Ampel

Tim Stock's distribution company, Vinous, was the distributor of Josef Chromy's wines until 2010, when the arrangement ended (amicably). Tim had become great friends with Jeremy Dineen, winemaker and general manager of the Chromy business, and Jeremy was able to source grapes from a variety of vineyards for the Tasmanian wines that Tim needed for his customers on the mainland. The grapes for Ampel are sourced from Helen and Gerald Phillips' vineyard in Yorktown in the north-west corner of the Tamar Valley. The vineyard was planted on land covered by virgin scrub, reflecting the impoverished quartz gravel soil. With virtually no organic matter present, it took six years for the first small crop to appear, but the vines have now built deep, substantial root systems. The Phillips' farming method is sustainable, with minimal treatments, a benefit of the free-draining soil. The plantings are two-thirds pinot noir and one-third pinot gris, the pinot noir inspiration coming from the Cote Chalonaise (light, fresh and fruity) in Burgundy and that of the pinot gris from Alsace (generous and broadly structured, yet aromatic). -JAMES HALLIDAY