and super fresh. The new seeds and seedlings recently planted are very slow growing for despite the lovely sunny days it is really cold, especially the nights. Wendy our chef is baking our popular rhubarb and coconut cake this weekend, it is very yummy and made with the tender baby rhubarb stalks from our vege patch. She is also baking old fashioned jam drops using our own cherry plum jam, Zoe and I will have to sneak a few .
23.6.10
The citrus is sooo.. lovely. Baby Bonnie and I made a French lemon and lime tart for the bistro today, really zingy from the fresh produce. Planting brocolli and broad beans this week. Still weeding and weeding, our garden is very big! Need to buy some more chooks, need more eggs. Wendy our chef is gearing up for a busy weekend with lots and lots of lamb shanks to cook into the tender sweet meat for our lamb shank and shiraz special. Book now as we are pretty busy!
Natala
5.6.10
We now have baby Bonnie Flynn in our family, a beautiful baby girl born on the 15.5.10. She is fitting into vineyard life well. We harvested the rest of our quinces today, they were collected in the bottom of her pram on our walk. I have started working on the vegetable garden again, planting lettuce and snow peas and tidying weeds and more weeds. The oranges, lemons and grapefruit are all ripening well and you will see some of these items on our menu in creative forms. Made a great orange cake today!
Chooks are laying beautiful eggs for our baking.
5.5.10
Lots of weeding in the garden after the recent rains. Our herbs and citrus continue to flourish. Self sown sunflowers from Zoe's summer plantings our now blooming and look so beautiful. The cool weather is now affecting the basil, so we have been picking it madly and making pesto. Harvested our pomegranites today, what gorgeous colourful fruit. Picked some chestnuts and quinces also, yet to think of what to create with them yet. I am planning a day at a time with baby Flynn due next week!
Natala
28.4.10
Beautiful peppers, limes, rhubarb and herbs coming out of the garden this week. It won't be long before our oranges and grapefruit is ready also. Home grown citrus is so aromatic and flavoursome. The chooks continue to clean up the garden for me of bugs.
Natala
19.4.10
While Greg and Natala have had a mini break before the arrival of baby Flynn.... what a weekend we have had tasting some of the dishes that Jamie is preparing for the Winter Menu. We got to taste a lime tart with double thick cream. Yum Yum!!! especially with lime zest off the limes from the kitchen garden. Also he made a lovely lamb and onion marmalade ravioli with a carrot puree, the only thing that was missing was a glass of matching MC shiraz!!
Helen
6.4.10
What a busy Easter! Great to see so many of our mail list customers again and new visitors to the Heathcote Region. The garden is ripening some beautiful citrus at the moment, limes, oranges, lemons and the sweetest grapefruit you will ever taste. The herbs look great and baby long red peppers are in abundance. The rest of the garden is winding down, the chooks have been grazing the garden eating up the bad bugs, before we start planting a winter garden.
Natala
24.3.10
It is so nice sitting in the bistro courtyard at this time of year, watching the autumn tones come into the vines and trees, the warm days and gentle breeze caressing you as you sip away at a glass of Flynns Shiraz, oh I forgot myself! It is a lovely time of year to visit Heathcote so come on up and see us and indulge in tasting some great wines and have a long yummy lunch.
Natala
16.3.10
Sadly the tomatoes are all but finished, hence we are changing some things on the Autumn menu. New lettuce is self seeding everywhere including the garden paths so when the weather cools off I will transplant them into the garden. Zoe, Pa and I cleaned out the chook pen this am before the heat of the day, wow what beautiful chook poo to put in the garden to compost down over winter.
Natala
9.3.10
At cellar door this weekend we had a vegetable and fruit display from our garden fresh harvested Saturday morning. It was interesting how many people commented on the how they thought it was fake for it looked too fresh, shiny and perfect! not like at the supermarkets. This is the produce that goes into our bistro meals to make them so nice. Hail a week ago has impacted on the garden, taking leaves off the pumpkin, squash and zucchinni, lucky it is late in the season and these veg are in their last weeks of production anyway. Peppers are still being picked for pickling. Harvesting the most beautiful butternut pumpkins that were self sown and they are in our pumpkin and pinenut arancini. Herbs are all looking good and the limes are starting to ripen, they smell amazing. Starting to plan the Autumn garden before our new baby arrives in MAY!
