PRESS RELEASE: 14 December 2006
Amisfield 2005 Pinot Gris Achieves Top Billing in Prestigious Wine Magazine
Amisfield Wine Company’s 2005 Pinot Gris has achieved top billing and attracted a five star rating in the prestigious
Gourmet Traveller Wine Magazine’s recent Australasian Pinot Gris tasting.
Amisfield’s wine clearly stood out as a ‘star performer’ amongst all the Australian and New Zealand Pinot Gris wines
tasted. The panel which included Masters of Wine Nick Bulleid, Andrew Caillard and Bob Campbell noted that of all the
Pinot Gris wines tasted the most successful came from the cool regions.
Nick Bulleid says that all members of the panel were impressed with the Amisfield Pinot Gris which judge Huon Hooke
described as ‘nice, buttery nutty complexity. Peach and apricot flavours. Full palate but not overpowering. Positive
development and finishes in harmony without help from alcohol or sweetness.’
“I thought that the use of winemaker intervention was very well-judged, adding complexity without overwhelming the
fruit,”says Bulleid.
Amisfield winemaker Jeff Sinnott says the panel has fully understood Amisfield’s winemaking techniques. “Our hands off
policy is something which we try to maintain throughout all our winemaking processes and it is fantastic that they have
picked up on this with the 2005 Pinot Gris.”
He says the quality of the grapes is the driver for their success. “If it wasn’t great fruit then we couldn’t make great
wine.”
Mr Sinnott paid tribute to the collective effort of everyone involved in the Amisfield project.
“This Pinot Gris epitomises the attitude of everyone at Amisfield and reinforces our ‘grown not made’ philosophy.”
He says it is exciting to receive the accolades for the 2005 Pinot Gris from such a highly respected group of
independent wine experts.
“They don’t make these decisions lightly. This is not a show situation where you enter your wines and they receive only
brief attention. In magazine wine tastings each wine gets a lot of focus and discussion and the decisions are made
collectively.”
Amisfield general manager Fleur Caulton is proud of the influential Gourmet Traveller Wine top billing and five star
rating which she attributes to a significant team effort since the Amisfield label was launched in 2002.
“It means that all the hard work is paying off and the quality of our wine is getting the recognition worldwide we hoped
for. Our sustainable approach has played an important role and this five star rating for our Pinot Gris is
acknowledgement of that.”
ENDS