Lucy and Alysha are based in West Gippsland, looking after small parcels of land and sourcing fruit from around Victoria. Producing delicious and honest wines under their label ‘Allevare’, meaning ‘to nurture’, they pride themselves on working with the land and collaborating with growers in all regions with a focus on sustainability and innovation. An amalgam of Sicilian and local sensibilities, and some of the most joyful and inviting labels in the game.
Whole bunch pressed, 50% barrel fermented, aged in large format French oak for 6 months, bottled on Gunaikurnai Land. Quince and stone fruits with white flowers.Textural on the pallet with some richness on the finish.
“Rich bouquet, mandarine zest, ginger and pink peach, cardamon apples and pears, rockmelon with salt. It’s a true Gris in style, generous, giving, pleasing and satisfying your tastebuds deeply. It’s textural and flavourful. Lovely style with a sweet edge and a good amount of cleansing acidity.” 92 points, Kasia Sobiesiak, Winefront
Whole bunch pressed, 50% barrel fermented in large format old French oak on full lees. Aged for 6 months in the cellar and bottled on Gunaikurnai Land. Full, denseand structured on the pallet with complex aromas of grapefruit, pomegranate androse petal. Textural and fresh with a mineral mid-pallet.
“Watermelon, guava, red apple skins, cranberries, strawberry tart. It’s pretty intensely fruity and sweet-edged in flavours, making it a cheerful drink and I would say quite appropriate to have with spicy food. Although, it gives a lick of bitter pink grapefruit phenolics at the very finish which is a nice balance. Texture and concentration of flavour are in place too.” 90 points, Kasia Sobiesiak, Winefront
Grown in Heathcote, Victoria. Low yields and no irrigation make for intense richness and flavour. Fruit was handpicked and destemmed into 1 tonne fermenters. Pump overs twice a day with a few rack and returns at the peak of ferment. Fruit was left on skins for 30 days before being pressed to French Hogsheads for 10 months. 25% new oak from Damy, France.
A plump and juicy Sangio here – cherries, figs, fig paste, cedar and fresh leather on the nose and palate. Decent concentration, fleshy and succulent with a plum jam note on the finish but bright enough to serve a purpose as an easy drinker.
Stepping outside of Victoria for this one, and what a pretty and fine iteration of Mataro here, Lucy introduced to a fantastic grower of organic Mataro by former colleague Nick from Stoke Wines. The wine sees 2 weeks on skins and twice-daily pump overs, before pressing to old French oak barrels for 10 months before bottling.
Conceived as a fruit forward, juicy and not overly tannic wine, this is so fresh, slurpy and lively – smoked charcuterie/smallgoods lead the nose, with a lovely fruit spectrum of black plums, blackberry, cherries and a shake of Chinese five-spice. Focused and beautifully textured, fun and flowing, definitely the guzzler of the range.
Grown by Chalmers, one of their newest Northern Italian varietals. First mentioned in the late fifteenth century, Teroldego has long called Trentino (north-east Italy) home.
This was handpicked, and destemmed into 1 tonne fermenters. Mainly rack and returns once a day with light pump overs towards the end of ferment. Very limited amount made with one French puncheon and one barrel, in oak for 10 months before bottling.
A fresh, light to medium bodied fruit driven style here. Aromatics of blackberry fruit and leaves, cranberry and a thread of smoked charcuterie. Fresh blackberries, violets and forest berries run though the palate, though what defines this is its lacy, pinpoint tannins. Bright with enough in the structure and savoury balance to nudge up complexity, an accessible and tasty introduction to this grape.
The most experimental winemaking methodology in the stable here – oak fermented, with 18 months ageing in seasoned oak (a small portion kept in stainless), one of the barrels left untopped and a tiny portion given extended skin contact.
It couldn’t be anything other than Sauvignon Blanc, but it’s a grown-up and characterful take for sure. Nettle and grass flavours around grapefruit (fruit, rind and pith) and even an orange fruit element. Great driving texture, thought-provoking, and begging for some creative food matching.
Grown by Denton Vineyard on an isolated hill on the North side of the Yarra River, The Hill is a granite ‘plug’ from the Denovian age, sitting above the surrounding softer sandstones and siltstones from the valley. P58 clone Chardonnay. Whole bunch pressed then transferred to French oak for barrel fermentation with 25% new Chassin oak. Partial malolactic fermentation. Left on full lees for 10 months, racked, settled then bottled.
Lemon oil and wet stones on the nose, oak present but well integrated. Those familiar with the 2022 will find this fuller and fleshier in the mouth; white peaches, nougat, lemon rind and pith, finishing with roasted nuts. Keeps a taut acid spine, will be a style with broad appeal.
Grown on the Warner vineyard (once a key supplier to Giaconda), and soon to be a collector’s item as following vintage 2022 all the Roussanne was grafted over to Gamay. A shame, given the character of this wine. Oak fermented and matured for six months, it somehow manages to be racy and textural; yellow fruits and peach skin over saline and honeyed elements. Refreshing without being bracing, it makes a strong case to see more of this variety vinified without blending.
Artwork by Bridgette McNab, an old Sicilian love story about Teste di Moro. The story of a Moorish soldier falling in love with a woman from Palermo, they were madly in love until she learned that he had another family back home. She cut off his head in a fit of rage, planted her basil in it and left it on her balcony for the town to see. She had the most fertile basil in all of Palermo and the rest of the town soon started to sculpt ceramic heads in the hope that their basil would be just as good.
“Undoubtedly, there’s that textural smell of wine getting hot in the wood. Nutty with apricot kernels, pastry, ripe lemons, beeswax element. Texture is smooth, lightly creamy, with sprinkle of salt on ripe fruit and then savoury finish, just lightly powdery and with judicious spice. Very appetising.” 92 points, Kasia Sobiesiak, Winefront
A one-off wine for Allevare, embracing the opportunity to make a Beechworth Shiraz from one of Beechworth’s oldest vineyards, the Warner Vineyard a one-time key supplier to Giaconda no less. Fruit was handpicked and made by Allevare in the Little Frances winery. 11% whole bunch, left on skins for 2 weeks and pressed to large format French oak, with 20% new.
“What a strong varietal opening. Meaty and smoky, bitter herbs, wet earth, mossy wood, vegetal note of roasted beets, granitic rock or almost warm asphalt type of note. This Shiraz has a dark side, but it’s lifted by fresh pepper spice and a shade of fresh violet. Lots of roast in flavours, ground coffee and dark amaro finish. Yum!” 93 points, Kasia Sobiesiak, Winefront
From 40 year old vines on Xavier Goodridge’s Maffra site, barrel fermented and raised entirely in seasoned oak, with full malo. Richer and with flesh, though this feels more derived of site rather than winemaking influence (oak/bâtonnage), reminiscent in many ways of Mâcon. Attractively textured, a broad spectrum of fruit flavours here of grilled peach, melon, waxy apple, nectarine and cashew. A leesy mealiness rounds out the finish, a sophistication here.
“A mix of spices to start like masala chai, clove-pierced skin of orange, ginger, then peanut husk, brown pear and yellow peach. It’s creamy on the palate, chewy, finishing on a zesty lime and nutty bitterness. Soft flavours but not without good acidic tension holding it in place. Lots to love here.” 92 points, Kasia Sobiesiak, Winefront