Natala
29.2.10
The large hail we had on Saturday put holes in the leaves of many of the plants, but the produce was not affected, phew! Dad is out picking more tomatoes, zuchinni and cucumbers this morning, limes will be harvested this weekend also.
23.2.10
The rewards of the garden keep coming. I am busy making zuchinni pickles, pickled peppers, sun dried tomatoes with basil (does not take long to dry in the Heathcote sun)
jam, napoli sauce and more napoli sauce and more, some of which will be used at our yummy harvest feast on Saturday night March the 6th.
I love letting mystery vege plants that come up in the garden grow into something. Due to this I have a beautiful crop of baby watermelon, canteloupe and heaps of butternut pumpkin which will be on the autumn menu soon.
16.2.10
What a big harvest from the garden today, zuchinni, peppers, tomatoes, basil, plums...
Busy day cooking up all this produce. We made zuchinni soup, napoli sauce, plum cordial, chargrilled capsicums, mulberry and nectarine jam. And to reward ourselves some really nice scones fresh out of the oven for afternoon tea with lashings of the warm jam with thick cream!
8.2.10
Our Summer vegetables are planted and thriving in the warm weather.
Harvesting blackjack and greykini zucchini,yellow squash (by the bucket loads), rhubarb, herbs, silverbeet, lebanese cucumbers, capsicum, strawberries and lettuce and our tomatoes, tomatoes and more tomatoes. The bruscetta on the Summer menu is made with our tommy toe tomatoes and basil, a real flavour sensation. Nothing beats a home grown tomato for flavour and aroma!
Our hens are having to lay like crazy to keep up with all the desserts Jaime is making! I bought 2 new brown hens today from Carolyn our friend, they are gorgeous and friendly. Our daughter Zoe has called them Annabel and Daisy.
We hope you enjoy our great fresh food, I love growing it and sharing it with our customers who enjoy real food flavour! I love teh fact alot of the food you will eat will have been harvested the morning you visit and the eggs laid also. Our chef Jamie had never worked with such fresh eggs before!
Flynn's Wines Events
NEW VINTAGE RELEASE of 2008 reds and 2009 wines coming up soon, we are tasting the wines regularly to see when they will be ready!!!
Our new SUPER PREMIUM SHIRAZ 2008 "AXIOM" will be released later this year, we will keep you posted.
Fathers Day Sunday 5th of September
Come and enjoy a tasting of our current release wines in our cellar door followed by lunch from our Seasonal menu in the Bistro. All Dad's will receive a complimentary glass of our 2007 MC Shiraz with lunch.
Book early for this day is always a busy day
For bookings phone: (03) 5433 6297 or 0407 800 047
Christmas Closure
We will be closed from 20th December 2009-January 29th 2010.
Flynn's Wines Reviews
Just Announced 2011 James Halliday Wine Companion ratings:
MC Heathcote Shiraz 2008 - 5 Glasses and 95/100
Bright hue of moderate depth; a fragrant bouquet of red and black fruits, then a delicious, silky palate with lively fruit favours and well integrated and balanced (40% new) oak. MC stands for multi clone, not maceration carbonique. Screwcap.
14.3% alc. Rating 95 Drink 2023 $35 Date Tasted Dec 09
Heathcote Sangiovese 2007 - 4.5 Glasses and 92/100
Typically developed colour; leather, spice and cherry aromas on the bouquet, then a well balanced and long palate with clear varietal character, the cherry flavours not overtly sour. Good wine.
13.4% Rating 92 Drink 2012 $33 Date Tasted Dec09
2009 ROYAL MELBOURNE WINE SHOW - November 2009
Our Flynns MC Shiraz 2007 has been awarded a Silver Medal in the category of Single Vineyard 2007 with 52 points.
This year there were around 3,500 entries from over 500 different exhibitors.
"The Royal Melbourne Wine Show has a long tradition of excellence and it is always a great achievement to win an award at this prestigious show." Hon John Brumby MP
JAMES HALLIDAY WINE COMPANION 2010
MC Heathcote Shiraz 2007 - 5 glasses and 94/100
Has more briary/savoury elements than prior releases, giving it a certain gravitas; the palate is medium- to full-bodied, balancing blackberry, licorice, spice and pepper against savoury, lingering tannins.
14.2% RATING 94 DRINK 2027
Heathcote Sangiovese 2006 - 94/100
This wine has interesting aromas of spice and leather alongside more traditional sour cherry/red cherry; the fruit flavours have similar nuances, the tannins nicely balanced and intergrated. Australian Sangiovese doesn't come much better than this.
