Domaine A
5 Stars - James Halliday Australian Wine Companion 2011-2012
Coal River Valley, Tasmania
domaine-a.com.au
Domaine A is a 20ha property in the Coal River Valley of southern Tasmania, owned by Ruth and Peter Althaus. It was originally planted with 0.5ha of noble grape varieties in 1973 by its former owners, Priscilla and George Park. Inspired by the quality and potential of the site’s early wines, Ruth and Peter purchased Stoney Vineyard in 1989. The vineyard’s sloping, north-north easterly aspect, and the foliage height of 1400mm, enable vine leaves to take full advantage of the prolonged hours of bright summer sunshine from 5 am until 9 pm during the ripening period. This is normal for Stoney Vineyard.
YOU CAN BUY DOMAINE A WINE ONLINE HERE>
Peter Althaus
“Australia’s 10 bravest winemakers”
“Althaus is a Swiss who decided, after 27 years at IBM, that he was ‘going to make wine to match the great wines of the world’. He also believed that ‘Cabernet is King’. Then he chose Tasmania to do it. All of which is ample testimony to his originality of thought. ‘I wanted cool climate by latitude, not altitude or sea breeze. I think sunshine ripens wine, not heat’. He looked in the Americas and New Zealand before tasting the wines of what was then Stoney Vineyard – and finding the finesse he was looking for. His Coal River site is warm and protected; Cabernet and Merlot are planted on the lower clays, and Pinot on upper-slope dolerite. Sulphur and selected yeasts are the only additions made to the wines. Just how true they are to their origins in both season and place is underlined by their extreme variability – but the best Cabernets and Pinots from the warmest seasons here are poised, fresh and classic.”
Andrew Jefford, Decanter, May 2010
“(…) His Bordeaux blends are truly special and worth the effort to find. (…)”
“(…) Since the beginning Peter has produced Cabernet blends as though they were French classified growths. His 11.5 hectares of vineyards are planted to 75% Bordeaux red varietals (mainly Cabernet Sauvignon), 15% Pinot Noir and around 5% Sauvignon Blanc. He’s found a magical spot to grow Cabernet where the aspect and higher degree of natural UV light strength can slowly, perfectly ripen grapes producing wines of great elegance and finesse. I tasted his 1992 Cabernet during my visit and it is evolving beautifully with a long life still ahead. His Bordeaux blends are truly special and worth the effort to find. (…).”
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate, June 2010
Domaine A
One of the ‘Best of the Best’ Wineries and 5/5 red stars
James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2011-2012
“Landmark Wine of Australia“
“My suggestion is that as many wine lovers as possible should try wines from [Domaine A], an example of those who make wines hugely superior to the current Australian stereotype.”
Jancis Robinson MW OBE, April 2009
“made without compromise”
“The wines are made without compromise, and reflect the low yields from the immaculately tended vineyards. They represent aspects of both Old World and New World philosophies, techniques and styles.”
James Halliday, www.winecompanion.com.au
“(…) I have never been so gob-smacked with a range of wines in my life…”
Matthew Jukes
“With multiple international awards and rave reviews there is one producer who has placed Tasmania on their radar. Peter Althaus, with his Domaine A range, from the Coal River Valley, near Hobart, is whispered about in these influential circles.”
www.tasmaniatopten.com
“Great Wine Drives: Tasmania”
“A few minutes’ drive back down the B31 and right on Tea Tree Road and you’ll find yourself at one of Tasmania’s more controversial wineries, Domaine A (105 Tea Tree Rd, Campania, 03 6260 4174). This is bonus time. Owner and winemaker, Peter Althaus, makes no secret of his admiration for the finest Europ-ean wines and the influence they have had upon him. Complexity, balance and elegance are all key and Althaus gives his wines as much time as they need before release. A previous visit was the strongest showing I’d seen, but this latest encounter completes the trip to Damascus. Whether the vintages have been more friendly, the vines older, the methods modified or that I am seeing things I previously missed hardly matters. The Domaine A Cabernet Sauvignon is undoubtedly the famous flagship, and far and away Tasmania’s most successful wine of that variety. But there are two others you have to try. The Domaine A Pinot Noir seems to sneak under the radar, though for the life of me, I cannot understand why. Surely, it’s one of Tassie’s finest. And the Domaine A Lady A – a complex, oak-matured sauvignon blanc, is a thousand miles from some of the one-dimensional, in-your-face wines from Marlborough. Beware, it sells out quickly, even with the tag of “Australia’s most expensive savvy”. This is also the home of the Stoney Vineyard wines.”
Ken Gargett, Great Wine Drives: Tasmania, Gourmet Traveller Wine, Dec 2011/Jan 2012
Domaine A Cabernet Sauvignon
“Great Wine Drives: Tasmania” (2005 vintage)
“This spent three years in oak and enjoys a dollop of merlot, cab franc and petit verdot. Cabernet may not be everyone’s cup of Tassie tea but Peter Althaus’s Coal River vineyard shows that there is a place for everything. Gorgeous nose of black fruits, black cherry and dry herbs. This is supple and seamless with very fine tannins.”
