Sacred Hill Moscato 2011
Region
Riverina
Appearance
Pale straw in colour with a lively green tinge.
Bouquet
The nose displays freshly crushed grapes, with musk and floral undertones and just a hint of orange blossom to top it off.
Palate
The palate is lively and fresh as one would expect from a frizzante style wine, with flavours of fresh grapes with just a squeeze of lemon on the finish.
Vintage Conditions
2011 was a very difficult vintage with some of the largest rainfalls recorded in a growing season. However, the summer ripening period was cooler because of this rainfall. This led to long ripening periods and great flavour and acid balance, rarely seen in the Riverina region.
Winemaking
Fruit was sourced from vineyards that were well protected from the harsh sun and which displayed the intensity required for this style of wine. The fruit was picked and pressed cold. Juice was left to settle naturally and then filtered clean. The wine was fermented cold to retain fresh fruit characters and fermentation stopped once a balance was reached between alcohol, sweetness, and acidity.
Wine Analysis
Alc/Vol : 8.0 % pH : 3.2 TA : 6.5 g/L
Cellaring
Best while young and fresh or up to 2 years.
Suggested Cuisine
Italian favourites such as pizza and pasta.
General Characteristics
Medium Sweet Light Bodied
"...Grapey and limey with a little musk and some mandarin peel. There’s a bit of spritz visible in the glass and it helps cuts through the residual sugar and fruit sweetness on the palate. It’s slightly sherbety and has some classy sour edges which work a treat. It prances and frolics around on your tongue and then lingers longer than you might have thought, even if it’s not really that long..."
Jeremy Pringle, winewilleatitself.com, April 2012
87 Points
"A grapey moscato with all the right flavours of honey, cane sugar, lemon and ginger. Sure, it’s short, simple and shy on fruit concentration, but will anyone notice? You’re slurping moscato, after all, and you’ve just spent the sum total of $5.40 at Jack’s Wine this week (or as little as $3.75 on a good day at the barn stores). Why spend $25 on moscato, anyway?"
Tyson Stelzer, Wine taste weekly, March 2012
7/10
"Light in colour and with a slight fizz, this moscato is sweeter than most with a very light flavour of musky grapes. Light on the palet with a crisp finish, it is wonderful for lunch on a hot afternoon with fruit or a seafood meal."
Andrew Meath, Geelong Advertiser, December 2011
Good
"Moscatos are as close as you'll get in a bottle to the sweet fruitiness of simple, freshly crushed grape juice. Add a few bubbles and low alcohol and this De Bortoli is a good example of the style - very sweet but nicely refreshing when given a good chill and with enough balancing acid to lift and clean up the finish."
, Sunday Tasmanian, November 2011
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