2022 sees Moorilla (Estate) celebrate its 60th birthday. Started by Italian immigrant Claudio Alcorso on a shapely, jutting headland in the northern Hobart suburb of Berriedale overlooking the River Derwent. It seems this site was destined for great things. Claudio was a true entrepreneur and a lover of the arts and the land. In establishing the estate, he commissioned architect Sir Roy Grounds to design a house for his parents, The Round House. Not only did he start the Sheridan textile company in 1967, he was also founding chairperson of Opera Australia in 1971 and used Moorilla as a “showcase for sculptures collected from across the globe.” Being a passionate Tasmanian, he was arrested in 1982 as part of the protests over the damming of the Franklin River. Moorilla then had some mixed fortunes until 1995. Enter David Walsh, professional gambler. The seed of what has grown to become MONA was planted. David allowed Claudio and his wife Lesley to stay in the Round House until Claudio’s passing in 2000.

That Round House initially became David’s personal museum for the art that he’d collected from across the globe. As that collection and David’s vision has grown: it is now the entrance to the far grander and brutal, predominantly subterranean, Museum Of New Art.
The Cloth Label blend is a tribute to the founder of Moorilla and so much more.

Moorilla, Cloth Label, White Blend, Tasmania, 2016

An unconventional blend, though none of the marketing material states what it is for this release. Previous releases have seen it consist of Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. Time on skins imparts a soft bronzing to the colour.  Fragrant with juicy lychee (hello Gewürztraminer), incense smoke, mandarin citrus, balsa wood, roast chicken skin, gardenia, warm butter and preserved lemon. Savoury and dry. Broad, powerful texture (that skin time assists with phenolics) that is offset and eventually overtaken by crisp acidity that builds in intensity and leaves its signature seared on tooth enamel. Still looking fresh, so another few years won’t hurt the development into something very unique.

RRP: $75
Alc: 12.5%
Rating: 18/20 (92/100)

Wine sample courtesy of Moorilla