Ghost Rock Supernatural Summer Skins 2024

Variety: 52 % Pinot Gris, 33 % Pinot Noir, 7 % Chardonnay, 5 % Riesling, 3 % Sauvignon Blanc
Country, Region:Australia, Tasmania

25 % Pinot Gris and 25 % Pinot Noir co-fermented with wild yeast and 25 % Pinot Noir fermented separately on full skins. The remaining 25 % changes every year, but is all co-fermented. Matured in seasoned French oak barrels for 5 months with occasional lees stirring. Bottled unfined and unfiltered with low SO2.
13.6 % Alc/Vol; 7.5 g/L TA; 3.4 pH.

Hazy red raspberry. Rose petal, apple flesh, ruby grapefruit, Turkish delight. Undertones of herbs and savoury notes. Fresh, lively acid driven palate that awakes the senses! Skinsy, but not too phenolic or bitter. Justin Arnold, Winemaker.

‘2024 will be remembered as a vintage of distinction, with fabulous growing conditions that yielded fruit of superb quality. The climate during the spring and summer was notably warmer and dryer than previous years. This pattern we had not seen since 2019, which was also a year that made exceptional wines that are still holing up today. The wines from 2024 will be celebrated for having considerable character, intensity, and a great deal of potential.’ Justin Arnold, Winemaker.

‘In 01, Cate and Colin Arnold purchased the former Patrick Creek Vineyard planted exclusively to pinot noir in 1989. The vineyards, situated among the patchwork fields of Sassafras to the south and the white sands of the Port Sorell Peninsula to the north, now total 30ha: pinot noir (14 clones) remains the bedrock of the plantings, with other varieties including chardonnay, pinot gris, riesling and sauvignon blanc. Ownership has passed to son Justin and his wife Alicia (who runs the cooking school and cellar door). Justins experience in the Yarra Valley (Coldstream Hills), Margaret River (Devils Lair) and Napa Valley (Etude) has paid dividends the business is going from strength to strength, and the capacity of the 100t winery has been tripled. Exports to Japan.’ James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion.

Established in 1999, Ghost Rock came to life when Colin and Cate Arnold purchased the Patrick’s Creek vineyard (planted in 1989) at Northdown, just outside Devonport in Northern Tasmania. Here, just a few minutes from where the Spirit of Tasmania ferry docks and but an hour’s drive from Cradle Mountain, the vineyards enjoy a maritime climate overlooking Bass Strait, producing immaculately ripened fruit of particular freshness and complexity.

Over the ensuing 20-odd years the Arnold family would continue planting out additional vineyards, substantially with Pinot Noir (and a good dozen different clones at that!), but also with Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris and a little Sauvignon Blanc. And before they knew it, they had almost single-handedly created the wine region now dubbed Tasmania’s Cradle Coast.

In 2017 Colin and Cate’s son Justin and his wife Alicia Peardon took over the business and have continued to turn out new and exciting wines, earning 5-star recognition from the Halliday Wine Companion, amongst many other accolades. Justin takes care of the winemaking, having honed his skills at Coldstream Hills, Devil’s Lair and at Etude in California’s Carneros Creek, whilst Alicia manages the Cellar Door and Eatery.

Today the wines fall into three ranges: the Estate and Single Vineyard wines are self-explanatory, whilst the Supernatural wines make up Ghost Rock’s ‘Lo-Fi’ range. Or as Justin has put it,

‘Creativity and deliciousness rule the roost within this portfolio, bound to one rule only; high quality, estate-grown fruit as the source component. The rest is in the imagination and the craft. The range follows a LoFi mantra of being wild ferment driven and exclusively unfined/unfiltered/low SO2.’