Winemakers Tasting Notes

Mark Aitken is winemaker for Truffle Hill Wines. While working as an Electrical Engineer Mark discovered his love of wine and undertook his Bachelor of Applied Science at Curtin University in Perth, where he was awarded the prestigious Talijancich/Radoux scholarship, and finished dux of his year. Mark enjoys working with cool climate wines and we agree these wines offer something special to go with our truffles!

Discover more about the Truffle Hill Wine range via our winemaker's tasting notes.

Reserve Range Wine Tasting Notes

• Truffle Hill Reserve Chardonnay 2010
• Truffle Hill Reserve Riesling 2010
• Truffle Hill Reserve Shiraz 2008 (currently being updated)

Whites

• Truffle Hill The Doctor Half Dry Riesling
• Truffle Hill Sparkling Pinot Noir Brut NV
• Truffle Hill Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2011
• Truffle Hill Sauvignon Blanc 2009
• Truffle Hill Cane Cut Riesling 2011

 Reds

• Truffle Hill Shiraz Cabernet Merlot 2009 (NEW - currently being updated)
• Truffle Hill Shiraz 2009
• Truffle Hill Merlot 2009
• Truffle Hill Cabernet Franc Rose 2011

Truffle Hill Wine Vintage Review 2011

With the harvest for the 2011 Truffle Hill vintage recently completed, Mark Aitken, Truffle Hill Wines winemaker takes a moment to review the vintage for us.

Says Mark "Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, after a great 2010 vintage, along comes 2011 - a dry, warm spring with lots of clear blue sky, light winds and sunshine and very little rain. In January we had significant rain just prior to veraison, perfect timing to set up for the run in to harvest. 

"The first cab off the rank was Sauvignon Blanc (we did not do any sparkling this year) on the 24 February. We harvested at low sugar levels to capture the pungent aromatics, both herbal and tropical.  I was a little concerned that the warmer than average ripening period would cause the sugars to race ahead of flavour ripeness, but in fact the flavours ended up ripe for the sugar, so expect lots of passionfruit less grassiness from Pemberton Sauvignon Blancs this season and the intensity of flavour did not suffer at all.  In fact, they are richer and fuller than usual.

"Then all of the other whites came marching in and by the first week of March the white vintage was done.  And everything looked great.

Oftentimes the potential of the red varieties is never fully realised because of early season rains in this region, however this year the sun just kept on shining and the reds just kept on ripening, developing great flavour intensity and richness.  In the winery, the colour and flavours are just fantastic, for all varieties, very ripe fine tannins and no greenness in either tannin or flavour. I am so looking forward to putting red wines together from this vintage in about 18 months.

"This year for the first time we have produced a German style 'halb troken' (half dry) Riesling.  This wine features 25grams per litre of sugar and low alcohol (11%) is delicate and floral, so watch out for that one - it will be released in July.

"And finally, just a plug for this vintages cane cut Riesling, it was so ripe and sweet with, thick, viscous juice (you could stand a spoon up in it), the sugar in the juice measured 24 Baume. If you want to get an idea of how sweet this is put half a kilo of sugar in a jug and make up the volume to one litre and dissolve it and thats how sweet it was.  It's insane, these are the baumes they get with Swan Valley or Rutherglen Muscats not in cool climate Pemberton.  Anyhow, that's how good the vintage was.

Mark Aitken
Winemaker