Kim Longbottom has been successfully leading Henry’s Drive
Vignerons, a winery she began with her late husband, for a number of years. Now
Kim has embarked on a new winemaking journey with the creation of Vintage Longbottom. The fresh venture welcomes Kim’s daughter
Margo to the family business. With
Vintage Longbottom, Kim has moved her winemaking ambitions from the Padthaway area
to two of Australia’s revered wine regions: McLaren Vale and Adelaide
Hills.
I had the opportunity to catch up with Kim at a media dinner
in New York this fall. We started with three wines from the H line. The labels are distinctive, with an oversized,
patchwork letter that hints of handcrafted quality. To this point, Kim stated, “I
hope my wines look like they taste.” It was true that the restraint on the
packaging reflected the elegance these wines showed in the glass.
The “H” wines we tasted, all sourced from Adelaide Hills, included:
Vintage Longbottom H Sauvignon Blanc 2018 – This wine was
round, with ripe tangerine notes and a nice amount of acidity to keep the wine
lifted. I found it a surprisingly luscious
Sauv Blanc. I was most impressed because
this was Kim’s first attempt at working with the grape. $29.99
Vintage Longbottom H Chardonnay 2018 - This chardonnay presented an assortment of
rich aromas including butterscotch and white flowers. The wine had good weight, and the gentle less stirring produced a level of complexity the wine. $29.99
Vintage Longbottom H Syrah 2017 – With black pepper and blackberry
on nose, this spicy Syrah had delicious red and black fruit and
spice on the palate. The deep fruit flavors
are in part a result of a portion of the fruit (10%) being fermented in whole bunches. Those tannins were softened by ageing in new
and used larger format barrels. $29.99
As we moved to the second line of wines, Henry’s Drive, Kim
shared that with this line she is making three last transitional vintages that will
use grapes from Padthaway and McClaren Vale.
Vintage Longbottom Henry’s Drive Shiraz 2017 – This richly
textured wine had notes of black pepper, eucalyptus, and black olive. The
layers of flavor included black plum, chocolate, and spice, and the wine had
well-integrated tannins and a long finish. $49.99
Vintage Longbottom Henry’s Drive Shiraz/Cabernet Sauvignon
2017 – With a tantalizing aroma of roses and cassis, this wine with grippy
tannins and big length revealed layers of raspberry, blackberry, and
spice. It's a wine that would marry well with
Australian lamb. $49.99
Vintage Longbottom Henry’s Drive Magnus Shiraz 2017 – Offering inviting aromatics of toffee, blackberry, and herbs, the wine had flavors of ripe black cherries,
blackberries and a dusting of white pepper.
Another big bodied wine with considerable length. It's fermented in open fermenters with
skin contact for three weeks – creating a full bodied wine with great depth of
flavor. $79.99
When it comes to Kim's approach to her new wines, she
emphasized the importance of picking time, admitting that Australia has at
times picked when grapes are overripe. With Kim's oversight of harvest and selection of new vineyard sites, Vintage Longbottom is
producing Australian wines that manage to be rich, but restrained, and always balanced.
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