13.7% RATING 94 DRINK 2015
MC Heathcote Shiraz 2006 - 4.5 glasses and 91/100
Fragrant red and black fruit aromas are followed by an unexpectedly vociferous palate, tangy and quiet tanic. MC stands for multi clone, not maceration carbonique
15.3% RATING 91 DRINK 2020
BOUTIQUE WINE AWARDS 2009
MC Heathcote Shiraz 2006
Bronze Medal 48.5 points
FLYNNS WINES 2006 SANGIOVESE
HALLIDAY'S 5 EMBLEMATIC AUSTRALIAN WINES
"This wine has interesting aromas of spice and leather alongside more traditional sour cherry/red cherry; the fruit flavours have similar nuances, the tannins nicely balanced and intergrated. Australian sangiovese doesn't come much better than this."
RATING: 94 DRINK: 2015
James Halliday, The Weekend Australian Magazine, Saturday 18th April 2009
FLYNNS VERDELHO 2008
Another great varietal produced by Greg and Natala Flynn from their Heathcote vineyard. More structured and with more finesse than most verdelhos, this vintage still displays delicious tropical fruit and hints of green apple and citrus flavours. with a perfect amount of acidity and luscious, mouth filling finish, this wine is ideally paired with some spicy Asian or Indian food"
Ashley Raeburn, The Bendigo Avdertiser, Saturday 4th April 2009
FLYNNS MC SHIRAZ 2005
"A vibrantly fresh bouquet of black fruits and gentle oak leads into a supple, medium bodied palate finishing with fine tannins."
5 GLASSES
RATING: 95 TO 2025
James Halliday, James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2009 Edition
FLYNNS SANGIOVESE 2005
"Shows clear varietal character with spicy red cherry/sour cherry aromas and flavours; light to medium bodied, best sooner than later."
4 1/2 GLASSES
RATING: 90 TO 2012
James Halliday, James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2009 Edition
FLYNNS CABERNET MERLOT 2005
"Light to medium bodied, showing the more elegant side of Heathcote; cassis and blackcurrant fruit, with a gentle finish"
4 1/2 GLASSES
RATING: 90 TO 2012
James Halliday, James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2009 Edition
FLYNNS (IRENA'S) VERDELHO 2007
"Has plenty of movement and impact thanks to lemon acidity surrounding the core of tropical fruit; a hint of oak, too.
4 1/2 GLASSES
RATING: 90 TO 2012
James Halliday, James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2009 Edition
FLYNNS WINES 2007 VERDELHO:
"Get ready to be floored by a Heathcote Verdelho. What the?! Fragrant, fresh and aromatic. Flynns is built around the core of tight citrus fruit with tropical overtones. Partial barrel fermentation draws out a delightful mineral structure, and if you're not already completely bamboozled - it will age well!"
Tyson Stelzer, WBM 100 November 2007 Edition
FLYNNS WINES 2007 VERDELHO:
"Verdelho may just be the future..... it's refreshing to see such a high quality local example. Careful use of French oak has added some much needed complexity and some depth to the wine, already showing fresh tropical fruit and citrus"
Bendigo Advertiser
FLYNNS WINES 2005 SANGIOVESE:
"The Flynn family has certainly got it just right with this wine, which is full of flower blossom and red fruit aromas. Lovely soft and savory on the palate with mellow tannins, this is a hugely enjoyable wine"
REX Outhere in Flight Magazine April 2008
FLYNNS WINES 2004 CABERNET SAUVIGNON MERLOT: (94 POINTS)
"I can not recollect a better cabernet merlot form a region best known for its shiraz" 94 points and 5 glasses
James Halliday, The Weekend Australian 16th and 17th June 2007
FLYNNS WINES LEWIS ROAD 2005 SHIRAZ: (93 POINTS)
"In 2005, they also made a Lewis Road shiraz with similar weight to the shiraz viognier, the fruit slightly more savory and spicy. Long fine tannins give the wine outstanding structure, firm but but without hardness or bitterness" 93 points
James Halliday, The Weekend Australian 16th and 17th June 2007
FLYNNS WINES 2004 MC SHIRAZ: (94 POINTS)
" At this moderate alcohol level (for Heathcote) it is not surpising to find a fragrant, medium bodied wine with blackberry and black cherry fruit sustained by fine tannins; a long and harmonious finish"
James Halliday, James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2008 Edition
FLYNNS WINES 2005 MC SHIRAZ (95 POINTS)
James Halliday, James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2009 Edition
Flynn's Wines Vineyard
23.8.10
Just a few more rows of vines to wrap down, then pruning is finished for this season, yeh! Waiting for the vineyard to dry out so that we can slash the grass. We may have to wait weeks for it is sooo.. wet out there. It has been such a cold winter our Viognier 2010 has cold stabilised itself in tank in the winery. The locust threat is a concern for this year, we will have to see what happens.
