Nose

This wine exudes toasted almonds, citrus blossom and kaffir lime on the nose.

Palate

This is a silky wine with vibrant, linear acidity. Powerful citrus fruits and apricot pip combine with Tahitian lime and savoury oak-driven complexities, to create an elegant, beautifully poised wine with a long, lean finish.

Harvest

2020 was a tricky vintage for life in general with lockdowns, split workforces 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

Fruit was hand-picked from a small vineyard site in Karridale and left overnight in a cool room. The following day the fruit was whole bunch pressed on a long but gentle cycle, to avoid unwanted phenolics. The juice was then racked straight to oak hogshead and puncheons for wild fermentation. The oak regime used was 35% new. This wine did not undergo malolactic fermentation and battonage was only used when necessary.

Appearance

Pale gold with a light green rim.

Food Pairing

King George Whiting with a spring pea, mint and zucchini salad.