Longview Saturnus Nebbiolo 2022

Longview Saturnus Nebbiolo 2022
The “king of grapes” in Italy has long been a passion at Longview. Longview first planted Nebbiolo in 1995 and is the leading Australian Nebbiolo winemaker. Hand harvested fruit from blocks NEB1, 3 and 10 were chosen for the Nebbiolo Saturnus. Clone 230 and Mudgee combine to make 85% of the blend, with 1-11 (15%) selected to add fragrance. Meticulous attention through the growing season and careful fruit selection with bunch and berry sorting ensures we capture fruit flavour with varietal distinction. Vinified using traditional techniques and left on skins for 12 weeks, the wine was pressed before maturation in seasoned French oak puncheons and 2500L Austrian Botti for 18 months.

Fantastic florals here, with great lift, almost pink, musk and a briary brooding undertone playing into those darker, dried rose petal, morello cherry characters. It’s poised, showing a lovely mid weight vein of fruit, with that classically svelte almost watery texture you see in European Nebbiolo, with a sinewy back end turning to fanning, delicately poised tannins. Excellent expression of Australian Nebbiolo!

"About 110 days on skins here.  Pete Saturno and winemaker Paul Hotker popped around a couple of days ago, and I tasted some of the reds, then I got a bit of a cold (not related to that), and now I’m tasting the wines two days later, because they both said they would still look very good that amount of air time.

Red fruit, almond, quite some perfume, slight aniseed top note, a dusting of spice, and something of a cool alpine character. Medium-bodied, tight and stony, excellent feel to its ferrous tannin, bright acid, strawberry, a subtle peachy thing (don’t mind me), which I like. Dry and long. Pretty but structured. It’s firmly stamped with Nebbiolo character, and gee, it’s really good. It’s over the line for 95 points." 95 Points - Gary Walsh, The Wine Front