The Wine Blokes

The Smithbrook Vineyard

Planted in the late 1980’s, the Smithbrook vineyard was set up for producing premium wine by WA wine identity Bill Pannell and is now one of Pemberton’s oldest vineyards. As different owners became involved, the emphasis switched towards fruit production for other wineries, but this changed back to the original quality vision when premium producer Petaluma purchased the vineyard in 1998. Now, under the direction of Michael Symons and Ashley Lewkowski, the philosophy has been to realise the potential of this special site with distinctive regionally expressive wines.The

Pemberton Region

As the WA wine industry matures, several regions (besides Margaret River) have emerged with pedigrees that are strengthening with each vintage; such as Mount Barker, Frankland River and of course Pemberton. Located within 35 km from the coast Pemberton’s climate is maritime, with a cooling influence created by the region’s elevated topography and proximity to the Southern Ocean. Comparatively, the Pemberton climate sits somewhere between Coonawarra and Margaret River, so it is no surprise that the varietal focus is rapidly swinging from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to the Bordeaux varieties of Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon – Smithbrook has firmly led this transition within the region.

A Distinctive Site

Encircled by towering Karri Gum forests, the Smithbrook vineyard is located on a sun-capped hill in Pemberton, in the South West corner of Western Australia. The whole South West of Western Australia offers a unique proposition relative to other Australian viticultural regions. Underlying this expansive region is a huge block of granite called the Yilgarn craton, one of the oldest rock formations in the world dating back 2,700 million years. Effectively the Yilgarn can be referred to as the cornerstone of the Australian continent.With the vineyard surrounded by majestic forests, many of the soils can be defined by the eucalyptus trees that grow on them. The ‘Marri Gum’ and ‘Black Butt’ soils are located on the higher sections of the vineyard and have been selected for the red grape varieties as they contain larger amounts of ironstone nodules throughout and a slightly heavier texture. The ‘Karri Gum’ soils on the lower slopes of the vineyard offer a lighter textured loam with a deeper profile. These soils tend to be cooler, by virtue of their position and their lower gravel content and have been planted predominantly to white varieties. The positioning of the South Western Australian land mass (essentially a peninsula) to the Indian and Southern Oceans is the principal influence on the prevailing local climate. No other viticultural region in Australia is subjected to such a predominant maritime influence. Pemberton and the Smithbrook Vineyard are slightly inland from both oceans and subsequently tend to have a mix of influences, being cooler than vineyards directly to the west and warmer than vineyards directly to the south. The slightly higher altitude (200m) further moderates temperatures as well as provides enough upward air movement for precipitation to fall, leading to relatively abundant rainfalls – subsequently, the vines are able to be grown without irrigation.

A Natural Approach

With native forests and fauna so prevalent in the Pemberton region, Smithbrook has a strict philosophy of absolute minimal impact on the environment. A natural approach to managing the vines involves pruning them back to a level that can be supported by the natural rainfall and soils, avoiding the need for irrigation and fertilisers. This results in low yielding vines producing fruit with an extra depth of character, thus realising the distinctiveness of the site. Insecticides are also avoided, instead relying on natural insect predators and guinea fowl which are released into the vineyard when required.

THE WINES

The potential of the Pemberton Wine Region has certainly
been underplayed until now. Smithbrook is leading the way
by focusing on the varieties best suited to the region.

If you wish to order any Smithbrook Wines below, please fill out the order form.

Alternatively, you can contact Smithbrook here. Be sure to mention TheWineBlokes.com for access to special release and back vintages.

Sauvignon Blanc – Price: $19.00 AUD

Pemberton produces Sauvignon Blanc with subtle herbaceous characters and a savoury mineral flavour, atypical of Australian Sauvignon Blanc. Concentrated lime and passionfruit flavours gradually unfold with time in the glass. Partial fermentation in old French barriques is used to balance the lively fruit characters to produce a very appealing wine.

Tasting Notes

2006 Smithbrook Sauvignon Blanc

2005 Smithbrook The Yilgarn Blanc

2005 Smithbrook Sauvignon Blanc

Merlot – Price: $23.00 AUD

There are few areas in Australia as well suited to the production of premium Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon as the warmer sitesof Pemberton. The Smithbrook vineyard, located on a sun-soaked hill with a northerly aspect, offers the perfect ambience. Ripe plum and cherry flavours dominate Smithbrook’s Merlot grapes. Elegant but rich, the expression of dense, savoury tannins is only found in the very best examples of this variety

Tasting Notes

2003 Smithbrook Merlot

2002 Smithbrook Merlot

The Yilgarn Blanc – Price: $28.00 AUD

Inspired by the great white wines of Bordeaux and the result of several years of trials from various blocks within the Smithbrook SAUVIGNON BLANC vineyards, this wine encompasses the secondary varietal flavours brought about by fermentation and maturation in French oak.

Tasting Notes

2004 Smithbrook The Yilgarn Blanc

The Yilgarn – Price: $35.00 AUD

The Yilgarn 2001 is a wine with structure, length and density. Not the usual attributes one would attribute to a Merlot based wine from Australia. With time in the bottle the fruit richness will become more apparent and the overall complexity enhanced.

Tasting Notes

2001 Smithbrook The Yilgarn

If you wish to order any Smithbrook Wines, please fill out the order form.

Alternatively, you can contact Smithbrook here. Be sure to mention TheWineBlokes.com for access to special release and back vintages.