Hommage
Hurley Vineyard ‘Hommage’
Hommage comprises 0.8 ha of north-easterly aspect. It is warm and bright, but its terroir is softened by the little corner pocket in which it sits. It is the child in-between. Because it is inclined to abundant growth and fruitfulness, we work hard in this vineyard. Bunch thinning is extensive. But the pace of growth is even, and there always seems to be time to do what needs to be done. It is 95% G5V15 (there are a few rows of MV6). Clone G5V15 is used extensively in the New World. It came to Australia from Wadenswil in Switzerland via the University of California at Davis, just as it did to Oregon and New Zealand. It is the clearly the best of the first generation clones to be used on the Mornington Peninsula. Hommage was 60% planted in 1998 and 40% in 1999.
Hommage the name honours the winemaking families who have gone before. We owe them much and, in this way, acknowledge our debt.
THE WINE
Hommage is in-between Lodestone and Garamond in almost every way. It is harvested second. Typically, it smells distinctly of ripe plums and the forest floor. It can have the subtle fragrance of flowers. Invariably it tastes of wine gums and jubes. You can always see soft, squishy berries, like mulberries, and firmer ones, like blueberries. The fermenting vats actually smell and taste that way! Hommage tastes more of fruit than earth. It is full and supple in the palate, but not loose. Our emphasis now is more on the freshness of the fruit - the point where the sweetness is balanced by velvety tannins. It is often described as ‘Burgundian’.
