Thursday, August 22, 2019

Carpe Diem Vineyards


We made sure to visit Carpe Diem Vineyards. Its cellar door is unassuming and basic. I liked that very much! Good vibes. Gianfranco and Francesca Anderle had moved from Italy to Margaret River, bringing with them decades of wine-making experience to set up Carpe Diem in 2001 and the vineyard started producing wines since 2003. They intentionally modeled their wines after Italian varietals, using grapes of sangiovese, nebbiolo, malbec, vermentino and pinot grigio.

The vineyard obviously didn't bother with producing many whites. There're three, like the pinot grigio, schiaffo (sauvignon blanc), the vermentino. We weren't keen to try. It's obvious that Carpe Diem focused on their reds. I really liked the flavor profiles of many of Carpe Diem’s reds. I fell in love with its cabernet sauvignon (2014) and malbec (2017). It’s not a coincidence that my palate likes them. I’ve always got a soft spot for Italian reds. This winery’s reds are closer to the Italian rosso than a signature Margaret River cabernet sauvignon. Decided to make majority of my wine purchases here.  

Gianfranco said this was one of the best winters the region has seen for two decades. Well, lucky us then. We’re just glad for the reprieve to Singapore’s scorching temperatures and relentless humidity. It’s sunny here, but the 10-13dC temperatures make it so comfortable to sit outdoors (with a wide-brimmed hat and sunnies of course). We’ll enjoy the Margaret River sun a little more before the forecasted winter rains come. Carpe diem.

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