Willow Bridge Estate Solana Tempranillo 2023

Tasting Notes

🔹 Appearance – Dense crimson hue with great clarity, reflecting its bold and vibrant nature.

🔹 Aroma – Aromatics of rose hip, licorice, black jube, and a touch of spice greet the nose.

🔹 Palate – On the palate, a delicious mix of blueberry fruits, dark plums, and raspberry is balanced with savoury tannins. The wine’s complexity is supported by subtle hints of vanilla.

🔹 Finish – A long and lingering finish that showcases the wine’s full fruit expression and smooth, mouthwatering tannins.

Winemaking ℹ️

🔹 Estate Grown – Fruit sourced from the Cameron block in the spectacular hillside vineyard of the Ferguson Valley, planted in 2009.

🔹 Handcrafted – The wine is fermented in open-top fermenters, with hand plunging twice daily, ensuring optimal extraction of flavours and tannins.

🔹 Spice & Minerality – The winemaking process encourages deep structures, with a focus on spice and minerality to add complexity.

Serving Temperature ℹ️

🔹 Ideal – 16-18°C

🔹 Why – This slightly cooler temperature allows the vibrant fruit and savoury tannins to shine, highlighting the wine’s complexity.

🔹 How – If being stored at room temperature (22c) place in the fridge for about 45 minutes prior to serving.

🔹 Result – At this temperature, the wine’s full range of flavours—fruit, spice, and tannin—will be perfectly balanced, making each sip enjoyable.

Perfect Pairings ℹ️

🔹 Grilled Meats – A perfect match for grilled lamb or steak, as the wine’s vibrant fruit and savoury tannins complement the richness of the meat.

🔹 Rich Stews – Ideal with hearty stews, where the depth of flavour in the Tempranillo adds complexity to the dish.

🔹 Cheese – Pairs wonderfully with a variety of cheeses, such as Manchego or aged cheddar, which enhance the wine’s savoury characteristics.

🔹 Spicy Dishes – The wine’s subtle spice works well with dishes that feature mild heat, such as a peppered pork roast or chorizo.

Accolades 🏆

• Wine Companion – 95 Points
• Ray Jordan – 93 points

“Super vintage in Geographe, which has proved ideal for this famous Spanish variety. Willow Bridge have been making this for some time and it consistently produces a delicious, succulent, juicy style of tempranillo which is very much in line with the wines you might see in the bars in Spain. Bright blackberry juby, raspberry notes and a palate that is plush and juicy, but there’s good structural integrity there with chalky tannins and a lick of oak adding the final fling. Very attractive style of wine”

FAQ: Wine Terms ❓

🔹 Tannins – Natural compounds in the skin, seeds, and stems of grapes that create structure and a dry sensation on the palate. In this Tempranillo, the tannins are smooth and mouthwatering.

🔹 Fermentation – The process in which yeast converts the sugars in grapes into alcohol. The wine is fermented in open-top fermenters with hand plunging to ensure optimal flavour extraction.

🔹 Minerality – A term used to describe the mineral character in the wine, often contributing a slightly earthy or stony note. This wine has a subtle minerality that enhances its complexity.