How our Nebbiolo is made
Even on a warm north-west slope, our Nebbiolo is the last variety to ripen in the vineyard each vintage, as we wait for its natural acid levels to gradually reduce. Once ready, the fruit is:
- Hand-picked to preserve fruit quality
- Fermented in tank
- Left on skins for an extended maceration +100 days, gently softening the wine's structure
- Racked to large-format, seasoned puncheons (minimum 500 litres)
- Matured for at least 24 months before bottling and release
This slow, deliberate process is what shapes the wine's character. The extended skin contact and long barrel maturation are essential to bringing Nebbiolo's naturally firm tannin and acidity into balance.
What Makes Our Nebbiolo Red Wine Different
Most Nebbiolo red wine planted outside Italy may struggle to ripen in a cooler climate, or may ripen too quickly in a hot climate. It needs a particular climate that allows its long 8-month vegetative cycle to play out, slowly and methodically allowing the tannins to ripen, the acid to soften while all the time building good sugar and flavour profiles. The Yarra Valley's cool nights and long, slow ripening season solve that problem better than most of Australia, giving Soumah's Nebbiolo the pale brick colour, dried rose and tar aromatics, and firm, fine grained tannin that are the hallmarks of a great Nebbiolo.
Expect notes of wild cherry, dried herbs and a savoury, almost tobacco-like edge that builds with age. Do not confuse it with our Nebbiolo Bianco, a white wine made from Arneis. The two share a name only because Arneis was traditionally planted next to Nebbiolo vines in Piedmont to draw birds away from the more valuable red grapes, not because the two varieties are related.
Taste both side by side at our cellar door, or order the current releases online with delivery Australia-wide.
