Domaine South
Australian Wine Tasting
Featuring Chalmers Wines
Special Winemaker Guest, Tennile Chalmer
& Allaina Nielsen of International Wines
Friday, May 8th, 4 pm - 6pm
$20 per person
256-759-9952 to Reserve
The Chalmers wines are all fundamentally expressions of place – of soil and geology, of climate and sensitive farming – seen through the filter of grape varieties that have adapted over thousands of years. They are wines reflective of a new home, with gentle, non-prescriptive winemaking coaxing out unique expressions – wines that magnify the impression of place while respecting the material.
Native yeasts are employed, with a richly diverse population in the vineyards. No introduced yeasts have ever been used in the winery, so this complexity is maintained through the whole winemaking process. The assortment of wild yeasts also differs from year to year, so each ferment progresses in its own way, with its own nuances.
The Wines
2024 Chalmers Aglianico Rosato Col Fondo Sparkling Rose, Heathcote, Australia $36.99
The Chalmers Col Fondo is a unique and innovative sparkling wine that embodies the passion for Aglianico and the art of winemaking. It is a sparkling Rose made from Aglianico. The term “Col Fondo” refers to the method of leaving the secondary fermentation lees in the bottle, resulting in an unfiltered wine that is cloudy and has lovely texture.
The Chalmers Col Fondo undergoes its second fermentation in the bottle, the same as traditional Champagne methods. This process creates a drier, more savory wine that is often described as site-driven, showcasing the unique characteristics of the vineyard’s location.
In the glass, the Chalmers Col Fondo presents a cloudy pink grapefruit color, with an attractive red-fruited perfume. The palate is tart yet moreish, offering a fine fizz and a deliciousness that invites another glass. It’s characterized by flavors of pomegranate and ruby red grapefruit, with a chalky texture and a spritely and savory finish.
This sparkling wine is versatile and can be enjoyed with a variety of dishes. It pairs exceptionally well with frittata, salami, and other charcuterie, enhancing the flavors with its zippy acidity and savory notes.
The Chalmers Col Fondo has received praise for its stylish expression of the Aglianico grape, with critics noting its bright, cloudy appearance and serious depth of fruit. It’s been described as having a lasting impact on the palate, with a light savouriness and fizz that makes it a standout in the sparkling wine category.
2022 Mother Block White Blend, Murray Darling, Australia $18.99
Mother Block White is a field blend of Italian varieties that we’ve introduced to the Australian wine scene. It is crispy, fresh and vibrant with aromas of passionfruit, dragon fruit, lemon zest, lime juice and almond milk. A light to medium bodied palate is mouth watering and refreshing with green crunchy pear, granny smith apple, jackfruit, honeydew melon and chervil, with a finish that has a limestone mineral edge.
Our Mother Block range is at the heart of the Chalmers operation and showcases the source block from which we propagate our vines for the nursery from. These certified sustainable mother blocks are their new adopted home for our 30+ Italian varieties that thrive in the warm conditions of the Murray Darling under the vast canopy of the big blue sky.
Based on Vermentino, the makeup will change slightly from vintage to vintage, with likely inclusions of Fiano, Greco, Verdicchio, Grechetto among others. The fruit is kept cool and fermented in tank to retain bright fresh aromas. Once dry the wine will stay on fine lees for a short period to add some texture and interest without losing its vitality and verve.
2022 Chalmers Montevecchio Bianco, Heathcote, Australia $25.99
Montevecchio Bianco is a co-fermented field blend from our Heathcote Vineyard in Victoria. The blend of varieties will change from season to season depending on climatic conditions. The style is always with the mindset of great value wine that delivers bang for buck. Fragrant and pronounced with stone fruits, apple, pear and citrus notes, it shows florals and that classic nutty character you see in most Italian white varietals. The palate is fresh and vibrant with a good amount of fruit weight and texture, more of the nutty complexity and a little bitter twang to keep you coming back for more.
