Rutherglen Flashcards
Rutherglen Region
Situated inland in the north east of Victoria
Climate
“Warm continental (warm days but moderated by cool air flowing down from the Victorian Alps at night)
- Warm days in the growing season and long, dry autums mean that large amounts of sugar can accumulate in the grapes (required for syrupy sweet styles)”
Risks
”- Autumn rains can be an issue (although rare) as they may cause botrytis (orange marmalade aromas) which are undesirable
- Sunburn (need shading)”
Grape Variety
Muscat à Petits Grains Rouges aka “brown muscat” (grapey + floral)
Vineyard
”- Often trained to double cordons w/ canopy sprawling or into VSP
- Many old vines (deeper color, more concentration)”
Harvest
”- Grapes often left on the vine until extra ripe and start to shrivel (potential abv 20%)
- Harvested between Mid-March and May (often all throughout for variety of options when blending)”
Winemaking
”- Grapes ferment briefly on their skins to break down the pulp and release sugar and flavor (required because extracting dense juice through pressing is difficult when the grapes are as shrivelled as they are when picked)
- Enzymes may be added and cap management employed to aid extraction
- At 1 - 2% abv, it’s drained off the skins > skins are pressed > juice combined > then fortified to 17.5%
- Clarified by racking or light filtration or any adjustments”
Fortification Spirit
Neutral spirit of at least 96% abv
Maturation
”- Old oak vessels (no oak flavors or tannins) in warm conditions (classically warehouses w/ tin roofs that get warm in the summer)
- Stacking barrels or different parts of the warehouse can be warmer (mature more quickly) or cooler (retain greater freshness)
- Vessels: Lg round/oval casks (1300 - 9k L) or small barrels (180 - 500 L) for greater concentration via evaporation, more oxidation, and quicker maturation
- During maturation, wines turn from pale pink, ruby, or garnet to deep brown; increase in sweetness, alcohol, body, and acidity; develops tertiary aromas
- NV: Blend young and old wines to achieve a balance between freshness and complexity and/or a house style (and some even use a modified solera system)”
What happens during maturation?
During maturation, water evaporates gradually from the oak vessels, causing alcohol, sugar, and acidity levels to rise gradually over time. The speed of this process is impacted by the heat, the size of the vessel, and also humidity, with warm, dry conditions leading to a quicker rate of evaporation. Some producers will aim to reduce ullage by topping up the barrels frequently, maintaining a fresher, less oxidative style of wine. Others will top up barrels less frequently to encourage oxidative flavors to develop.
Muscat of Rutherglen Network
Founded in 1995 to promote the sales of Rutherglen Muscat that introduced a classification system of four descriptions based on richness, complexity, and intensity (classified by taste rather than age) *as the level of class increase, the number of vintages in the blend and the range from oldest to youngest will be greater.
Rutherglen Muscat
Avg age 3 - 5 years; 180 - 240 g/L; Med garnet, sweet, full body, med+ acid, med alc, pronounced aromas of raisins, figs, dates, sweet spices; v good; fully mature, does not improve from ageing, drunk within 1/2 years after release
Classic Rutherglen Muscat
Avg age 6 - 10 years; 200 - 280 g/L; greater concentration, complexity, deeper color, and tertiary aromas
Grand Rutherglen Muscat
Avg age 11 - 19 years; 270 - 400 g/L; even greater concenration, complexity from blending young and v mature wines; tawny or brown, nutty, liquorice character, even sweeter, more acid, and fuller than younger expressions; still has fresh fruit; outstanding
Rare Rutherglen Muscat
Min avg age 20 years but wines in blend often much older; 270 - 400 g/L; Pinnacle of Rutherglen Muscat
