Freeman Rondinella and Corvina ‘Secco’ Altura Vineyard 2018

Freeman Vineyards is a boutique family-owned winery in the Hilltops region of New South Wales, renowned for its Italian-inspired wines and pioneering spirit. Founded in 1999 by Dr. Brian Freeman, a former head of wine science at Charles Sturt University. Brian transitioned from academia to winemaking, bringing deep viticultural expertise to the Hilltops region. Situated in Prunevale, Hilltops, at 560 metres above sea level, the vineyard benefits from cool nights and sunny days during ripening, deep granite soils mixed with red silt, sand from central Australia and well-drained terrain, ideal for growing high-quality grapes.

Freeman Vineyards is Australia’s only producer of the northern Italian grape varieties Rondinella and Corvina, used in their flagship Secco. Other Italian varietals include Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Aleatico, Prosecco, Fiano, Pinot Grigio, and an obscure varietal for Australia, Furmint. Their priority is well crafted wines with a focus on textural complexity, balance, and food-friendliness.

Freeman’s flagship savoury Italian-inspired red blend from Australia’s only plantings of Rondinella and Corvina grapes. In a generous glass this mid-weight Secco displays garnet red hues and attractive enveloping aromas of spiced berries mingled with earthy cacao aromas and lingering umami notes leading to a mellow balanced palate.  This mature deceptive wine is modelled on northern Italy’s classic Ripasso-styles, opening as a lighter red then revealing its true form – beguiling flavours draped over a savoury tannin frame. With an elegant captivating charm it will continue to evolve for many years yet. The philosophy is to develop a wine style reminiscent of the traditional Italian Amarone and Ripasso red wines that are complex and savoury while also retaining characteristic fruit-driven flavour.

True to Italian tradition a portion of the grapes are dried – conveniently in a neighbour’s solar-powered prune dehydrator – and added to the fresh grapes during fermentation. Subsequently, the wine is aged two years in selected old oak barrels to mature the wine rather than impart oak flavour. It is bottle aged for an additional two years before release. A selection of rondinella and corvina varieties were dried slowly for up to 10 days, the desiccated grapes added to the remaining harvest for fermentation. The young intense tannin wines were aged separately in old oak barrels for two years.

BRIAN FREEMAN

Having trained many of Australia’s winemakers and viticulturists during his decade at the helm of the Wine Science at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, NSW, Brian Freeman decided to establish his own vineyards in the elevated Hilltops region. His venture started with Australia’s only plantings of two classic Italian-origin varieties – Rondinella and Corvina – and an intention to craft a unique, expressive savoury and complex red wine that would stand out from the crowd.

Wine Business Magazine

Freeman Rondinella and Corvina ‘Secco’2018 – 95 / 100 Points

A delicious drink, honest and charismatic through and through.

– Mike Bennie