CANOBOLAS~SMITH
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The Vineyard

The Smith family established Canobolas-Smith Wines in 1986 after a detailed site selection search by winemaker and viticulturist, Murray Smith.

The unirrigated vineyard of eight hectares is at an elevation of 800m on the northern slopes of Mt. Canobolas, near Orange N.S.W.

The average annual rainfall is 850mm and snow falls each winter. The soil is a free-draining clay loam derived from basalt.

The vines are planted on own roots at a spacing of 1.5m x 2.25m (3000 vines/ha) in north-south row orientation.

Vines are cane-pruned (Double Guyot) with the cordon wire at 0.75m.

Vines are handpicked in 1-2 tonne lots to capture each portion of the vineyard at optimum maturity.


VINTAGE SUMMARY
1986 Vineyard established.
1989 First vintage. Chardonnay foot crushed & barrel fermented.
1990 First Canobolas-Smith Pinot Noir. Very good wine.
1991 Drought year. Top red is Cabernet.
1992 Very good year.
1993 Cool harvest. Very good Chardonnay. First Alchemy.
1994 Hot, dry year.
1995 Excellent vintage. Great Chardonnay. Superb Alchemy.
1996 Excellent vintage.
1997 Excellent vintage. Three great Chardonnays in a row. First Reserve Pinot Noir in magnums is a triumph.
1998 Warm year, early vintage. Excellent reds - particularly Trophy winning Alchemy.
1999 Lovely Pinot Noir and powerful Alchemy. Very good Botrytis Chardonnay.
2000 Wet vintage required strict fruit selection. Chardonnay (again) the highlight.
2001 Cool vintage. Very good Chardonnay and Pinot.
2002 Very good year. First Reserve Chardonnay. First Strawhouse Shiraz.
2003 Dry year. Reds very good.
2004 Reds balanced and fruity. Whites good. First Strawhouse Sauvignon Blanc.
2005 Very good vintage despite mid-season hail. First Reserve Shiraz. All top wines destined for long cellar life.
2006 Mild growing season. Round generous fruit flavours in both whites and reds.
2007 Drought year. Very small harvest.
2008 Very good year. Excellent Chardonnay including Reserve and excellent Alchemy.
2009 Good year. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Alchemy all good.
2010 Wet vintage. Early varieties best.



The story behind our labels

Working with artist, Tim Winters has given us a range of labels that have style and individuality.

The Blue Label

The Blue Label, synonymous with Canobolas-Smith Wines, is an artistic expression of the elements that go to making fine wine. The label features a profile of Mount Canobolas, an extinct volcano contributing altitude and soil (tertiary basalt) to the Estate. The stars of the night sky, a heart for passion, a shooting star for inspiration and around the label the seasons are represented by the ‘alchemical’ symbols for spring, summer, autumn and winter. This label symbolises the ‘alchemy’ of the Canobolas-Smith approach to winemaking.

The Strawhouse Label

A yellow straw colour, the Strawhouse label has allowed us to grow our range of wines and include the new influences that have come into our business in the past ten years. The Strawhouse is the owner-built straw bale house belonging to Meg Simpson and Justin Byrne. Meg and Justin own the property to the north of Canobolas-Smith Wines and their fruit comes into the Canobolas-Smith crush. The vineyard is planted to Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The first wines released under this label were a 2002 Shiraz and 2004 Sauvignon Blanc.

The SHINE Label

A new and very stylish addition to the Canobolas-Smith range. This label is a representation of a classical design concept – The Golden Mean or Golden Ratio. Discovered by Pythagoras, the Golden Mean has been associated with the aesthetically pleasing in mathematics, art and design.

The SHINE label is reserved for very special wines.