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When Jacob Stein returned to his Mudgee home in 2008, the third generation winemaker was warmly welcomed, and then put to work. The 26 year old is Mudgee’s youngest winemaker and brings an international perspective to the region’s winemaking.

Having worked several vintages in Germany, Italy and Canada, as well as across Australia, Jacob brings a wealth of experience to the 34 year old winery, reflected in the seven trophies and eight gold medals the winery has been awarded since 2009.

“It’s been a fantastic couple of years,” commented Jacob. “To be able to return straight into the winemaking role and work closely with my family has been fantastic. I’m loving Mudgee! We are putting greater emphasis on our vineyards, and the results have been exceptional, particularly in the Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.”

The Robert Stein Rieslings are beginning to show the region in a new light. “We have made a Half Dry Riesling ($25) and a Reserve Riesling ($35) from 2010. I love the half dry Rieslings from Germany. With the perfect 2010 vintage, we separated the fruit from our younger 1992 vines for the half dry style which has 18 grams residual. Fruit from the 1976 vineyard was used in the Reserve wine which is a drier, tighter and more classical style. The 2010 Reserve will be released next year.”

Cabernet Sauvignon is the new ‘hero’ variety for Mudgee and Jacob’s 2008 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($35) is further proof that Mudgee is seeing a renaissance. “2008 was a cool but dry year which ensured that the grapes from these 32 year old vines ripened slowly, producing great concentration. Cabernet is well suited to Mudgee, and 2009 and 2010 was no exception”

Another new wine is the 2009 Harvest Gold ($25), a botrytis Semillon that was harvested at 35 Baume. “Fermentation was slow, for six months at ten degrees, with a little oak influence. The ten percent dry Riesling component added some natural acidity to the final blend.”

Jacob is also working with a number of other local wineries, contract making wines for eight other brands as well as trying his hand with wine show judging.

“This is certainly keeping us busy, but it’s all part of the fun. Associate judging at the recent Cowra Wine Show was a real challenge with over 2000 entries. It was great to work with the likes of Andrew Spinaze from Tyrrells and many other peers. I look forward to getting involved in more wine shows in the future.”

2010 Robert Stein Half Dry Riesling: Trophy, Winewise Small Vigneron Awards 2010
Gold Medal, Winewise Small Vigneron Awards 2010

Distribution: Robert Stein wines are distributed in NSW and direct from robertstein.com.au