In any given vintage there will be up to 6 varieties in Bianco which are all farmed sustainably at our Heathcote vineyard in the northern end of Mount Camel Ridge. This warmer end of Heathcote region is perfectly suited to these sun loving Italian varieties, growing very happily with little intervention both in the vineyard and winery. Grown on east-west orientated rows on the east facing slope, this helps protect the fruit from the harsh summer conditions during the day and late afternoon heat.
Using the indigenous yeasts from the vineyard, the wine is co-fermented in stainless steel tank to retain the fresh while integrating flavours and the complexity of the different varieties. Fermentation is kept cool until dry and than aged on lees for 6-8 months to add texture and detail.
2022 Mother Block Red Blend, Murray Darling, Australia $18.99
The Mother Block Red is made with easy drinking and savoury interest in mind. With lifted and pretty aromas of wild strawberries, plum, dark cherry, forest floor, shitake mushroom and orange zest on the nose, the palate sees bright and juicy fruits of cranberry, tart plums, cherry skin, star anise and asian pepper, all with a moreish fine sandy tannin structure that’s firm yet light on its feet.
Our Mother Block range is at the heart of the Chalmers operation and showcases the source block from which we propagate our vines for the nursery from. These certified sustainable mother blocks are their new adopted home for our 30+ Italian varieties that thrive in the warm conditions of the Murray Darling under the vast canopy of the big blue sky.
A wine that’s blend will change depending on vintage and the given season but will likely be based on Nero d’Avola and/or Sagrantino giving vibrancy and drinkability and that savoury interest we strive for in our wines. Picked and pressed into stainless steel and co-fermented through to dry, spending some time on lees and aged in tank for 6 months, its a wine that showcases a sense of place and drinking style.
2023 Chalmers Nero D`Avola, Heathcote, Australia $28.99
Chalmers Nero d’Avola is bright, juicy and fruit forward with lifted violets, berry compote, cherry jubes and a cranberry crunch. A wine designed to be drunk in its youth but will build complexity with some moderate time in bottle evolving to include earthy, savoury campfire characters, still present at a young age but amplified with some careful cellaring. A social red wine in casual gatherings pairs beautifully with BBQ lamb skewers or even some charred flatbread with labna and Za’atar.
Harking from Sardinia, Nero d’Avola was one of the first varieties we imported to Australia in the early 2000’s, it’s a variety that has found not only a new home in our Heathcote vineyard, buy a home to many more wine regions around Australia for its suitability to perform exceptionally well in warm climates. Grown in the top block of our Heathcote vineyard, the soils here are complex and rocky, giving a more mineral reflection and bright perfumed fruit profiles while still retaining its inheritary savoury undertow.
Hand picked, destemmed and whole berry fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks to retain the bright juicy characters of Nero d’Avola. The wine is pressed off skins once dry to gain optimal drinkability and left on fine lees for 6-10 months.
2022 Chalmers Montevecchio Rosso, Heathcote, Australia $25.99
Montevecchio Rosso is a co-fermented field blend from our Heathcote Vineyard in Victoria. The blend of varieties will change from season to season depending on the vintage. The style is always with the mindset of great value wine that delivers bang for buck. With red and black fruits on the nose from cherry, raspberry, blackberry, black current and plums, there’s a perfume lift of violets and red florals, classic Cambrian earth notes and cacao. The palate is medium weighted with a good concentration of fruits, complex spices, leather and fine textured tannins, a wine that’s easily consumed around the dinner table.
In any given vintage there will be up to 6 varieties in Rosso which are all farmed sustainably at our Heathcote vineyard in the northern end of Mount Camel Ridge. This warmer end of Heathcote region is perfectly suited to these sun loving Italian varieties, growing very happily with little intervention both in the vineyard and winery. Grown on east-west orientated rows on the east facing slope, this helps protect the fruit from the harsh summer conditions during the day and late afternoon heat.
Wild fermented, the Rosso is co-fermented in small parcels depending on the different ripening times of the varieties. De-stemmed and fermented in open top fermenters, it stays on skins post dry for up to 5 days and on lees for around 10 months.