Palate
The Flowstone Sauvignon Blanc harks back to a more palate focussed wine, free of the nervy pressures of immediacy, and allowing the variety to express itself in a more textural manner.
Growing Conditions
Vineyard: Sauvignon Blanc is widely planted across the Margaret River region, however, the best expressions are found in the southern reaches.
This wine is from one single 2.0 ha vineyard in Karridale. Soils are gravelly loam, on a westerly aspect. The rows run north/south, and vine spacings are 3 x 1.5m
The tenth consecutive good season for Margaret River. A moderately wet winter led into a typically mild Spring, and the rains dried up as summer began. There was, however, a few Spring storms at the very critical time of flowering. As such, the fruit set process of the grapes was very poor, and resultants yields from the vines very low across the board. Summer was warm with a few hot spikes, but ample water in the ground kept the vines in good condition. The ripening period of January and February was moderate, with little or no rain - perfect conditions for the vines. A few showers in March and April added some spice to the vintage, but the whites were well harvested by then. Because of the very low yields, the resultant wines are very generous full flavoured, with beautifully ripe flavours.
The white wines are intense and focussed, with lifted aromatics and full of varietal expression.
Blend: 100% Sauvignon Blanc.
Winemaking
These grapes were hand harvested on the 9th of March, and whole fruit pressed to retain finesse and texture. Fermentation was in old oak barrels and one new Demi Muid (600litres, and 45 mm thick staves). Following fermentation, the wines stayed in these barrels for a further 11 months, with occassional stirring to suspend the lees.
The wine from these barrels was blended in February of the following year. The wine was minimally fined, filtered and bottled. The wine was then allowed to relax in bottle for a further 15 months prior to being made available for sale.
