Earning the praise of somms

 It is not the first accolade for this wine, having already picked up gold medals at the London International Wine Challenge and the Decanter Wine Awards last year.

For Julicher Estate owners Wim Julicher and Sue Darling, the news of the Trophy was a bit of a surprise.

“We were awarded a gold medal in the competition back in January and thought that’s fantastic,” Wim said. “Out importer in the UK was very happy. But the trophy news came a bit out the blue. It’s not just a gold medal – but a trophy and we had to beat some top wines from France and all over the world. It is a fantastic feeling and totally unexpected.”

The fact the Pinot was judged by sommeliers as the best in the category, is something that is an even greater bonus Wim said.

“It means a lot to us, because these are the people who recommend your wine in restaurants and stores. If people ask for a recommendation to go with a certain meal, and a wine has accolades from the sommelier’s peers, then you have a better chance of them suggesting your wine.”

The vineyard the fruit for this wine is sourced from, was never intended to be anything other than an olive grove. Shortly after the first trees were planted back in 1996, they were hit by a severe frost and more than half of them died. Wim said they decided then that maybe they should be looking at an alternative use of the land, and grapes was the obvious solution. The first Pinot vines were planted in 1998, and followed up with staggered plantings from there on in. As well as Pinot, the couple grow Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. In 2004 a winery was built on the property, giving Julicher total control over growing and winemaking. (The winemaker is Outi Jakovirta from Finland).

When asked when he realised that the 2010 was something a little bit special, Wim said it was at the time of bottling.

“We knew that the Pinot and the second tier wine, 99 Rows, were going to be quite decent wines as it was being prepared for bottling. The winemaker was quite happy with the flavours and aromas and we thought, ‘yeah it might be something better than average.’

“2010 was a very nice growing season, we had a decent crop and the weather was just about perfect at the end.”

The win is slightly bitter sweet, given just before they were told the news, Wim and Sue placed Julicher Estate on the market. They said they are getting to the stage when they would like more time to themselves. Having put their “heart and soul” into the business for the past 16 years, the time is now right to move on.

“I used to be in the building trade and that is physically hard work,” Wim said. “But the wine game is mentally hard work. Having the worries about the weather, the harvest, the markets and the economics, it is mentally hard to keep it running and trying to do the right thing all the time.  So we have decided, enough is enough.”

Having more time to themselves will allow them to really enjoy the fruits of their labour, in terms of the wine they have cellared for the future. 

So given the Pinot Noir 2010 has just won a Sommelier’s Trophy, what does Wim recommend to match it with. 

“Oh I am a bit of a heathen, I drink a good wine with anything!”