Kristen and David Cush - Spring Vale Wines
“Men and women who grow their own grapes in their own soil and make their own wines from them.” These were the criteria we outlined for our single vigneron series when it began a year ago.
Some of our single vignerons have been just that, some work with a partner, some have taken on winemaking in retirement and some have been working in vineyards for generations.
At Spring Vale, Kristen Cush is the fifth generation of her family, the Lynes, to be involved in farming the same land on the East Coast. It’s only since her parents Rodney and Lyn planted some pinot noir grapes in 1986 - and subsequently chardonnay, gewurztraminer, pinot gris and pinot meunier - that it has been a vineyard, but few Australian families have such a long association with their patch of soil.
Kris’s role these days is mostly confined to vintage time because she is raising the first two members of the sixth generation, Max, who is nearly four, and Willem, who is one. She is confident they too will one day be involved in the business.
William Lyne and his family came to Tasmania in 1826 and moved to Spring Vale, near Cranbrook, in 1875. Before them, the house had been occupied by artist and author Louisa Meredith and her husband Charles, who moved there in 1842. Pear trees Louisa planted still stand.
Stables built at Spring Vale in 1842 are now the cellar door, which is open from 10am to 4pm each day. It and the homestead are heritage listed. Kris said the family hopes to “pull in” more tourists interested in history as well as wine.
Kris gained a wine science degree at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, where she met Dave Cush, who was doing a viticulture degree. A couple of vintages in France, another in Victoria and some travel in Asia, and they returned to Spring Vale, where Kris’s first vintage was 2002. Now they both make the wine.
Kris says making their own wine gives the family - her brother Tim Lyne helps manage the property - a great deal more control. If the grapes were going to a contract winemaker, they would all be picked at once and sent off in a bulk lot to be fitted into the winemaker’s schedule. As it is, different parts of the vineyard are picked at different times, according to their flavour. Grapes can acquire the required sugar level a week before their flavour is fully developed, and at Spring Vale they wait for that to happen. “The fact we have our own winery means we can play around and experiment as much as we like,” said Kris. “We have all the time and space to do whatever we need to do to make this wine possible.”
A proportion of the grapes is fermented as whole bunches -”which gives is a really amazing ‘estery’, floral character” - some rely on wild yeast, some are in closed vats and others in open pots. When a vintage is blended Kris and Dave may work with 10 different batches.
The preferences of two sorts of pinot noir drinkers are catered for. Spring Vale Pinot has plenty of body and can compete with a shiraz. Max Allen last year said the 2005 Spring Vale Pinot Noir was “absolutely glorious, with the most fantastic, seductive raspberry and black cherry fruit, silky tannins and impeccable balance. It’s one of the finest pinots I’ve tasted all year.” A “junior” pinot is blended with meunier grapes and is a lighter, fruitier style.
2005 Spring Vale Pinot Noir
Powerful aromas of dark cherries, spice and earth, with subtle oak. Soft, smooth tannins; full, fleshy mid-palate and great length of flavour. A classic vintage of Spring Vale Pinot Noir, with a long life ahead of it.
2005 Spring Vale Chardonnay
Explosive aromas of oak, peaches and cashews with underlying creaminess. A tight palate with mid-palate texture and great length of flavour. Drink now or cellar happily for five or more years. Perfect companion to smoked trout.
2006 Spring Vale Gewurztraminer
Intense varietal aromas of lychees and rosewater. A touch of sweetness teams well with tight acid and firm phenolic backbone to produce a stylish aromatic wine. Well suited to a wide range of foods, from stinky cheese to a cinnamon curry.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
