Freeman Tempranillo Altura Vineyard 2021

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.

Dr Brian Freeman spent much of his life in research and education, in the latter with a role as head of CSU’s viticulture and oenology campus. In ’04 he purchased the neighbouring 30yo Demondrille vineyard, renamed Altura vineyard. He has since acquired several other vineyards within a 10km radius, all adding to the original Hilltops estate. In all, he has 27 varieties that range from staples such as shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, semillon and riesling through to more exotic varieties such as furmint and Italian varieties prosecco, pinot grigio, sangiovese, nebbiolo, rondinella and corvina. -JAMES HALLIDAY