Ken Gargett, Great Wine Drives: Tasmania, Gourmet Traveller Wine, Dec 2011/Jan 2012
94/100 points (2005 vintage)
“…deep garnet-purple color, this wine has a beautiful cassis and spice nose with complementary notes of pencil shavings, lavender, eucalyptus, black olives and freshly ground pepper. The palate is taut with firm structure of high acidity and a medium to high level of fine grained tannins. There is great concentration of fruit and savoury flavours that linger in layers through the very long finish. Medium-bodied and at just 13% alcohol, this is a beautifully made elegant style.”
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Advocate, June 2011
95/100 points “…these cabernets are by far the best in Tasmania…”(2004 vintage)
“Every bit as youthful as the ‘05; a very fragrant bouquet with hallmark blackcurrant fruit and a finely framed palate; these cabernets are by far the best in Tasmania, but are not for lovers of Barossa cabernets.”
James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2011
96/100 points (2000 vintage)
“…gives a very deep garnet color with just a touch of brick and aromas of graphite, warm black currant and blackberry, plus nuances of dried mint, dark chocolate, tree bark, truffles and forest floor. The palate provides refreshing acid and a medium level of fine tannins going into a very graceful long finish. Drink this one now to 2020+. (…)”
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate, June 2010
“One of the best wines of 2009“ (1998 vintage)
Decanter Magazine, www.decanter.com
“A triumph”
“A triumph of foresight and dedication over misguided folklore. It’s more savoury than sweet, but that’s all to the good.”
Peter Bourne, Gourmet Traveller WINE, June/July 2007
“Distinguished” Classification
Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine IV
Domaine A Pinot Noir
“(…). Surely, it’s one of Tassie’s finest. (…).”
“(…). The Domaine A Pinot Noir seems to sneak under the radar, though for the life of me, I cannot understand why. Surely, it’s one of Tassie’s finest. (…).”
Ken Gargett, Great Wine Drives: Tasmania, Gourmet Traveller Wine, Dec 2011/Jan 2012
95/100 points, 5 glasses, ‘Special Value’ (2007 vintage)
James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2012
92+/100 points (2007 vintage)
“Medium ruby-purple in color, the 2007 Pinot Noir has a wonderfully perfumed, mint and floral nose with notes of freshly crushed spearmint, violets and red roses over black cherries, baking spices and a touch of tree bark. The medium bodied palate offers a generous amount of ripe berry and mint flavors with crisp acid and a medium to firm level of grainy tannins, finishing long and spicy. Delicious now, it should cellar nicely to 2016+.”
Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW, The Wine Advocate, June 2011
94/100 points “…heroically concentrated…” (2006 vintage)
“Exceptionally deep purple-red; as heroically concentrated as the bouquet suggests, and still needing years for its black fruits to open up, its tannins to soften…”
James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2011
95/100 points (2006 vintage)
Jeremy Oliver, www.jeremyoliver.com
Domaine A ‘Lady A’ Sauvignon Blanc
“(…). And the Domaine A Lady A – a complex, oak-matured sauvignon blanc, is a thousand miles from some of the one-dimensional, in-your-face wines from Marlborough. Beware, it sells out quickly, even with the tag of “Australia’s most expensive savvy”. (…).”
Ken Gargett, Great Wine Drives: Tasmania, Gourmet Traveller Wine, Dec 2011/Jan 2012
96/100 points (2008 vintage)
“Bright straw-green; a potent and powerful wine taking its cue directly from Bordeaux; ripe and intense fruit has absorbed the French oak in which it was fermented and matured; the impact of the oak is on the texture and structure of the wine, which has incredible intensity and length. 96 points, drink to 2018, $60, Cork, 14% alc.”
James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion website, May 2011
93/100 points(2007 vintage)
James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2010
92/100 points (2007 vintage)
“…an undercurrent of warm grapefruit, key lime pie filling and toasty/honeyed aromas. There’s still quite a lot of oak on the palate though it is very crisp, rich and long in the finish with a chalky/wet pebble character emerging. I anticipate the oak will begin to marry in 12-18 months and then this wine should develop and drink to 2018+.”
Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Advocate, June 2010
“Perhaps the single most distinctive Tasmanian wine however is an oaked Sauvignon Blanc made at Domaine A, Swiss-born Peter Althaus’s obsessively run estate in the Coal River Valley in the south of the island which is, counter-intuitively, Tasmania’s warmest area. The mountains presumably shelter this subregion from the prevailing winds. It is even warm enough here to ripen the late ripening Cabernet Sauvignon pretty consistently, even if in vintages as cool as 2004 it has to be picked as late as June.”
Jancis Robinson MW OBE, March 2007
“Simply the finest Sauvignon Blanc I have tasted.”
Tony Aspler, Winepros.com
