Penna Lane 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon — Gold Medal and Trophy for Best Cabernet Sauvignon at 2009 Winewise Small Vigneron Awards.
Penna Lane 2004 Riesling — Winestate Wine of the Year, 2007.
Penna Lane 2006 Riesling — Top Gold, 2006 Royal Adelaide Wine Show.2006 Royal Adelaide Wine Show.
The 2011 vintage is fnally fnished. Despite being a late and, at times, a wet harvest, we picked our two Rieslings, from Watervale and Skilly Valley, as well as our estate Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2011 Rieslings are looking good and we are expecting the wines to at least equal the quality of last year. Unfortunately the wet and cold weather was not kind to our Semillon; it was not picked, as it suffered from both botrytis and powdery mildew. The Shiraz was also affected by the weather, but not to the same degree. A small portion was picked and at this stage it looks promising.
The 2010 whites continue to impress the industry, winning medals in the major Australianwine shows. The 2010 Skilly Riesling was awarded 5 stars from Winestate and rated the best Riesling in Clare. The wine will be featured in the July/August Winestate magazine. We were also awarded a silver medal for the 2010 Skilly in the International Wine Challenge section of the London Wine Show. The 2010 Semillon continues to improve and has been nominated by Winestate as a Top 40 best buy under $20.00. This wine will also be featured in the July/August issue. We have recently released the 2009 Shiraz and 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon and these wines are being well received at cellar door.
We have also been working hard to develop our distribution throughout Australia, with the appointment of new interstate distributors and an expansion of outlets throughout Adelaide. Look for Penna Lane wines at the Maid and Magpie, Saracens Head, Gilbert Street and Exeter Hotels, as well as at the following restaurants - Chesser Cellar, Alphutte, Ambrosini’s, Rigoni’s and Parliamento.
The Penna Lane Kitchen, which features food by Julie Moss, is doing great business on the weekend and we are continually receiving compliments on the quality of the cooking.
Clare Gourmet for this year was an all day Saturday affair with Julie’s homemade sausage rolls, pea and ham soup, and chicken casserole winning the popular vote. Little Black Dress kept everyone entertained with their music throughout the day. Later in the day we hosted a Saturday night roast, featuring local lamb. It was a great success with many staying to enjoy Graeme Hogan’s camp fre and Penna Lane wines.
We have attached a new price list featuring the new wines as well as some specials. The 2008 Shiraz is a great buy as we are keen to clear the remainder of our old label stock.
We look forward to seeing many of you at Penna Lane over the winter months and, if you wish to come for lunch on Saturday or Sunday, please make yourself known to Mark or Graeme at cellar door and I am sure they will shout you a glass over lunch by the cellar door fre.
Thank you to all mail order customers for your support throughout the year. It has been a busy,and successful year and we are looking forward to fi nishing off the 09 reds and getting ready for 2011 vintage.
We are very pleased with this year’s whites, with the Skilly Riesling and the estate Semillon winning awards in both Melbourne and Clare.
The Findings Riesling is creating a lot of interest and is developing a strong following. With its slightly higher sugar level and its ‘crackle’, it’s the perfect wine for the summer.
The special offers in this newsletter have been designed to ensure that all your Christmas and summer wine needs are covered.
From the recently released Willsmore (which is in limited supply),to the new Watervale Riesling,through to the SSB and 08 Shiraz, there is plenty of Penna wine for the holidays.
The Penna Lane Kitchen was relaunched in September, with a new cook, Julie Moss and a new menu.
The home cooked food and the new range of ‘feral’, locally sourced jams and chutneys have been selling out every weekend.
The response to the new menu has been fantastic, and it is a welcome addition to Penna’s cellar door weekends.
We will be open until the end of January, with a well earned break planned for the month of February. We will close following the ‘Day on the Green’ weekend (February 5th and 6th),reopening on March 5th.
Merry Christmas and happy new year.
Our first vintage at Penna Lane could not have been better. Despite the unseasonable heat in November, which affected some varieties in Clare and other areas of South Australia, we remained unscathed.
Vintage started early and finished well before Easter. We began in mid February with the hand picking of the Semillon.
Owing to the exceptional quality of the Semillon fruit, we decided that the release of a single variety, estate grown Semillon was warranted.
A small quantity went into new French oak, with the intention of adding this wine back to the larger portion, the aim being to add further depth and complexity to the finished wine.
The Semillon exhibits typical freshly mown hay flavours, with attractive citrus and tropical highlights. The blending has provided a textural and creamy element that binds all the flavours together.
We are keen to produce wines that reflect the distinct characters of their sub regions within the Clare Valley. To this end we have been sourcing additional parcels of Riesling fruit.
We are continuing to use the fruit from the Mocandunda block that had been providing award winning fruit to Penna for many years.
Extensive searching and testing turned up an additional two blocks where the fruit reflects the qualities that make Clare Valley Riesling one of the great wines of Australia.
Darry Honey’s small block nestles on the slopes of the Skilly Valley. It sits on the shaly rock that is typical of this valley, which runs between Sevenhill and Watervale.
Anthony Koerner’s vineyard at Watervale is grown on rich red loam and limestone soil and has been producing great Rieslings for over 30 years.
The fruit from these three blocks are the basis of the two Rieslings we offer for this year - the Skilly and the Penna Lane Riesling.
The Skilly is a bright vibrant wine, showing minerality and exciting aromas of lime and citrus, a direct reflection of the soils and the special climate of the Skilly Valley.
The Penna Riesling is built around the grapes from Watervale. The typical citrus flavours are powered by flavours of lime and hints of passion fruit. A Riesling that will please all long-time lovers of this variety, this is a wine that will develop the classic notes of honey and toast as it ages.