Vintages

2010 heralds a new era in winemaking for Thunder Ridge

Thunder Ridge wines would like to introduce you to our new contract wine maker - Shaun Cassidy, Managing Director of Merilba Estate (est 1998). Shaun has a Bachelor of Applied Science (Queensland University, 1995). As well as being a winemaker, Shaun is also a wine judge and a wine educator (in association with TAFE NSW).

The decision to change winemakers in 2010 allows Thunder Ridge Wines to reduce its carbon footprint by using a local winemaker rather than sending our fruit out of the region for processing. It also allows us to be involved in the winemaking process at a far higher level than ever before.

Shaun's thoughts on Thunder Ridge

The research that Peter & Susan at Thunder Ridge put into site selection has paid off. Any winemaker will tell you that good wine begins in the vineyard and site selection is everything in this regard. The vineyard's north-easterly aspect allows good air flow and air drainage through the vines. This is important as it helps reduce the pressures of frost and fungal disease in the vineyard.

The attention to detail shown in the Thunder Ridge vineyard is next to being anal! resulting in wines that I believe over-delivers on quality compared to the price. Peter and Susan are really focused on developing distinctly Thunder Ridge wines, that is, wines that differ from the somewhat homogenized and often mass produced product you might find in your local Supermarket.

This was evident in how they educated me to develop a style of wine with all of the attributes they wanted in their 2010 Chardonnay. This unique process involved selecting seven very different Chardonnays, 6 good friends and a big feed of seafood. The wines ranged in price from $40 to $500 per bottle. We all discussed which characteristics we felt were best in each of the wines and which styles we preferred, as well as identifying the characteristics and styles we did not like.

From this beginning I am working closely with Peter & Susan on every aspect of wine making from oak selection for the Merlot to how much Malo-lactic fermentation the Chardonnay can handle.

The 2010 Thunder Ridge vintage is shaping up to be a cracker, with the Chardonnay displaying real cool climate characters such as white peaches and other stone fruit such as nectarines. Whilst the Merlot shows lovely ripe red berries without a hint of the dreaded stalkiness that can sometimes be attributed to cool climate Merlot.

My contract winemaking brief from Thunder Ridge is to make certain that the heart of the vigneron, the soul of the winemaker and the gifts of each season are present in every vintage along with the characteristics that the panel of 6 friends selected, in order to ensure the uniqueness of Thunder Ridge Wines.

Sincerely,
Shaun Cassidy