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Meet the maker: Robert Heywood, Clover Hill’s chief winemaker

Pushing tradition to its limit with delicious results, Clover Hill's chief winemaker might be Tasmanian sparkling wine's most gracious disruptor.
Robert Heywood holding a bottle of Clover Hill wine.

How did you come to love wine?

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A lot goes into wine from the vineyard into the bottle. That’s where the passion stems from. I am originally from the western district of Victoria, close to Coonawarra, so it started with an interest in agriculture and viticulture and the wine followed.

A wine that changed your life?

A bottle of 1975 Pierre Gimonnet Blanc de Blancs. I was in Champagne with industry friends and Pierre’s grandson, Didier, took us into the caves. He showed us their bottling lines and then we drank together. That bottle opened my eyes to the story wine can tell.

What are you doing differently?

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We are moving away from “vintage” and “non-vintage” categories to create our own sparkling wine trajectory. Clover Hill is a world-renowned sparkling house and we have worked hard to evolve our thought processes, especially with this multi-vintage philosophy. It’s about blending the current year with the prior years’ production to retain the vibrancy of primary characters (citrus; stone fruits) while showing the complexity of the secondary characters (brioche; toast). And we are breaking the rules by ageing reserve wines under pressure. These wines get yeast contact within the first year to develop complexity and textural components sooner.

The wine you’ll open for an occasion?

We are doing trials on our first release of a late disgorged blanc de blancs using our multi-vintage philosophy, Dégorgement Tardif. It’s a five-year process to really showcase the secondary characters. It’s going to be special.

A wine myth to bust?

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Champagne isn’t necessarily better; it’s just better known. I want people to sample wines from lesser marketed regions, find a gem and enjoy it. Tasmania’s ideal growing climate sets us apart. We are knocking on a few doors in Champagne, they’re getting nervous.

Life is too short to drink… Prosecco.

See more from Robert Heywood at cloverhillwines.com.au

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