Averys of Bristol

6. Tyrrell’s Vat 47 Chardonnay Next up in our ‘10 wines that tell the Averys story’ is Tyrrell’s Vat 47 Chardonnay, the wine that put Australian Chardonnay on the world wine map. It’s hard to believe that fifty years ago, you couldn’t buy a bottle of Australian Chardonnay – even in Australia – it simply didn’t exist. The first commercially released Australian Chardonnay was Tyrrell’s Vat 47 1971. The story goes that Murray Tyrrell jumped the fence of the Penfolds HVD Pokolbin vineyard in the middle of the night to steal vine cuttings of Chardonnay (he’d already asked politely but as they’d refused, this was his only other option!) These cuttings reputedly went on to become the basis for Vat 47. Whether this is true or not is debatable but it certainly makes a good story! Since then, Tyrrell’s has become an Australian wine legend and that’s thanks in no small part to our very own John Avery. “The connection with the Avery family went back into the 1950s and John played...

2017 - Small but perfectly formed Good things come in small packages goes the cliché, well cliché or not, the overall picture of the Rhone in 17 is one of reduced volumes, but broadly (whisper it) excellent quality; both North to South. In fact, the mantra being repeated by a number of vignerons I met in the sweltering conditions of August whilst travelling the region, was that the vintage in qualitative terms is parked somewhere between that of the duelling titanic years of 2015 & 2016. After regaling this sentiment to a colleague on my return, the reply was one of ‘that’s not a bad place to be’, well indeed, and from my stand point I’d struggle not to concur. This was a viewpoint echoed North to South. As ever lumping the entire all-encompassing Rhone region into one rigid narrative, or stylistic summary is almost impossible. One only has to appreciate the different natural surroundings of the split region. The north being the home of beautiful terraced vineyards, stark...

Meet the winemaker – Bernard Repolt What changes have you made since taking over at Remoissenet? What was it like taking on such a famous old name? Basically, the challenge was to turn an old negociant into becoming all about quality wines. Our domaine now includes 25 hectares and we also vinify another 25 hectares. Remoissenet is renowned for having one of the largest libraries of old wines in Burgundy. Can you share a few highlights with us? There are many good wines! I still particularly enjoy the 1966 & 1967 Volnays. Can you tell us a bit more about the 2017 vintage – any tips for buying en primeur? It’s a very friendly vintage. I recommend Beaune 1er Cru, Gevrey Chambertin and Nuits-Saint-Georges. What does the future look like for Remoissenet? We have a new project on the Côte de Nuits starting in 2018. I can’t say anything more now but we’ll update you in a few months time. The Photo is of the Family visiting Roland Remoissenet at his moated Chateau Pos...