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De Bortoli
De Bortoli is today one of Australia's largest wine producers, and it remains in the hands of the descendants of its founder, Vittorio De Bortoli. De Bortoli arrived from his native Italy in Australia in 1924, with dreams of a better life in the New World. Landing at Melbourne, after an arduous sea voyage, De Bortoli faced another lengthy journey by train before arriving at Griffith in New South Wales. And he faced another three years of labour as a farmhand, for very little pay, before accruing the necessary funds to buy a farm of his own. This was the start of De Bortoli wines.
It was, however, a shaky start. Times were hard. Vittorio De Bortoli was joined by other family
members, and together they concentrated on mixed farming to ensure an income.
Like many winemakers Vittorio started by making a little wine purely for the
family's own consumption. Before long, however, he was receiving orders from
guests who had sampled his wines, and the business began to take off.
Despite some success, times remained hard, particularly during the Second World
War when many immigrant Germans and Italians faced confiscation of land and
property, and even imprisonment. Fortunately this fate did not befall the De Bortoli family, and when the war ended the family business continued to go from
strength to strength. After De Bortoli died in 1979, his son Deen De Bortoli
inherited the winery, and it is this arm of the family that runs De Bortoli
today. His two daughters, Florrie and Eola, inherited a distribution business
established by De Bortoli in Sydney.
De Bortoli produce an impressive array of wines and spirits, using purchased fruit as well as that from their own vineyards in Riverina and the Hunter Valley in New South Wales (NSW) and the King Valley and Yarra Valley in Victoria. There are so many that it is a pointless task to list them all, but one cuvée deserves specific mention. The jewel in the crown is the De Bortoli Sauternes, which was first produced in 1982. In later years renamed Noble One, this is a classic botrytised Semillon, with a label and capsule bearing a remarkable resemblance to that of Yquem, the most famous dessert wine of Sauternes. (8/12/00)
Contact details:
Address: PO Box 21, Bilbul, NSW 2680
Telephone: +61 (0) 2 6966 0100
Fax: +61 (0) 2 6966 0199
Internet:
www.debortoli.com.au
De Bortoli - Tasting Notes
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De Bortoli Vat 96
Verdelho (NSW) 2000: A light, fresh, aromatic nose. A good, creamy texture,
with melon and oak flavours. Softer acidity with this wine. 14.5/20 (December
2000)
De Bortoli Sacred Hill Chardonnay (NSW) 1999: A pleasant white fruit
nose. A nicely textured palate, with a good presence of fruit and a sensible
amount of oak. Acidity a little too obvious. 13.5/20 (December 2000)
De Bortoli Windy Peak Pinot Noir (Victoria) 1999: Unimpressive nose
and weak, confected palate. A jammy New World Pinot, not to my taste. 12/20
(December 2000)
De Bortoli Sacred Hill Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot (NSW) 1999: A light,
spicy, red fruit nose. Unimpressive on the palate, some spice and fruitcake, but
a very light overall impression. 12/20 (December 2000)
De Bortoli Yarra Valley Chardonnay (Victoria) 1998: A quite different, big
and brash, fat, oaky, coconutty nose. Unsurprisingly, the
palate is somewhat drowned in vanillin oak. There is some
quality fruit underneath it all. For true oak lovers only
at present, but this may improve with time.
14/20 (December 2000)
De Bortoli Vat 1
Durif (NSW) 1998: A big, spicy, fruity yet somewhat green and leafy nose.
Again quite light on the palate, but with some pleasant fruit. An unusual
flavour profile, coming across as a bit confected. Peppery on the finish.
Doesn't appeal to me, but may to some. 14/20 (December 2000)
De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon (NSW) 1996: A rich golden hue.
Freshly made toast and marmalade on the nose. A delightfully unctuous texture,
but with good balancing acidity, and thus an improvement on the 1995. Orange
marmalade, apricots, a touch nutty, and lovely botrytis character. Finishes
superbly. I wish I hadn't bought so much of the 1995 vintage, as this has a
greater harmony and balance. 17.5+/20 (December 2000)
De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon (NSW) 1995: From half-bottles. A very deep,
orange-copper hue. Liquid marmalade on the nose, with botrytis, baked earth and
oranges, barley sugar and caramel. Full, rich palate with almost insensible
acidity. Deep and smoky flavours, with notes of baked honey, barley sugar and
toffee character on the palate, which has a huge, cloying finish. Sadly lacking
in acidity, and therefore it does not posses the verve of a great wine, this hasn't
made the same impression on me as my last tasting five years ago; perhaps this
is down to development of my palate as much as the wine itself? From a
1995 vintage ten years on
tasting. 12/20 (December 2005)
De Bortoli Noble One
Botrytis Semillon (NSW) 1995: A rich amber colour, and a typical botrytis
nose of quince jelly. On the forepalate there is a fresh, lifting acidity which
brings light relief from the rich, unctuous, botrytis characteristics that then
develop in the mouth. As you would expect, significant length. Very good - it
will be interesting to see how this wine develops over the next decade or so.
16+/20 (August 2000)
Tasting notes are ordered by date of tasting, most recent first. I have tried to indicate whether it is a tasting of a new release, or of a wine I have cellared.
De Bortoli Black Noble (NSW) NV: Latest release. A very individual looking, fairly
pale caramel coloured wine. A big woody nose. A surprisingly rich and unctuous
texture in view of the appearance, with freshly brewed tea, caramel and wood. An
unusual style of wine. 14.5/20 (December 2000)
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