Heemskerk
www.heemskerk.com.auCellar Door: Not
Ph: 1300 651 650
Heemskerk, now a prestigious Fosters brand, was one of the famous names in the early days of the revival of the Tasmanian wine industry.
As early as 1966 Graham Wiltshire and various business partners established vineyards in northern Tasmania and eventually in the early 1990s became well known for sparkling wine production.
The Cabernets and Rieslings from suitable vintages were also highly regarded although didn’t have public profile of sparklings. Graham served as the President of the Vineyards Association of Tasmania.
Shifting to the present day and the brand has ended as part of the giant Fosters Wine Estate (now the Treasury Wine Estates).
Fortunately the wine-making has ended up in the hands of Anna Pooley, one of Australia’s most exciting young winemakers (nominated for the 2009 Young Guns of Wine Award) and the brand has launched a series of premium table wines.
Anna, is from the Pooley family who have been involved with growing or making wine for three generations at Campania on the Coal River.
She went to Adelaide to get her qualifications and spent four years working in variety of wineries overseas and in Australia. She started working with Heemskerk brand in 2006.
As well as the sparkling the portfolio includes a complex leesy and barrel fermented Riesling, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from premium sites in the Coal River Valley and Derwent River Valley.
There are three types of Tasting notes:
(W) Notes from the winery (blurbs from bottle)
(GXY) Notes from a GenXY wine reviewer
(G) Notes from GenXY's Tasting events (collective opinions)
Heemskerk Derwent Valley Pinot Noir 2009
Purchased: Not ($60)
Drink: 2017
(GXY) Tasting: Sept 2011, rich and silky core of dark plum and maraschino cherry with asian spice notes and a streak of underlying rhubarb earthiness and citrus rind acidity, the medium-full bodied builds complexity along palate, lingering dusty tannins (*****)
Heemskerk Sparkling Chardonnay Pinot Noir 2007
Purchased: Not ($60)
Drink: 2013
(GXY) Tasting: Sept 2011, fine and delicate white nectarine, brioche and strawberry with mealy and grilled nut nuances, creamy mousse with crunchy lemon acids and sea spray on the finish, very good length and balance (****1/2)
Heemskerk Tolpuddle Coal River Valley Chardonnay 2010
Purchased: Not ($50)
Drink: 2016
(GXY) Tasting: Sept 2011, very long, tightly focussed and pristine white nectarine and lemon rind with a touch of honeydew melon and acacia florals, minerally with well integrated spicy cashew-vanilla oak and nervy grapefruit acidity (****1/2)
Heemskerk Riversdale Coal River Valley Riesling 2010
Purchased: Not ($45)
Drink: 2012 or 2020+ if you like it toasty
(GXY) Tasting: Sept 2011, leesy and delicate granny smith apple, lime rind and pear with a touch of passionfruit, spice and lavender, slatey finish with tangy lemon acidity, good line and length (****)
Heemskerk Coal River Valley Riesling 2008
Purchased: Not ($40)
Drink: 2010 or 2020+ if you like it toasty
(GXY) Tasting: July 2009, delicate and taut but quite complex showing green apple, tropical fruit, pear and grapefruit with brown spice and lavender notes, unlike most Australian Riesling wine has undergone extended lees and barrel ferment (in seasoned oak) to add textural complexity but is not fined, powdery texture and finishes with slaty acidity, pulls off the knife edge between the freshness needed for good Riesling and the winecraft more commonly seen with Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc, will have a long cellar life(****1/2)
Heemskerk Lowestoft Vineyard Derwent Valley Pinot Noir 2008
Purchased: Not ($60)
Drink: 2013
(GXY) Tasting: July 2009, multi-clonal from 18 year old vines, savoury and earthy showing focussed black cherry and blood plum with some beetroot and rhubarb notes, medium bodied with a backbone of chalky tannins with controlled stalky acidity, a polished well structured wine (****)
Heemskerk Coal River Valley Chardonnay 2008
Purchased: Not ($50)
Drink: 2016
(GXY) Tasting: July 2009, from the Tolpuddle Vineyard near Richmond, tightly wound chalky lemon, melon and nectarine and seamlessly integrated with the discrete toasty oak, grapefruit acidity and fine grained oak tannins, this has some more new oak and malo than previous vintages but will still ages to unfold (****)