A few weeks ago, a very lucky group of individuals were whisked away from Melbourne and down to the Mornington Peninsula to celebrate 10 years of the Capella Vineyard at Handpicked® Wines.
As well as the event, the winery is releasing four wines from the 2021 vintage: the Collection Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay, the Collection Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir, the Capella Vineyard Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay and the Capella Vineyard Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir to mark the occasion.
After swapping our sneakers for gumboots (after a croissant, of course) to ensure no phylloxera was tracked into the vineyard, we took part in a smoking ceremony to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land – the Boon Wurrung/Bunurong people.
We then toured the Capella Vineyard, which is planted to pinot noir (5.2ha) and to chardonnay (1.6ha). Capella sits in the protected zone of the Peninsula, often referred to as the 'green zone' or the 'green wedge'.
Chief winemaker Peter Dillon spoke about Capella's soil – grey clay loam – and the sustainable practices in place in the vineyard and winery, such as the use of compost mulch to reduce water usage and increase soil health and biodiversity.
Capella recently achieved 'Certified Member' status from Sustainable Winegrowing Australia (SWA) and Organic Certification from the National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA).
We then headed into the barrel room for an extensive tasting of Handpicked® Wines led by Peter, alongside winemaker Rohan Smith, assistant winemaker Lucy Adam, senior viticulturist Ben Bussell, vineyard manager (Mornington Peninsula) Karl Roberts, and vineyard hand Mark Cleine.
The wines that were tasted included:
2022 Handpicked® Wines Auburn Road Vineyard Tasmania Pinot Noir
These five wines are part of the Tasmanian Pinot Noir Fermenter Trial. Each wine was fermented in a different vessel and then pressed straight to French oak barrels for 11 months.
Wine 1: Stainless steel – control
Wine 2: Oak – Taransaud puncheon with headboard removed
Wine 3: Ceramic – Magnum 675 Egg, Byron Bay
Wine 4: Terracotta – 500L Tinajas Moreno Leon Egg, Spain
Wine 5: Concrete – Nomblot Egg, France
The next flights included the 2021 Mornington Peninsula releases along with back vintages:
2021 Handpicked® Wines Collection Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay, 2021 Handpicked® Wines Capella Vineyard Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay, 2021 Handpicked® Wines Collection Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir, 2013 Handpicked® Wines Capella Vineyard Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir, 2015 Handpicked® Wines Capella Vineyard Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir, 2017 Handpicked® Wines Capella Vineyard Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir, 2021 Handpicked® Wines Capella Vineyard Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir.
We then finished with shiraz three ways from the Numbered Series – barrel sample treatments:
Treatment A: Caviar
Fermented and pressed to tank and racked to old French oak barrels. Destemmed gentle pump over.
Treatment B: Carbonic
Carbonic maceration followed by foot stomp then pressed to tank and racked to predominantly new French oak barrels.
Treatment C: Lagar
Destemmed and foot stomped from cold soak and pressed to tank and racked to predominantly new French oak barrels.
2021 Handpicked® Wines new release wines:
2021 Collection Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay
The 2021 Collection Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay comes from a mix of Capella Vineyard Blocks – B, E and C. The handpicked fruit was whole-bunch pressed to tank, racked with full solids into French oak barriques and puncheons (33 per cent new). The fruit was fermented utilising predominantly indigenous yeast. After fermentation, the wine spent 11 months in French oak before bottling. RRP $49.99
2021 Collection Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir
The 2021 Collection Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir comes from a mix of Capella Vineyard Blocks – A, B, E and F. The handpicked fruit is destemmed and then fermented in open stainless steel fermenters. The wine is pressed to tank post-ferment and racked into French oak barrels. The wine is aged for 10 months using 33 per cent new oak from four select French oak coopers before bottling. This wine was awarded the Best of Region Trophy at the 2022 Australian Pinot Noir Challenge. RRP $59.99
2021 Capella Vineyard Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay
The 2021 Capella Vineyard Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay is crafted from B and E blocks’ fruit. Select parcels were whole-bunch pressed to tank and racked with full solids into French oak barriques and puncheons (33 per cent new). The fruit was fermented utilising predominantly indigenous yeast. After fermentation, the wine spent 11 months in Taransaud and Mercury French oak before bottling. RRP $69.99
2021 Capella Vineyard Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir
The 2021 Capella Vineyard Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir comes from select parcels of fruit from the A and B blocks at Capella. The fruit is destemmed and then fermented in two-tonne stainless steel open fermenters. After fermentation, it is pressed to tank and racked to French oak barrels. The wine is aged for 11 months using 33 per cent new French oak before bottling. This wine was awarded the Best Pinot Noir trophy at the 2022 Mornington Peninsula Wine Show. RRP $89.99Due to limited quantities, the Single Vineyard Capella Chardonnay and Pinot Noir will be available under strict allocation. The wines will also be available in limited quantities at Handpicked® Wines Melbourne and Sydney Urban Cellar Doors. Visit handpickedwines.com.au for more information.
