Nose
The nose is complex and alluring showing a flinty minerality, waxy lemon peel, white peach and freshly toasted brioche with butter. The wine opens up to show a complex array of kaffir lime, stone fruits and lifted floral notes.
Palate
The palate shows restrained power and great balance. Juicy ripe citrus, apricot and grilled almonds linger on the palate. Tight structure and a peppy acidity drives the wine and provides pristine fruit expression alongside a nuttiness from the oak.
Harvest
2020 was a tricky vintage for life in general with lock downs, split work forces and all manner of challenges but it did make for some very lovely wines in Margaret River. A steady, relatively warm season was punctuated by a couple of solid rainfall events but the vineyards largely loved the natural moisture, resulting in Chardonnay fruit with balanced natural acidity and exciting phenolic structure.
Winemaking
This wine is an assemblage of two central Wilyabrup vineyards, with additional fruit coming from an excellent mature vineyard in Wallcliffe and a small amount of fruit from Karridale. The fruit was hand-picked and then chilled to maintain fresh aromatics. A minimalist approach in the winery included whole-bunch pressing, wild fermentation and sparing lees stirring in a mixture of new and seasoned French oak.
Aging
The individual parcels were kept separate and aged on lees for nine months until the final wine was blended for bottling.
Appearance
Pale gold with a light straw rim.
Food Pairing
Seared scallops with a lemon pepper butter topped with parsley.
