Ricca Terra Bronco Buster 2021
Type: White
Country: Australia
Region: South Australia, Riverland
Grape Variety: Vermentino, Fiano
Climate: Warm and dry climatic conditions
Terroir: Vines grow on a soilbed of shallow, sandy, red loam over calcrete
Winemaking: The fruit was hand-harvested the first week of March and immediately brought back to a cool room at 4 degrees celsius before being transported to the winery. Fermentation occurred in stainless steel tanks without any additions and was carried out over three weeks’ time. The varieties were co-fermented to highlight each individual characteristic, but Ashley felt ‘harmony’ was the best method for this rather than singing solos. Post fermentation the wine was racked off of the gross lees but kept with the fine lees in the tank. The wine aged for five months prior to being bottled without fining or filtration and just with a small addition of sulfur and cold stabilisation
Color: Medium intense green and gold
Nose: Intense floral and lemon aromas
Palate: A hint of reduction, highlighting umami seaweed characters, but it opens with time in the glass to reveal grapefruit, stone fruit and honeyed floral tones. The palate is beautifully balanced and textured before a long, tangy finish
About the Winery:
Ashley and Holly Ratcliff’s Ricca Terra Farms set out to shake up perceptions of the Riverland as a region that only grew grapes for generic bulk wine. They believed that by implementing quality-minded practices and focusing on climate-apt varieties, they would be able to unlock the region’s potential. By any measure, they have succeeded, elevating the profiles of grapes like Nero d’Avola, Fiano, Aglianico and Arinto in the process. But that wasn’t all, with the Caravel Vineyard planted relatively recently to largely celebrate Portuguese varieties, like Touriga Nacional, Tinta Cão and Tinta Barroca, along with some more Italians. The fruit goes to their own Ricca Terra and Terra do Rio labels, as well as being sold to top makers around the region.
Today’s Ricca Terra farms are planted to some classic French mainstay varieties, like with much of the Riverland, but many are old vine plots from soldier settlement schemes from WWI and WWII. Along with renovating old olive groves and farmhouses, this is as much about preserving history as anything, with a raft of Italian and Iberian varieties taking the progressive lead across the 10 sites, with 80 hectares of land under vine, and over 30 grape varieties represented.
