Winery Visit: Centennial & Cherry Tree Hill
Southern Highlands, NS
Tasted Friday, March 1, 2024 by graemeg with 47 views
Flight 1 - Centennial Vineyards (10 Notes)
A decade plus since my last visit and the Tuscan-style complex here seems unchanged. Except, all the reds bar pinot have gone from the vineyard; soil, weather not suitable. Big mistake, then. Seems a shame that most of the wines they sell are therefore from Orange; central highlands rather than southern. Quiet cellar door on a weekday; there a massive range of wines for tasting; 7 sparklers, ten whites, two rosés, ten reds, two sweets. Ten bucks buys you 8 tastes; I got a couple of freebies on the grounds it was quiet and I was taking notes. Quite miserly pours (may depend on server) into basic XL5 glasses… Who still sells wine with 99 cents at the end of the price tag, btw? That quirk aside, prices are reasonable for what the wines are.
Flight 2 - Cherry Tree Hill (6 Notes)
First visit for me to this boutique operation in the Southern Highlands. They’ve suffered savage recent vintages; rain and mud and heat and fire and smoke have decimated earth, vines, grapes; they’re largely dependent just now on their ‘regional range’; distantly-sourced grapes but beautifully made onsite otherwise. Fingers crossed for 24; still some vines have no fruit and its February already. Tasting facility is an outdoor tent, which was a bit sultry on this 25C day, but wines were served in suitably varietal Riedel glasses at optimum temperatures. $5 fee for brackets of three generally, but it turned out (an eventually realization) that I had a connection to the host as a WSET student of hers nearly twenty years ago and thus was afforded ‘mates’ rates’. I thought the wines terrific value, especially for a small-scale operation. Hope the weather comes good before the bank turns nasty.
NV Centennial Blanc de Blancs
Australia, New South Wales
{A$54} Clean, almond meal nose, faint lychee, subtle, with a hint of yeast. Light and pure palate, with spring-water freshness and a grassy dryness. Medium-sized, quite aggressive bubbles. Not a lot of autolysis effect despite 47 months on lees, apparently. Light/medium weight, and sits a bit on the front palate. Adds up to less than the sum of its parts, somehow.
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NV Centennial Limited Blanc de Noirs
Australia, New South Wales, South Coast, Southern Highlands
{A$45} Pale and yellowing in the glass. A mead note to the aromas; other wise earth and mushroom Large furious bubbles. All very front palate. Seven years on lees, but it seems to have lost freshness anyway, despite plenty of fizz to the texture. Short finish. Not attractive. Freshly opened bottle too, so I have to assume this is typical.
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2023 Centennial Riesling Estate
Australia, New South Wales
{screwcap, 11%, A$29} Eleven is the alcohol, three is the g/l of sugar. Earth, minerals and tobacco. Browning apple & pear. Better on the palate; juicy and even a bit floral in flavour, with a musk character. Light body, medium acid, medium length finish – and dry too, despite the tiny bit of sugar.
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2021 Centennial Albariño Single Vineyard Reserve
Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Orange
{screwcap, A$33} Lovely seashell nose, hint of tropical fruit salad. Light/medium bodied palate, also tropical in flavour, although not sweet at all. Medium acidity. Finishes medium length with an orange/citrus twist on the palate. Tidy, and ready.
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2021 Centennial Chardonnay Winery Block
Australia, New South Wales, South Coast, Southern Highlands
{screwcap, A$33} Another wine with a dirty nose – I was beginning to wonder about the glass, which I was rinsing between wines. Oaky and toasty nose, but not buttery. Medium weight palate tastes a bit sweaty. Cool climate grapefruit flavours, with a tropical twist, medium acid, even palate, but rather short finish.
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2022 Centennial Reserve
Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Orange
{screwcap, A$34} Spearmint nose, hint of currant. And bay-leaf, as the tasting sheet suggested. Medium weight, spicier on the palate. Even palate. Decent blend of red grape flavours, if perhaps a bit simple. But OK value, to be fair.
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2018 Centennial Cabernet Sauvignon Limited Release
Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Orange
{screwcap, A$50} Nicely varietal overall, with some mint seasoning the herbs. Spicy blackberries on the palate too, with a hint of black pepper. Medium weight, low/medium oak, soft dusty tannins. Ready to drink, and a bit pricy for what it is, to be honest.
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2021 Centennial Shiraz Limited Release Single Vineyard
Australia, New South Wales, South Coast, Southern Highlands
{screwcap, A$50} Vineyard at 880m I Orange. Blackberry, spice. Liquorice, hint of blueberry. Despite medium acid, the palate is very soft, with practically undetectable dusty tannins. Medium weight, medium length, but a bit too smooth and cordial-like, despite avoiding sweetness.
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2019 Centennial shiraz Viognier Single Vineyard Reserve
Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Orange
{screwcap, A$33} Mild cherry with a little bit of pear mixed into the blackberry. Loose, easy, open palate, low dusty tannins, medium acid, medium weight. Not gloopy or sweet, but the viognier seems unobtrusive, which I always think helps. Reasonable value but still not special.
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2022 Centennial Shiraz Reserve
Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Orange
{screwcap, A$33} All cool-climate white pepper aromas and flavours, with a savoury dryness, low/medium powdery tannins and soft oak. Even palate of medium weight and just a little cherry fruit. A more distinctive wine than the Limited Release bottling (from 2021) but a bit more extreme too. Medium length finish.
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