Pernod Ricard Winemakers’ new range, Aces & Arrows, is the result of four wine makers being given the creative licence to create a wine of their choosing with their favourite wine variety.
The result is a 2022 Riverland Vermentino, 2020 Adelaide Hills Grüner Veltliner, 2022 Central Otago Pinot Noir and 2019 Barossa Valley Grenache.
Pernod Ricard chief winemaker, Dan Swincer, said, “We gave our winemaking team the opportunity to have extra creative input, play and have fun when it comes to their craft. No idea was to be left unturned, and that’s how Aces & Arrows was born.
“Every bottle is a direct portal to the inner workings of the winemaker, liquid labours of love, full of heart and skill in spades. When you select a bottle of Aces & Arrows, you can be sure that every drop contains the creativity, passion, and spirit of the craftsman who made it.
“A peek behind the proverbial curtain, an all-access discovery pass to the winemaker’s playground, these are the wines that rarely see the light of day,” continued Swincer.
The Vermentino, was sourced by one of the winemaker's favourite varieties from South Australia’s Riverland, which she fermented in tanks then matured it in oak, stirring regularly to build complexity and texture, resulting in nashi pear and stone fruit flavours.
The second winemaker’s mission is to bring lesser-known wines to the spotlight and one of his favourites is Grüner Veltliner. These Grüner parcels from the Adelaide Hills were harvested and pressed at night to retain aromatics and fruit integrity.
The wine is a blend is 10 per cent old-oak and 90 per cent tank-fermented and matured and has balanced light fruit with subtle spice notes.
New Zealand’s Central Otago has developed an amazing reputation for the highest quality Pinot Noir. The third winemaker and Pinot-phile wild-fermented the grapes to add weight and complexity then it was matured in fine-grained French oak, to deliver a touch of spice.
And the fourth winemaker fell in love with Grenache in Spain which led him to experiment back home and give it a vibrant, new personality. The Grenache was sourced from four different old-vine vineyards across the Barossa Valley and depending on the batch, was fermented in open small stainless steel or French oak, either on skins or in whole bunches.
“I am proud to be a part of this new brand born out of the passion projects of our Pernod Ricard winemakers. We’ve allowed of our winemakers to push the boundaries and experiment with different varietals in capacities that hasn’t been done before,” Swincer said.
The Aces & Arrows range is now available to purchase from $30 RRP at Coles Liquor Group across Australia.
