Springs Estate

Springs Estate is a small boutique winery located near the rural township of Corindhap 35 km south of Ballarat in Victoria. At an elevation of 320 metres conditions are ideal for the production of quality cool climate wines.

Vineyard

The vineyard was planted in 1983 with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The climate is cool temperate with a long ripening period ideal for the production of premium quality wine grapes. This allows the grapes to develop concentrated flavours and fine tannins and for the reds a deep rich colour resulting in complex wines with great balance, structure and length.

The vineyard has been planted on well drained sandy loam soil overlying a subsoil of clay-loam with quartz rich areas. The closely planted vines are trellised to maximise sunlight exposure and cane or spur pruned depending on the grape variety. Drip irrigation is used and crop levels are kept below two tonnes to the acre increasing the intensity of wine produced. Bird netting is used to protect the fruit and ensure it can be hand picked at optimum ripeness generally in April each year.

Wine Making

Springs Estate winemaking takes advantage of quality grapes, traditional methods and limited production, to make wines of great character, intensity and complexity. After hand picking, the Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Merlot grapes are further screened at the winery to remove any unripe or damaged bunches. They are then de-stemmed and partially crushed before being fermented dry in open top fermentation tanks in lots of 1.5 tonnes or less. The wines are basket pressed and matured in small oak casks before being bottled on site without filtration.

The Chardonnay grapes are handpicked, gently pressed and the juice settled for 24 hours before a wild yeast ferment. The wine then spends 6 to 12 months on lees with up to half in oak cask. After racking, the wine is then bottled on site.

Wines

Cabernet Merlot

The Cabernet and Merlot grapes were fermented separately and matured in small oak casks for 18 months before blending and bottling. The wine is a deep ruby red has good weight with complex aromas, rich berry fruit flavours, fine grained tannins and a hint of mint on the finish. Cellaring potential of 8+ years.

Cabernet Sauvignon

This Cabernet Sauvignon is an elegant full bodied wine with rich black fruits, subtle toasty oak and fine grained tannins. It has great cellaring potential and will develop added complexity over the next 10 years.

Pinot Noir

The Pinot Noir is a concentrated medium bodied wine with rich black cherry, red currant and earthy flavours, ripe tannins, good balance and a deep persistent finish.

Chardonnay

The estate style Chardonnay tends towards apple, white peach fruit flavours with some grapefruit/citrus characters and a mineral finish with subtle oak in the background.