Corda: Winemaker Doug Neal’s passion for Burgundy and reverence for traditional Australian styling is etched in his Corda cuvée, meaning ‘hearts’. It draws on the legacy of the great Maurice O’Shea and his parade of ‘Australian Burgundy’, blending 70% Pinot Noir with 30% Shiraz. It is translucent of hue, red fruited, savoury of personality, diaphanous of texture and succulent from attack to its persistent glide, long across the palate. Think red cherry, damson plum, bergamot and Asian five-spice. Each glass sees the wine shape-shift, becoming juicier, suave and richer in time. The trajectory for ageing is prodigious, although it is difficult to stop after tasting the first bottle!
'it is clear that Neal’s new domain is stamped with the postcode of ‘cult in the making’.'
- Ned Goodwin MW
Supple and flavoursome, this old-fashioned Australia red ‘burgundy’ unfolds a pretty, floral perfume of sweet raspberries, cherries and redcurrants backed by suggestions of beetroot, cola and a whiff of pine needle. It’s medium in weight, with a long, smooth drive of sour-edged Morello cherries, dark plum and licorice underpinned by a drying, dusty spine. Wrapped in a vivacious acidity, it’s gentle to the touch but powerful in its delivery. Certain to flesh out further.
94 points (February 2019)
Pinot Noir and Shiraz are like-minded buddies with a long Australian history dating back to the Hunter Valley and famed Mount Pleasant winemaker, Maurice O’Shea. The blend has seen a welcome resurgence in recent years, and not just in the Hunter. In the Canberra wine region winemakers are used to blending Viognier with Shiraz but Victorian winemaker, Doug Neal, introduces a foreign concept that proves there’s room for some new thinking.
Here, we see Murrumbateman Pinot Noir (70%) and Shiraz (30%) coming together nicely with a percentage of whole berries thrown into the winemaking mix. The result is a textural, lightly savoury interpretation of the great Hunter blend. Red berries, blue berries, pomegranate, spice and a flourish of Canberra shiraz violets envelop the senses. The aromatics are captivating. Smooth across the tongue, velvety, with dark fruits, cacao, all brought into line by a mesh of fine tannins. The wine saw 15 months in oak before blending in September, 2020. Doug Neal is an oak importer/distributor, so the oak is mentioned here for nothing other than to indicate that the guy understands its role and the tightrope walked by winemakers in search of balance. Plenty of good drinking here for now or for later.
95 points, Wine Pilot (November 2021)