10.8.10
Pruning is almost finished and just in time for the sap in the sangiovese vines is starting to flow already. Some of our almond trees are in blossom so Spring is just around the corner. The vineyard is so wet! Yeh, what a good start for the vines this spring. All our dams are now full, wonderful. White wine making still happening and gearing up for a bottling of our 09 Sangiovese and 09 MC Shiraz soon.
20.7.10
Pruning is now well under way and the dams are full from all the recent rains, so the vineyard will be happy. Winery work continues with racking and still working on the white wines.
Natala
23.6.10
Greg has blended up our white wines and sent off check pH and free sulphur tests. Fining begins when the results are back. The Viognier is looking really interesting. We tried some different oak on it this year, more new oak ratio and for longer, we really like it! Blending up the 2009 MC Shiraz today also and moving around some 2010 reds to freed up barrels.
Natala
5.6.10
Greg is busy spraying weeds and slashing the grass in the vineyard.
Pruning is about to start. More winemaking happening with wine from 2010 being racked to different barrels and starting to blend up our 2009 Premium Sangiovese and MC Shiraz for bottling in the next few months. We will start working on our 2010 Viognier and Verdelho this week also, looking at oak integration and doing some blending trials to see how the whites are developing. When ready we will start the fining process with them and cold stabilisation which should not be too hard for the Winter nights here are freezing, lots of frosts.
Natala
5.5.10
Bottling 08 Flynn Super Premium Shiraz this Friday, very exciting. This wine will hopefully be released at the end of this year if it is ready. Lots of racking to do of 2010 wines and we need to start tasting oak barrels of our 2010 Verdelho and Viognier to see if we need to change oak around or start blending up some wines.
Natala
22.4.10
Back from leave. Greg is busy refining some of the 2008 Reds for bottling early May.
We have had lots of rain while we are away and the property is looking very green and lovely. With Autumn well and truly here the vines are loosing leaf and will be dormant come June ready for pruning already. The whole cycle comes around very quickly.
Natala
6.4.10
All the wines are pressed out now, sitting in tanks or barrel ageing away nicely. We have started blending up our 2009 wines including the much awaited super premium shiraz blend! Greg is exhausted +++, we are taking a small break at the beach before new baby Flynn arrives in 5 weeks.
Natala
16.3.10
It is still full on in the winery. We picked our Sangiovese on Saturday, harvested 30% of our initial fruit estimation mainly due to the weather conditions this year with the hail and the rain. What we did harvest looks and tastes very intense Be 13.5, pH 3.65, color intense purply with dusty pink tones. We have a new crusher which we have put the Sang through trying some whole berry fermentation. The Viognier is ageing away in new oak and looking really nice, we did some barrel sampling Saturday. More contract fruit coming in today and tomorrow, then we have the last of our Cabernet to pick probably at the end of the week.
Natala
9.3.10
Really busy in the winery. Greg and Ritchie are putting in 14 hour days and just surviving the manual labour. We have about 20 ferments going at he moment (mainly shiraz), pressing out and racking this week. The rain will be interesting to see how it affects the last of our fruit on the vine which is Cabernet Sauvignon and our loved Sangiovese, we will test these later in the week to see how they are travelling. It was a week of frustrating breakdowns - the all important coffee machine that keeps everyone going, the destemmer, the pallet jack, the stove, a power failure during a night time function (very romantic, good old Powercorp) ahh!!. Helen reckons we need to sacrifice a goat to get it all back on track, but no we wont do that.
