What do you get when you cross a brick shed with turrets and a winegrower?
Chateau Garage of course!
It didn’t take much to convince Ollie that Garage winemaking was a superb idea.
In his role as viticulturist, his job was finished for the season when all the grapes had made it to the winery. But something was missing… a small garage ferment was just the ticket for finishing off the vintage and completing the grape growing cycle.
Always in small batches, opportunities presented themselves over the years. Dark brooding reds, a fragrant Cabernet Franc, and even a noble botrytis Viognier. Family and friends were always on standby to help with the picking and foot crushing.
In the early days, he found a row of Chardonnay grapes left behind. He hand harvested the fruit into an old basket press, gently squeezing the free run juice to a seasoned barrel.
The 2000 Chardonnay was an inspiration, and ever since, Ollie has kept an eye out to forage harvest fruits.
Ollie and Rebecca had two harvest babies both born in March. Sophia in 2007 and and India in 2010. From very early on the girls have hand harvested, foot stomped and pressed the grapes, each year joined by family and friends who all pitch in.
Each garage wine harvest marks a moment in time for the family, making the wine on the table even more memorable.
Things stepped up considerably in 2020 with some world class Syrah from the Two Terraces vineyard.
Harvested and destemmed by hand, with 30% of the whole bunches added to the ferment. Soaking on skins for 99 days unlocked all the flavour, and tannins from the seeds and skins. The final step was to basket press to seasoned oak where the wine rested for 18 months.
Chateau Garage gets real…
In March 2021 , Ollie purchased two tonnes of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Cornerstone vineyard owned by Bob Newton and Dinah Kennedy. It is a vineyard famous in the industry for it’s stony, gravelly soils. Ollie was entranced by the dark chocolate and rich berry flavours in the grapes.
The aromas were so intoxicating during fermentation that Ollie decided to buy some new French oak barrels. After fermentation, the wine was gently pressed and hand poured into the barrels. Ollie still talks of the unforgettable sensation of the rush of aromas of virgin oak and ripe Cabernet, as he tipped the first wine into the new barrels.
Fast forward 14 months and this amazing wine is bottled. Twenty cases bottled as ‘Hugo’. A knock out blend from three barrels Ollie felt best expressed the terroir. The dark chocolate flavours in the vineyard are still in force, with wild berry and dark olive notes.
