SPECIAL
2025 Hoddles Creek Estate 'Wickhams Road' Tasmania Pinot Noir $19.95
'The first Tasmanian pinot released under the Wickhams Road label, and what a good wine and bargain it is! From a vineyard near Launceston, this bright and vivacious wine has aromas of ripe strawberries and some spice, while the palate is sweetly fruited, gently grippy and delicious, even at this early stage. Will be even better in three or four months once it fully hits its straps. Yet another feather in the d'Anna family cap!' 95 points - Phillip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
'The first Tasmanian pinot released under the Wickhams Road label, and what a good wine and bargain it is! From a vineyard near Launceston, this bright and vivacious wine has aromas of ripe strawberries and some spice, while the palate is sweetly fruited, gently grippy and delicious, even at this early stage. Will be even better in three or four months once it fully hits its straps. Yet another feather in the d'Anna family cap!' 95 points - Phillip Rich, Halliday Wine Companion
Weingut Prinz - from the Heart of Rhiengau
Fred Prinz, his horticulturalist wife Sabine, and his "secret weapon" son Florien (who spends a lot of time and huge effort tying up the long canes like Leroy in Burgundy, and is also the "soft-pruning" driver at this 11ha estate) all work hard in these biodynamic vines. The vines are mostly from Hendelberg 1er Cru, and 5 Grand Cru sites, all fairly elevated, and most are over 1km from the Rhine. This means that the nights are much cooler with acid-retention results, and the south-facing gentle slope means that the grapes ripen very well, and whilst the grapes are kept cool at night, any dangerous frosty air "slides" down the hill.
Fred Prinz, his horticulturalist wife Sabine, and his "secret weapon" son Florien (who spends a lot of time and huge effort tying up the long canes like Leroy in Burgundy, and is also the "soft-pruning" driver at this 11ha estate) all work hard in these biodynamic vines. The vines are mostly from Hendelberg 1er Cru, and 5 Grand Cru sites, all fairly elevated, and most are over 1km from the Rhine. This means that the nights are much cooler with acid-retention results, and the south-facing gentle slope means that the grapes ripen very well, and whilst the grapes are kept cool at night, any dangerous frosty air "slides" down the hill.
Fred is a big believer in foot-stomping most of the grapes and fermentations are started with a natural starter ("pied de cuve") made from early-picked grapes partially fermented with natural yeasts from the vineyard in question.
Fred's wines are full of powerful riesling fruit and tension but also yeast-lees character and skin-contact derived textural grip. He uses a mix of tank and big barrels to give the right balance of richness, "openness", slight barrel-ageing character, and the tight tension and grip of natural ripe 'cool -ripened" riesling.
