Coppabella

Product Description

There are few places in Australia cool enough to craft world-class wines from early ripening varieties such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. That this can be achieved in Southern NSW is among the most exciting stories in Australian winemaking today.

The ‘Tralee’ Vineyard is the largest in Tumbarumba and was originally established in 1993 by the region’s founder, Ian Cowell. As he later found out, Tumbarumba is not an easy place to grow wine grapes. Winter is bitterly cold. Spring is punctuated by severe frosts. And ultra-premium viticulture is laborious and fiercely expensive. After a long period of selling fruit to other wineries, including Block 20 consistently being reserved for Penfolds Yattarna. In 2011, the owners of the old ‘Tralee’ vineyard decided to call it quits and intended to dig up the vines. Determined to not let that happen, Jason and Alecia Brown came to the vineyard’s rescue which is where the story of Coppabella begins.

“..to create the ultimate expression of cool climate wines on mainland Australia was impossible to refuse” Jason Brown

Coppabella’s Emergence

Jason and Alecia Brown were seduced by the well credentialed, high altitude, alpine vineyard. The purity and serenity of the site was intoxicating, the potential to create the ultimate expression of cool climate wines on mainland Australia, was impossible to refuse. Under the Brown’s ownership the entire vineyard has been transformed. Rather than just grow grapes for multi-nationals, all of the vineyard’s fruit is now made into wine under the Coppabella label. The name Coppabella pays tribute to the original cattle station that occupied the area in the 1800’s.

“At an altitude of 650m, the Coppabella vineyard is truly unique. Less than 1% of Australia’s viticulture land is at an elevation of 600m or more.”

Investment and Reward

The Browns have invested heavily; from grafting a number of blocks to the earlier ripening Dijon Clones of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay to rehabilitating the vines and overhauling the viticultural practices. And planting new varieties and looking at sustainable farming methods. In 2016, the hard work was rewarded; Coppabella became the first Tumbarumba winery awarded 5 Stars by James Halliday in the 2017 Halliday Wine Companion.

“…the most magnificent achievements start with the greatest challenges.”

Our Wine Style

Our wines have a purity, expression and elegance that speak of their origin. There’s a delicacy and refinement that can only be achieved in a very cool climate. And Tumbarumba is one of very few places in the Southern Hemisphere where such wines can be made. The vineyard has evolved and matured and now under the Coppabella label, one of the great treasures of cool climate viticulture is finally free to be expressed through single vineyard, estate labelled wines.

“[the wines] are testament to an exceptional vineyard” James Halliday

coppabella.com.au/

Additional Information

The history of Tumbarumba is one that has been built in waves; from early explorers to cattle stations, through the gold rush days and eventually into wine. The first grapes were planted in 1981 but the actual wine region wasn’t established until the early-mid 1990’s when National corporate wineries were investing heavily in wine science and using trained viticulturists to explore and develop new wine regions. There were few places in Australia cool enough to craft world class wine from early ripening varieties such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Ian Cowell, senior wine maker at Lindeman’s, was tasked with finding a region on mainland Australia that could produce premium grapes for Sparkling wine production. He searched for terrain that shared climatic similarities with France’s Champagne region. In 1993, Cowell established a vineyard in Tumbarumba. The purpose of which was to provide multi-nationals from other established wine regions with ultra-cool, premium quality grapes. As more vineyards were established, they too sold their fruit and soon Tumbarumba became a grape-growing, rather than a wine-making region.

Tumbarumba’s closest viticultural equivalents are Tasmania, Central Otago and Chablis.

Set in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, Tumbarumba is the coldest viticultural region on mainland Australia and is set in a stunning landscape reminiscent of the Apple Isle. It’s a remote and pristine wilderness; a place or rare beauty. There is a purity in the air and the crystal mountain waters, and the dense bushland is abundant with native wildlife.

It’s not an easy place to grow wine grapes. Winter is bitterly cold; Spring is punctuated by severe frosts; the hills are frighteningly steep and help is far away. Ultra-premium viticulture here is laborious and fiercely expensive. However, the most magnificent achievements often begin with the greatest challenges!

In this unique climate we can create wines of purity, expression and elegance that speak of their origin. There’s a delicacy and refinement that can only be achieved in a very cool climate. Tumbarumba is one of few places in the Southern Hemisphere where such wines can be made.

Soil Type - Is typical high mountain soils, derived from decomposed granite and basalt, with a typically gritty and granular texture.

Climate - The weather is cool, with the days often crisp and sunny and the nights cold. Summer days are warm, and winter brings occasional snow.