WINES

HIPPOCRENE

A sparkling red wine first produced this in 1990, it now comes with about four or five years of maturation.Grape varieties are mainly Shiraz, with some Cabernet Sauvignon, and Malbec. In 1999, WINE Magazine rated Hippocrene in the top ten of Australian sparkling red wines.

The name honours the poet Keats, who wrote in his Ode to a Nightingale

O for a beaker full of the warm South,
Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,
With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,
And purple stained mouth

The Hippocrene trademark is owned by The Wilson Vineyard. The liqueuring of this wine is generally a little drier that most other sparkling red wines. Maturation potential is about ten years, but does carry the risk of losing some of the fizz.

IN 1993 WE PUBLISHED A DOUBLE-SIZE NEWSLETTER THAT FEATURED THE HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN SPARKLING RED WINE. THIS HAS BEEN REPRODUCED WITHIN OUR CLASSIC CLIPPINGS FEATURE OF SELECTED NEWSLETTER ITEMS. THE NEWSLETTER IS No. 26.

The Hippocrene label features an 1888 steel engraving of the Auldana vineyard near Adelaide, that featured in the "Picturesque Atlas of Australasia". The Wilson Vineyard holds an original of this now rare publication. At the time that the first Hippocrene was being prepared for release, a research exercise was conducted into the history of the origins of "sparkling burgundy" in Australia, and published in the vineyard newsletter. Australian "sparkling burgundy" was created at Auldana in 1893.

The Wilson Vineyard does NOT make a sparkling white (champenois) wine. Confusion exists here as there was another Wilson (now deceased and his company dissolved.)

RELEASE INFORMATION

Current Release: 1996.
Colour: A fresh medium crimson colour
Nose: A nose that is both leathery and fresh.
Palate: Palate shows a collection of stewed plums and peaches, along with a touch of nuttiness and cheese from the extended period on tirage lees. It finishes with an agreeable balance of tannin, acidity, and sweetness, and with some length.

The situation regarding future releases of Hippocrene is unclear. The logistics of production do not favour small quantities, and we are finding that an economical batch will supply the market demand for three years. Costs are continually rising. The most likely outcome is that when the stocks of the current release have expired, there will be a hiatus of a year or two before we do another run.