Friday 22 February 2013

Winning Wines at Symphony Hill

Driving into Symphony Hill Wines, your eyes are drawn to the long, clean, elegant lines of their winery.  The wines, too, show a careful and elegant construction that makes them some of Queensland’s best wines.

Thinking seafood? Here is a close friend for it
You can sense Ewen Macpherson’s mind at work here.  The owner and Managing Director is a former computer scientist.  The aura of Symphony Hill Wines suggests studied preparation and systems planning.

Ewen is slim, spectacled, and self-depreciating.  But as a small stream of workers come and quietly get instructions, it is clear he leads with a deft, firm touch.

Still, it is also clear that this computer science graduate operates on gut instinct. Ewen simply launched his family into the wine business when his “gambler’s urge was at its maximum,” he laughs.

As a Queenslander, Ewen was convinced that the Granite Belt was a huge winemaking opportunity.  The Macphersons bought the first 40-acre property on that gut feeling, enchanted by the way the house sat on the block and its views.

As he said, he lucked out that it was right. But then he tested the soil, and studied the climate, and found his instinct was spot on.

That gambler’s urge must have been heightened by Symphony Hill’s first bash at a wine show.  “Our first wine won top gold at the Royal Sydney and we thought ‘wow, that’s very easy’” grinned Ewen.

Symphony Hill Granite Belt wine

Symphony Hill is creating an impressive portfolio of wins, and Ewen says he is aiming to produce some of Australia’s best wine.

Visit Symphony Hill Wines at the Granite Belt
Their Verdelho has made it onto a top 100 Australian wines list.  “It is just sensational,” marvelled Ewen, “a beautiful explosion of flavours, a great acid factor, and a finish that makes you salivate.”

The 2008 Reserve Shiraz is a candidate for the Great Queensland Shiraz, and is also listed amongst the top 100 wines in Australia.

But the 2009 Reserve Petit Verdot he describes as a “big purple monster.”

In recent times the Petit Verdot got 3 trophies at the New England Wine Show, including Champion Wine of Show.

After the screwcaps go back on, Ewen takes us to see the view of the house block that first entranced him.  Clearly, a man who has found his patch of heaven.

Red the full article at winegroover.com


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