A little bit about Francois Coueslant ...
Francois was winemaker and manager at Tahbilk from 1877 to 1886, described in the 'Australasian' at the time as a "practical vigneron from France, but a gentleman of progressive ideas, ever ready to adopt new and improved methods of working."
It was his adoption of "progressive" ideas that led to what has been described as Tahbilk's early 'Golden Age'. He is credited with adding "Chateau" to Tahbilk ; a moniker that held until the year 2000, was responsible for the construction of our iconic Tower and led the fight against the vine louse phylloxera when it appeared on the Estate in 1870 - accountable at the time for decimating, amongst others, the vineyards of France and colonial Victoria.
It seemed entirely appropriate then that we recognise what has been an enduring influence at Tahbilk with his naming of our premium sparkling releases.
And for the winemaking nerds out there ...
The 2025 Coueslant Sparkling Rose is 100% Mourvedre off the McLoughlan’s block (Old Tahbilk) ... picked on the 11th March at a moderately low sugar level with the full intention of making a sparkling wine.
The fruit was machine harvested, crushed and destemmed before a four-hour soak in the press to leach out the vibrant rose pink colour.
After pressing the juice was cold settled for five days and agitated with nitrogen gas every 12hours in a process called stabulation.
Stabulation helps increase the concentration of aromatic precursors, particularly thiols and esters, from the juice pulp.
This process helps to enhance the overall aromatic intensity and complexity of the finished wine.
This was followed by a slow and steady cool ferment in stainless steel to maximise the aromatics in the base wine.
The Charmat method of secondary fermentation was used to aid the retention of the fresh, perfumed lift in this vibrant sparkling wine.
