From Tassie comes a vineyard making wines of the highest order
James Bresnehan has swapped fatigues for the farm, and in doing so has developed a chardonnay that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
Deep down, James Bresnehan always knew he wanted to be a farmer, but his agrarian dreams took a while to bear fruit. He got sidetracked in the navy, where he met his wife Vanessa, and while they were stationed in Cairns the call of his native Tasmania began to pull at him. In 2008 the couple bought 200ha in the Coal River Valley – prime farming land with 2ha of run-down chardonnay on black cracking clays, situated in a small natural amphitheatre that shields the site from the northerlies that blow through. They set about restoring the original plantings, and adding different clones of chardonnay plus pinot noir, pinot blanc and gamay to the mix.
But establishing vineyards isn’t cheap and at times the Bresnehans must have felt that 95 per cent of the effort went towards 5 per cent of their farm. They ran sheep and planted crops and poured that income into the vineyard, expanding it into a site that now totals 13ha.
It’s all been worth it. The potential of the site was evident early. The couple has a long-term fruit supply arrangement with Treasury Wine Estates, and much of it has gone to the top of the Penfolds chardonnay program and been significant in the spectacular Yattarna releases. In 2021 the couple formed a partnership with gun winemaking duo Anna Pooley and Justin Bubb to shape some of their very best fruit into a label of their own. That label, Bremley, might just be the most exciting newcomer in Australian wine.
Last month the 2023 Bremley Pinot Noir took top prize at the Australian Pinot Noir Challenge, the fifth straight win for Tasmanian pinot and the second in that run of five made by Pooley and Bubb. “A lot of hard work brings a bit of luck,” Bresnehan says. But in reality luck has little to do with it. This is winegrowing and winemaking of the highest order.
BREMLEY PINOT NOIR 2023
$50
Perfectly ripe dark cherries, plus some strawberries sprinkled with pepper. Spearmint and quince, a whiff of char siu pork. Beautifully harmonious, comfortable and complete. Sculpted muscle draped in satin, a wine that rolls in waves across the palate, fanning out with expansive, uber-fine tannins.
13.5% alcohol; 97 points
BREMLEY CHARDONNAY 2023
$50
A romp through a field of white flowers, biting into green apples, slugging back lemon barley water and breathing in the sea spray on a breeze. It’s almost obscenely racy, a thrill ride of invigorating acidity. Bracingly fresh, incredibly long. Chardonnay that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
13% alcohol; 96 points
BREMLEY GAMAY 2023
$50
Fine, fragrant, frisky. A gamay with serious substance. Dried red berries, a souk full of spices, a faint suggestion of holy basil and tarragon. There’s a sinewy suppleness at play here, an energetic momentum across the palate and denouement delivered through a filigree lattice of fine tannins.
13% alcohol; 96 points