Natala
29.2.10
Verdelho is through fermentation, sulphured and safely tucked away in tank. Viognier is fermenting along nicely. The Shiraz and Merlot was picked on Thursday and it looks great - fantastic ripe flavours, colour and pH. Sampling our Sangiovese , remaining shiraz and cabernet today to see when to pick. The 30 minutes of horrid large hail on Saturday did a little bit of damage. We were lucky that the remaining fruit only caught the side of the storm, our olive neighbour and a vineyard down the road got hammered very badly. The risks of agriculture. Visit the winery over this long weekend to see how wine is made, taste very young wines, take in the sights and aromas.
23.2.10
Verdelho is almost through ferment, down to 1.3Be yesterday.
Vintage has hit in full swing this week! 6Tonne of Viognier came in this morning at 7am for processing (really slippery, difficult grape to work with). We are picking our Merlot and 3 acres of Shiraz on Thursday and we have other contract fruit coming in daily. The winery will very busy this weekend, so if you want to see how it all works come along and Greg will show you around and give you a taste of some really young wine.
16.2.10
The Verdelho is fermenting along nicely. Beaume has dropped to 10.8 so Greg is racking some juice to a new Seguin Moreau barrel for barrel fermentation today.When Verdelho is fermenting the winery, cellar door and bistro smells like 'barney banana' ice creams - really weird. We are also doing our first tests on all of the reds today to see where they are at. The 30ml of rain we had last Friday flooded the winery for it came down so quickly only caused berry splitting in a few grapes on the Sangiovese thank goodness, the rest of the vineyard and garden looks happy.
8.2.10
We were very nervous when the rain came down in torrents on Thursday, 28 ml in 24 hours, but luckily it did not cause any grape berry damage. The vines look happy after a good drink.
We picked our Verdelho today. All went well, apart from the forklift breaking down for awhile and a few minor injuries. 970L of Verdelho is now sitting in tank chilling down. Be 12.82 and pH 3.33, fruit looked really good. You can almost feel the vines sigh with relief as the fruit is picked off them for another year and they can have a rest now. We will look at racking it off gross lees before fermentation later in the week. Fluffy home baked scones with plum jam and cream went down a treat for the pickers and us.
We will start testing the reds this week also to see how they are travelling for ripeness.
Natala
2.2.10
Vintage starts this Thursday with our first lot of contract fruit coming in. All the equipment is in working order (just got the new bearing for the crusher replaced today) and everything clean, clean clean. Our Verdelho is testing at 11.85Be, ph3.1, flavour good, crisp, we will test again on the weekend, but it is looking like we will pick next week... any volunteers?? We had 18ml of rain on Monday which was heavenly, some rain forecast this week, which is always a bit nerve racking at vintage for too much can split berries or just fill the berries so much you have to wait for them to dry out a bit, or it can be just a perfect drop to keep things ticking along.
Natala
28.1.10
Warm days but lovely cool nights. The vines are looking good with a little drink once a week. Verdelho is not far away from harvest, we will start serious testing next week. The cockatoos and crows have started to pick on the vineyard reds at 6.30am (my shift) and in the evenings (Gregs shift). We had to get out the shot gun today for the first time this vintage to scare the birds off. A hundred cockatoos in the vineyard for 5mins can do allot of damage playing around with dropping fruit and stripping leaves.
Lara the dog is doing her bit with chasing the birds off too, she loves it!
The winery is clean and ready to go. Last minute maintenance issues with equipment is being attended to, like a new bearing for the destemmer.
Natala
13.1.10
We had a 5ml sprinkle of rain to freshen things up overnight, but boy has it been hot and horrible for the last 3 days. Greg and I have just returned from Qld and Northern NSW where Temps were high 20s to low 30s what a cool change, lovely! The vines are looking good , we have been keeping the water up to them over the hot spell, canopies are green and healthy, no disease, weeds under control. We are starting to monitor the Verdelho visually for signs of veraison. Starting to get the winery ready for vintage, everything to be cleaned with caustic, lots of organising.
Sending off samples to check to completion of Malolactic fermentation.
Natala
11.12.09
More rain this week, 16ml which the vines are really enjoying. Fruit is slowly filling out, defeathering of the vines and wire lifting complete.
Natala
2.12.09
Fruit set is now complete. The extreme heat late spring wiped out the fruit on one of our Sangiovese clones which is a first. The rest of the vineyard looks good. Spraying with Sulphur today to reduce the chance of powdery with all of the humidity we have had and an undervine weed spray will go on also for the wire weed has taken off with all of the rain.
