Growing Conditions
The Margaret River region has produced an exceptional 2015
vintage once again. The overall yields were down but, the quality
was excellent. The winter was warmer and wetter than usual, securing
water supplies for the entirety of the season. The January
and February growing periods were dry and sunny without any
extreme heat events. White varieties were picked early with great
sugar accumulation, well matched with seed ripeness and flavour
development. The Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon varieties show
intense varietal characteristics and crisp natural acidity on the palate
accompanied by a citrus to lemon and lime fruit aromas on the
nose. Chardonnay is a stand out, showing great fruit flavours and a
nice balanced acidity the chardonnay flavours cover the spectrum
from early summer stonefruit, with a fine contour of citrus.
Winemaking
Two parcels of Shiraz were havested for this wine, one from the
Summus Vineyard (Wilyabrup) and the other from our most
southern vineyard in Withcliffe, south of Margaret River. The fruit
was destemmed to both static fermenters and open fermenters,
the whole berries partially undergoing some carbonic maceration
during fermentation. The wines were pumped over twice daily for
the tanks, and hand plunged three times daily when in the open
fermenters. Part of the wine was fermented to dryness on skins
and pressed after 14 days, the balance left a little longer on skins to
even out the tannin profile. The wine completed MLF in barrel and
matured for 10 months in 20% new French barriques. Minimal
fining only with egg white prior to bottling.
