Swinging Bridge 006 Tempinot Red Blend 2023 13.6% 750ml

Swinging Bridge 006 Tempinot Red Blend 2023 13.6% 750ml

APPEARANCE

Clear, medium purple.

AROMA

Black cherries with dark plum and white pepper.

PALATE

Medium bodied with black cherry and spiced vanilla.

WINEMAKERS COMMENTS

Grown, picked, and bottled in limited quantities, the Hashtag range offers the intrigue of unusual varietals, crafted with the finesse and quality you expect from Swinging Bridge. ‘Tempinot’, a distinctive blend of Tempranillo and Pinot Noir, originated from an experimental session combining these cool climate varieties aged in French oak. Each vintage is Tempranillo-driven, sourced entirely from our Hill Park vineyard at 900m elevation, with the Pinot Noir components carefully selected based on quality and ripeness each year. The result is a wine that balances the best characteristics of both varietals, offering elegance, complexity, and a unique expression of our terroir. The 2023 Tempinot is composed of 93% Tempranillo and 7% Pinot Noir.

FOOD MATCHING

Tapas with red peppers, tomatoes and pork.

VINIFICATION

Both varietals are handpicked from our Hill Park vineyard and kept separate in the winery until just before bottling to preserve their individual character. The grapes are gently destemmed without rollers to maintain as many whole berries as possible. They are then cold-soaked for three days in open fermenters to extract vibrant colour and flavour before fermentation begins, with the wine plunged twice daily for optimal integration. During fermentation, some residual sugar remained due to the presence of whole berries.

MATURATION

The Pinot Noir was matured in puncheons, with 20% new French oak, while the Tempranillo was aged in older barrels.

VINTAGE NOTES

The 2023 vintage began with abnormally cool and wet conditions from September through to December. These low temperatures saw a late bud burst leading to some low bud initiation and small bunches across the region. These conditions lead to diligent efforts in our vineyards to open up the fruit zone via extensive leaf plucking, thinning and trimming. The second half of the vintage saw a turn of events with above average temperatures for January, February and March allowing both the Tempranillo and Pinot to reach optimal ripeness whilst retaining beautiful natural acids from the cooler start to the vintage.

Variety: Tempranillo, Pinot Noir
Region: Orange, New South Wales
Winemaker: Tom Ward