THE Wild Wren wines that winged their way to me this month command attention for their deft winemaking, brilliant label design and imaginative marketing.
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They are the product of Renee Burton, who has sourced excellent quality grapes from the Hunter and beyond, contracted 16-year Hunter vintage veteran Aaron Mercer to craft the wines and retained Hunter graphic artist Krysten Rhoades-Brown to design the labels.
Renee, known as Ren to her friends, says she chose Wren as her brand name because it suited her personality and life experiences, and matched the strong, brave and beautiful nature of blue wrens.
The Wollongong born, raised and schooled and Charles Sturt University management graduate came to the Hunter 20 years ago, chalking up wide experience in wine and tourism, including six years managing day and health spas.
The establishment of Wren in September 2021 and the November 5 opening of the cellar door in the Broke Road, Pokolbin, Peppers Creek Village came in the wake of her 2019 divorce from Matt Burton and the end of her nine-year partnership in the Pokolbin and Canberra-based Halliday Wine Companion five red stars rated Gundog Estate operation.
As a new single mother of two young daughters, Renee initially did wine and hospitality consulting. Then she decided she needed to resume doing creative things in boutique production and give daughters 13-year-old Scarlette and 10-year-old Maddison a strong role model.
Setting up a smart cellar door came about when the former Peppers Creek Village premises of David Hook came available, sharing space across a little partition with Charteris Wines.
I've been tasting my way through a batch of six of Renee's cellar door current releases - the $30 Hunter Valley Pinot Gris, the $35 Hunter Vermentino and 2022 Sangiovese, from the Upper Hunter's Two Rivers vineyard, the $40 2021 Hunter Untamed Semillon, 2022 Hunter Chardonnay and Hunter-McLaren Vale Shiraz, available at cellar door.
Coming up are a 2022 Hunter-Hilltops shiraz blend and grner veltliner, a GSM grenache shiraz mourvedre blend, tempranillo and a sparkling rosé.
Renee has added the Wild Ren Gin to her portfolio. After 27 trials she used Australian botanicals of lemon myrtle, aniseed myrtle, Tasmanian pepper berry and strawberry gum to create 750ml $87 and 200ml $25 releases from the cellar door - open Sunday to Friday from 10am to 4pm, and Saturday from 10am to 5pm and on hello@wrenwines.com.au
WINE REVIEWS
VERMENTINO TAKES ON
HUNTER sourced, this Wren 2021 Vermentino is pale straw-hued, grassy scented and with zingy kiwifruit front-palate flavour. The middle palate shows pear, passionfruit, lime zest and gunmetal elements and a finish of flinty acid. The variety is native to the French Mediterranean island of Corsica and is increasingly planted around Australia.
PRICE: $35.
DRINK WITH: tapas.
AGEING: three years.
RATING: 4 stars (out of 6)
BERRYFULL SANGIOVESE
FROM the principal grape variety of Italy's Chianti Region, this jaunty Wren 2022 Sangiovese has 13% alcohol and shines ruby red in the glass. The nose shows berry pastille aromas, the front palate juicy cherry flavour and the middle palate raspberry, quince jelly, spice and vanillin oak. Chalky tannins refresh at the finish.
PRICE: $35.
DRINK WITH: spaghetti bolognaise.
AGEING: five years.
RATING: 4.5 stars
FRUITY CHARDONNAY
THIS Wren 2022 Chardonnay is a fruity drop from Hunter Valley grapes with brassy gold hues and scents of mango and crushed almonds and plush ripe yellow peach flavour on the front palate. The middle palate features fig, rockmelon, lemon curd and cashew oak and the finish slatey acid.
PRICE: $40.
DRINK WITH: poached Tasmanian salmon fillets with Valencia orange burre blanc.
AGEING: six years.
RATING: 5 stars
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