96/100 Halliday Wine Companion 2023

“Once, VP stood for vintage port. Today, post-AU/EU Wine Trade Agreement, the initials are relegated to history and this wine becomes a vintage fortified. Made only in the best years, the ’18 vintage comprises 5 Portuguese grape varieties fermented and pressed just prior to fortification. An almost lost winemaking art in this country, kept alive at Pfeiffer, and what a joy to behold. Deep purple hue. The 5 Portuguese varieties bring lifted aromatics of rose, violet, black cherry, raspberry – so pretty – which become entwined on the palate in rich layers of spice, licorice and chocolate with a brandy twist. Intense but not heavy. Quite the opposite. It’s way, way too early to even contemplate opening. Give it 10 years at least.” – Jeni Port, August 2021

95/100 Halliday Wine Companion 2023

“Medium purple, with lifted notes of violets, blueberry and licorice which are tempered by subtle ferrous accents, like iron filings. The wine is voluminous and sweet, ebbing and flowing across the palate. The sweetness signs off with a savoury and bitter bite, bringing balance and more interest to this dignified VP. It’s still got a long life ahead, the freshness, intensity and structure will ensure this.” – Gabrielle Poy, February 2024

TROPHY: Rutherglen Wine Show 2022 – Best Australian Vintage Forified Red (Vintage Port)

TROPHY: Cowra Wine Show 2022 – Best Fortified Wine in Show

TOP GOLD: Rutherglen Wine Show 2022

TOP GOLD: Cowra Wine Show 2022

GOLD: Victorian Wine Show 2024

GOLD: North East Victorian Wine Challenge 2024

GOLD: Victorian Wine Show 2023

GOLD: Victorian Wine Show 2022

GOLD: Riverina Wine Show 2022

GOLD: Rutherglen Wine Show 2021

SILVER: Cowra Wine Show 2024

SILVER: Rutherglen Wine Show 2024

SILVER: Cowra Wine Show 2023

SILVER Cowra Wine Show 2019

BRONZE Riverina Wine Show 2024

BRONZE Riverland Wine Show 2024

BRONZE Riverina Wine Show 2023

BRONZE Victorian Wine Show 2021BRONZE Cowra Wine Show 2021

Rutherglen enjoyed good winter rainfall in July and August, with above average spring and early summer rainfall, particularly in November and early December. There was talk in agricultural circles of another La Nina weather pattern, along with predictions of summer and autumn rains, leaving us feeling very nervous about the prospect of another wet vintage. Fortunately, January through to April proved to be incredibly dry and very warm, which allowed all varieties to ripen fully and with very low disease load, contributing to the high quality of the vintage. Yields were low, with some varieties (particularly Shiraz) cropping between 30-40% below average. Overall we were around 15-20% down across the vintage. Due to the warm and dry conditions, supplementary irrigation was required to maintain good soil moisture levels and canopy health.

Vintage was back to an earlier start, commencing on 16th February, with Pinot Grigio from the Alpine Valley. From there, vintage rolled on fairly briskly, seeing us harvest fruit every day for the next five weeks, until the end of March. Ripening across all varieties was very even, with most white fruit being harvested before the red fruit was started. The last fruit harvested was Muscadelle for our Topaque wines, picked on 23rd April.

Quality is high, with white wines showing intense fruit aromas and flavours, and good levels of acidity. Our red wines have fantastic colours, great fullness and depth of flavour, ripe tannins and length. Our Portuguese varieties for our port styles performed very strongly this year, our Muscats are rich, with genuine varietal characters, while our Topaques are outstanding.

This wine is a blend of four different parcels. The first parcel was 100% Tinta Roriz, the second parcel was 100% Touriga, the third parcel a blend of Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barocca and Tinta Cao (picked as a field blend for co-fermentation), and the fourth parcel was 100% Sousao. Each parcel was hand-picked and destemmed into an open fermenter, then crushed by foot. A cold maceration occurred for around 4 days, with foot treading every three hours. Fermentation occurred naturally, with a combination of hand plunging and foot treading occurring four times daily. Each parcel was pressed just prior to fortification to maximize the extraction from the skins.

The base wines were allowed to settle, before being blended, fined and clarified prior to bottling.

The 2018 Christopher’s VP has a dark purple red colour. The nose is lifted and perfumed, with fruits of the forest and dark chocolate notes, and lovely brandy spirit giving complexity. The palate is elegant and drier in style, with ripe fore to mid-palate fruit leading to a long and chalky tannin finish.

As a younger wine – dark chocolate and raspberry soufflé. As an older wine – Stilton cheese (a classic!!)