2018 Chalmers Dott. Pavana 500ml

Chalmers Dott Pavana is made from the rarest grape in the Chalmers collection. Pavana caught Dr. Rod’s attention during a mid-1990s tenure at Udine University. Only a handful of Pavana vineyards now remain in Italy, mostly in Valsugana which bridges Trentino and Veneto, but it was once widely planted in these areas when the region was part of Austria, where much of the Pavana wine was consumed. Being a pale, perfumed and herbal light red it wasn’t favoured by the Italian’s once the region passed to Italian rule so Pavana became unviable and was removed from most vineyards.
Pavana joined the Chalmers collection in 2000 but the first pretty, rosé-like super light red wines weren’t made from the nursery block until 2013-2015. The combination of the variety with the distinctive Heathcote soil influence has produced a more structured and darker wine, still retaining the charm and freshness so endearing in the project wines. The fact that this variety was singled out by Dr. Rod during the 1990s at a time when heavy, concentrated and oaked reds were in fashion is a testament to his foresight.
Dott Pavana was hand-picked on 28th February, chilled overnight then destemmed into an open fermenter for a whole-berry wild ferment. It was basket-pressed on 27th March and finished primary fermentation in stainless steel. After a nine-month maturation period in stainless steel it was hand-bottled on site at Merbein in February 2019.
The pretty, rich garnet-coloured 2018 Pavana has an intense fragrance of fresh wild raspberry, dried figs and Darjeeling tea leaves. The palate is vibrant with rhubarb, rosehip and geranium characters, plus a hint of that Heathcote charry note, backed by a subtle tannin structure around a long acid line. – Kim Chalmers