Natala
18.11.09
The Vineyard looks great at the moment. Green vigorous cane growth and flowering is underway. We are giving the vines their first irrigated drink this season for we have had 2 weeks of fairly hot weather and we do not want the vines to stress out at this important fruit set stage. Weed management is under control and the vineyard is slashed and fire ready, heaven forbid!
The second sulphur spray had been applied to prevent powdery mildew, which is very unlikely in this weather but you have to be careful. We are keeping our fingers crossed we have some good rains leading into Christmas.
Natala
11.8.09
Seventy percent of the vineyard has been pruned, theirs still a few weeks work in rapping down the retained canes to the trellis wire for next vintages crop. And all the prunings then need to be removed from the vineyard because its time for grass cutting and weed management.
The buds on the canes look to be swelling already so it could be an early bud burst which is a bit scary at the moment as we are still getting some heavy frosts on a regular basis. And frost early on the new growth can cause alot of damage. Early in the 2007 vintage, which is the current release wines we had a huge frost across Victoria which caused substantial losses of fruit though no loss of quantity.
More rain is always needed, but has been reasonable this winter. Some good consistent rains to build ground water and probably enough in storage to get us through another vintage (as long as we don't have the unbelievable heat like last vintage).
24.5.09
All the grapes have been picked, fermented and in barrel, phew! Always a relief to get all the fruit in off the vineyard. Now the weather can do what it likes. We very much hope we receive some rain over winter otherwise next vintage is going to be a tough one.
2009 was one of those vintages that was all over the place. Hard to put a blanket over it and say that it was good or bad. The extreme heat over January and February made things very difficult but if you had enough water to maintain the leaf on vines to reduce sunburn of the grapes and keep enough canopy for ripening the crop, that was the biggest trick early on.
Then we had 22mm of rain in February which was welcome but caused the fruit to expand and dilute. The following cooler weather was great to resume rippening, if you were able to keep enough leaf and balance in the grapes up till that point.
So over all there was a range of fruit qualities that arrived in the winery and certainly kept us on our toes. Good old mother nature never allows us to become complacent. Greg
24.3.09
Vintage is well underway at a nice pace due to the cooler Autumn days.
If you visit us over the next few weeks you can see the winery in action and try some really young new wines out of the fermenters or just pressed out.
The last of our fruit will be picked tomorrow, the wonderful Sangiovese. After mother nature throwing everything at this vintage somehow the Sangiovese is coming in again the best balanced. Its just so well suited to the area. Any way got to go I have a very early morning start. Greg
Cheers
Greg and Natala Flynn
Contact Flynn's Wines
Visit Flynns Wines Cellar Door this weekend and have chat with the winemakers before having lunch in our beautiful little bistro overlooking the vines. Have a taste of our 2009 MC Shiraz that Greg has blended in tank prior to bottling, it is showing up really well for a very young wine!
EXCITING NEWS 95/100 from James Halliday 2011 Wine Companion for our 2008 MC Shiraz, we will keep you posted when this wine is released!
CELLAR DOOR OPEN:Monday to Thursday 11am - 2.00pm
Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11.30am-5.00pm
BISTRO: for lunch and afternoon tea Saturday and Sunday from 12.00pm-3.30pm
BISTRO THIS WEEKEND 4th and 5th Sept: FATHERS DAY this sunday!
Complimentary glass of Flynns MC Shiraz 07 for Dad with lunch.
Blackboard specials:
Hearty pea and ham soup made with Istra ham hock, yum!
Local beef and Shiraz pot pie
Winemakers plate: Istra chorizo sausage, leek thyme and goats cheese tart, bruscetta of proscuitto and caramelised fennel, aged cheddar, local pickled walnuts
House baked apple pie with cream
Sticky date pudding cake with butterscotch sauce, fresh honeycomb from our neighbours bees and ice cream
French lemon and lime tart made with our own zesty citrus picked this week!
FLYNN'S WINES 29 LEWIS ROAD HEATHCOTE 3523 VICTORIA AUSTRALIA
Phone: (03) 5433 6297 Mobile: 0407 800 047
Email: flynnswines@bigpond.com
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday - Sunday 10am - 4.30pm, Closed Monday
How To Find Us:
We are situated 13kms North of the Heathcote Township on the Northern Highway to Echuca, Lewis Road is on the left (coming from Melbourne) with signage on the corner of Lewis Road and Northern Highway.
Staying in the region? We recommend Hut on the Hill.
Click here to visit their site.
And Wild Duck Lodge