Soumah's Success in the Market

The Yarra Valley is the home of some of Australia’s finest Chardonnay’s, so for this accolade to be bestowed on a Savagnin is a significant step towards confirming its commercial potential and suitability to the cool climate of the Yarra Valley winegrowing region.

The 2010 Soumah Savarro has both richness and liveliness with its lemon zest and orange blossom bouquet and a racy citrus front taste, balanced by a soft textural mid palate and spicy notes. The wine finishes with gentle persistence, making a second sip, or dare I say glass something hard to resist.

The Butcher Family, with a strong background in horticulture and hospitality, has established SOUMAH. The name is born from the location of the vineyard - South of Maroondah (SOUMAH) - in the ‘dress circle’ Yarra sub region of Gruyere near Coldstream. The vineyard at SOUMAH was established in 1997 and a cellar door is under development with a view to being opened in summer 2011/2012.

Planted at the vineyard, in addition to the Savagnin are 3 clones of Chardonnay, 3 clones of Pinot Noir, 2 clones of Pinot Grigio and 3 clones of Shiraz – a variety which we see as the new future of the Yarra. The Northern Italian varieties of Nebbiolo and Brachetto will be planted in 2011. Judicious rootstock selection combined with careful aspect planning will enable the team at SOUMAH to create compelling Yarra Valley cool climate styles.

Forming the team to deliver high quality Yarra Valley wine is Tim Brown - Viticulture Director; Scott McCarthy – Chief Wine Maker and Steven Worley - Marketing & Branding.

We were approached by Soumah in the middle of last year to consider taking on their Victorian distribution. Once I had met them, heard their story and business plan, sampled a few 'wines in progress' and met the team we just couldn't say no.

We had the opportunity to see firsthand how a new label and ‘alternate variety’ caused a stir at the Federation Square tasting last week, which led to many customers being recommended to the stand and told they must try the Savarro! The enthusiasm really showed that consumers are eager to sample new wine and very keen to learn more about what is available on the market.

Last night Kathryn and I had the pleasure of spending some time in the Yarra Valley at Soumah's vineyard. We met Brett Butcher and daughter Katie to take part in a barrel sampling of the ‘yet to be released’ Shiraz 2010. Winemaker Scott McCarthy gave us a glimpse of where the wine will end up by sampling three different clones from several oak regimes. The experience was like observing several jigsaw pieces and attempting to guess what the final picture would look like.

Following the tasting we then spent some time in the 50 hectare vineyard, checking on the progress of the grapes and condition of foliage. To say this vintage has been a challenge would be an understatement with the vast amounts of rainfall we have experienced and extensive periods of humidity (ideal conditions for disease such as down and powdery mildew, not to mention botrytis). Despite this the vineyards were looking great, which is a credit to Tim Brown the viticulturalist.

We ended the vineyard stroll on the veranda, overlooking the vineyards and a delightful sunset. We were joined additionally by Brett's wife Connie & Brett's sister-in-law Cherryl. Cheese and cured meat accompanied a glass of Savarro and a sample of the Chardonnay 2010 which is moments away from release. All I will say regarding the Chardonnay is that last night I became as excited about its style and quality as I have been about the Savarro, and that is saying something!

Please check out your local independent retailer for the brand (see our stockists page) and if per chance they don’t have it yet, do recommend it to the manager as a label to get in! If you would like to sample it in a restaurant in Melbourne check out some of these great venues: Carlisle Wine Bar, Donnini’s, Gills Diner, Mile Bar Café, Sapore, the bar at Seddon Wine Store or in Sydney at the newly launched bar ‘Timbo’ tucked behind Glebe Liquor. In the brief time since this brand was first released (6 months ago) there have been several medals, numerous write-ups and a consumer’s vote of confidence (as detailed above re Federation Square).

Finally if you are curious about new wines that are emerging in Australia, have a look at the details for our alternative varietal wine dinners at Esposito @ Toofey’s next month on our events page. These dinners will be great fun!

Cheer for now, Sarah