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The Glaetzer Dickson taste

glaetzer_taste.mp3 (27.3 mb   29:52 minutes)

Nick takes us through the current Glaetzer Dixon range. But along the way Nick explains why he hasn't used the colours of his beloved Hawks on the label, he talks us through the label design and explains why he doesn't use wine speak on his back label, he answers the critics of the 08 riesling, we learn how he picks his growers, we ask if winemaking has been 'ruined' by technology and to finish we find out what 'the boss' thinks of his wines.

Nick Glaetzer and his current range of wines

Recently we caught up with Nick at Frogmore Creek for a chat. We were so impressed we decided to head back and get him to talk us through his range of wines.

09 üBER Blanc.

We are big fans of the term Uber. Not that long ago Uber was being applied to just about everything. Even Paul Lennon our former Premier was called the "Uber Bogan". 

A trio of Glaetzer reds!

Was it the term's popularity that made Nick choose it for his riesling we wondered. "The name reflects the time I had in Germany making riesling. It was an Uber time for me!"  

He describes his 09 riesling as having a nice pale green colour. It has a higher phenolic content which Nick believes enhances this wine "rieslings need a certain amount of phenolics to give them structure". The bouquet is citrus "with a hint of lemon delicious pudding."

We had read about a person who had reviewed Nick's 08 Uber Blanc and regarded it as too harsh and acidic. He added '20 - 25 granules of sugar' to his glass (ah detail people, don't you just want to hug them close - Ed). This small amount of sugar made the wine 'more accessible'. We were curious whether Nick approved of the comment and the addition of sugar to his wines by punters. 

Nick is more than happy for punters to experiment or adjust his wines to suit their palates. In fact he added a little more juice concentrate to the 08 riesling just prior to bottling. He found that the wine became flabby when he did that and so didn't proceed. 

However Nick does warn people that he doesn't want his wines "to have that inherent sweetness edge to it, I want them to be quite crisp and more austere".

In our opinion the 09 doesn't have that harsh edge, in fact it seemed softer. Nick agreed that the "09 is more approachable at a young age".

This wine will cellar for a long time due to its acid level and strong fruit character. It also has more alcohol and so will age longer than the 08 riesling.

08 AVANCé pinot noir

Nick has two pinots in his range. "AVANCé isn't my second label it's one made from lighter fruit".  "You can see it's a lighter colour ... You are going to see more fresh fruit aromas, fresh red cherries, strawberries, raspberries on the nose ... there's a little bit of oak there (but) its only supporting the fruit characters".

Pour a red!

Nick points out that the wine has silky tannins and "enough length to be satisfying." We agree that it has a beautiful feel in the mouth. It makes you want to pause before you swallow just to enjoy the texture (oo er don't we sound quite the wine writer! - Ed). 

This wine should be drunk within 3 - 4 years.

08 RêVEUR pinot noir

The name comes from the French term 'dreamer'. Nick chose the name because he has always dreamt of making the best pinot he possibly could. "I have heard from other wine makers that pinot noir is the hardest wine to make perfectly". He obviously relishes the challenge.

The RêVEUR looks much darker because "the vines that this fruit came from are a bit older, the cropping levels were a bit lower as well so you are getting more skin to liquid ratio".  "You are getting more of the dark cherries rather than the red cherries ... you're getting much more spice in there as well".

We asked Nick what he was trying to achieve having the two pinots and he replied that the RêVEUR is meant to make people stop and think as they drink it while the AVANCé is a fun pinot.  If you like a bigger pinot then you will like this pinot.

08 MON PèRE Shiraz

Tasmanian shiraz is rare, and good Tassie shiraz is even rarer. But it isn't really surprising that Nick has ended up making a shiraz. His family is based in the Barossa and has some 100 years experience with this variety. In a short space of time Nick has become such an important player that he takes close on 70% of the available Tassie shiraz fruit.

His style borrows heavily from the Rhone valley approach. "There is white pepper, there's a bit of smoke bacon" (that will bring the blokes in! - Ed). We like this wine and we featured it during our brief starring role on ABC morning radio. Don't confuse this wine with those big mainland shiraz. It has lots of fruit and doesn't have the alcohol burn that many shiraz wines posses. Nick mentioned that the MON PèRE is like a European shiraz and is quite versatile "It goes well with food, there's fruit there, there's acid which gives it length and there is enough tannin to balance the fruit ... people are loving it". Next time you are slow cooking beef give this wine a try.

The fruit and tannin structure will allow this wine to cellar for some time.

To find out more and to see where you can purchase these wines go to Nick's website.

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