Finch's
Line
High-end boutique wines from Australia's Hunter Valley
Miles Corish
- the man behind Finch's Line
Finch’s Line
is a small, high-end wine producer in Australia’s Hunter Valley.
It’s run by Miles Corish, an Aussie who is currently working in
the wine trade in the UK (his company is Bowland Forest Vintners,
based in Clitheroe). As an aside, Miles used to be a first class
cricketer in Australia.
The wines come
from a 70 year old vineyard near Pokolbin that Miles discovered
while he was doing vintage at Tyrrells. He makes the wine at Château
Pato, one of the Hunter’s leading boutique wineries. The
‘Finch’ in the name comes from the Finch who was the original
surveyor of the road from Sydney to the Hunter Valley.
Miles doesn’t
use small oak, but instead raises his wines predominantly in large
old wood, of which 20% is new each year. The fermentation is with
wild yeasts, and a portion is fermented in hogsheads with the ends
knocked out and turned on their side. After fermentation the wine is
basket-pressed.
Miles points out
that contrary to popular opinion, the distinctive earthy/spicy
flavour of some Hunter reds isn’t Brettanomyces, but rather a
Hunter terroir character. I really like his wines, which show a good
deal of elegance. They are available in the UK from Find Wine (http://findwine.co.uk).
THE
WINES
Finch’s
Line Shiraz 2006 Hunter Valley
Lovely mineral, savoury nose is taut and refined. The palate is
earthy and spicy with lovely concentration and freshness. Really
elegant spicy style with lovely savouriness. I like this a lot.
93/100 (£16 Find Wine)
Finch’s
Line Shiraz 2007 Hunter Valley
Lovely focused red fruits nose with some cherry freshness and
subtle spiciness. The palate is fresh and bright with lovely
acidity. Fresh and nicely complex with notes of minerals and earth.
Great concentration. 93/100 (£19 Find Wine)
See
also:
Hunter
Valley mini-series based on a visit in 2009
Wines
tasted 11/10
Find these wines with wine-searcher.com
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