Domenica Nebbiolo 2024

Domenica Nebbiolo 2024
Planted in 1996, the 4 hectare Domenica Estate vineyard, was originally part of a joint venture between Rick Kinzbrunner of Giaconda and Rhone Valley titans M. Chapoutier, making wines under the Ergo Sum labelling.

The initial plantings consisted of Chardonnay, Roussanne and Pinot Noir, with ensuing years and expansion of the joint venture leading to increased plantings of Shiraz and Nebbiolo. During this time Peter Graham, Rick's nephew, was cutting his teeth as the assistant winemaker at Giaconda, learning the wise ways of making complex, enthralling wines from the ancient granite soils of the cult producer.

In 2012 Peter made the big shift to take sole ownership of the 450-470m above sea level estate, buying it from Kinzbrunner and Chapoutier, managing and farming the property himself and tapping into all of that experience he had learnt from his previous 15 years of work within Beechworth.

Using these years of intimate knowledge, Peter has expanded the earlier plantings of Chardonnay and Nebbiolo, as well as introductin Gamay in 2022 and Chenin in 2024.

Domenica holds the oldest Nebbiolo vines in Beechworth, producing a classic and age worthy wine. The estate Nebbiolo is grown in a cool, protected pocket on the southern corner of the property. Tiny yields per vine develop the intensity of fruit required to make Nebbiolo with beautiful structure, and a deep complex core of fruit. 

Spring of 2024 saw a late widespread frost significantly affecting the Estate Nebbiolo vines. While the vines naturally recover from this, yields were heavily reduced, leading to a much smaller volume of wine produced.

The remaining growing season was relatively benign, with adequate rain through summer, then dry and warm through the long ripening phase. Harvest took place in mid-April, as is usual for our Nebbiolo.

'Domenica represents the best of Australian Nebbiolo hands down. In my years of tasting and making wine - throughout many benchmarking and blind tastings, there is something incredibly singular about the purity and shape that granite soils play with Nebbiolo tannins. Peter Graham's wines always rank highly amongst industry varietal comparative sessions and should rightfully take the mantle as the benchmark, the King of Australian Nebbiolo. This is as serious as it gets, and unfortunately for all those Nebbiolophiles, the volumes are never large'

* bottled under diam with wax.