Dawson James is the project of Peter Dawson and Tim James, who met in 1976 when they were both working at Hardy & Sons, and where they continued to work alongside each other for 20 years. They have since moved on to different projects, including Willunga 100 in McLaren Vale for Tim, but have collaborated again to produce the Dawson James wines in Tasmania. Their shared passion for Australian art, farming, camping and gastronomy, as well as their dedication to fine Australian wine, have combined in this exciting project, and the wines are the proof of their winemaking wisdom and enthusiasm. The single vineyard wines are made around 60 kilometres north-west of Hobart, an area characterised by rugged topography and the fast flowing, pristine waters of the Derwent river.

Grapes are grown on the Meadowbank vineyard, located in the upper Derwent Valley in southern Tasmania. The vineyard was first planted in 1989 and sits at 70 metres above the river level and the north-easterly aspect gives it optimal sunlight exposure for grape ripening. The soil is a combination of brown sandy loams over structured clays and sandstone rock. It has a devigorating nature, helping the balanced growth and structure of the vines. Vines are trellised to single cordon and managed to one bunch per shoot, and yields are kept at less than six tonnes per hectare.

40% of the fruit was retained as whole bunches, the remaining 60% was destemmed and crushed. The whole bunches and crushed fruit underwent a four day cold soak prior to fermentation with natural yeasts in open-topped fermenters. After a ten day fermentation and maceration, the must was pressed in a traditional basket press before being transferred to Burgundian coopered oak barriques, of which 40% were new. The wine then matured on lees for ten months prior to bottling.

This wine would pair beautifully with a mushroom risotto or light game dishes.

International Wine Challenge 2021 - Trophy