Nose
The bouquet is fresh and clean with classic grassy elements typical of this region but with a lemony minerality distinctive to this block. The nose is more complex than most SSB blends with an underlying toasty nuance.
Palate
The palate is bright and fresh with vibrant citric, gooseberry and lychee-like flavours, all at a level of intensity greater than expected. The oak is almost impossible to detect other than it adds a textural dimension to what is normally a simple fresh and lively wine style. This wine has an amazing palate extension with the flavour lingering to a clean ultra-dry finish.
Growing Conditions
Block 1 consists of some of the oldest Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes in Margaret River. On a steep gravelly slope these old dry-grown vines produce a very small crop of bright and varietally expressive Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc with a depth of flavour and intensity rarely seen in these varieties.
The year 2020 will naturally go down as a very strange year for obvious reasons. But even before our lives were tipped upside down the 2020 vintage in Margaret River had presented its own mysteries and unusual occurrences.
Another relatively dry winter was followed by the hottest and driest spring ever recorded in the South West. The region experienced the hottest October and November on record with all vine maturity stages being well advanced of normal. So much so that we harvested Chardonnay at Hay Shed Hill in January something we have never done before.
The heat of spring did not extend into summer with the summer of 2020 being relatively mild; in fact, conditions were highly favourable during the early part of summer. It appears that the seasons have just shifted forward a month with an early onset of autumn in the middle of March. This early onset of autumn did not prove to be a problem as most vineyards were picked and finished well ahead of normal.
The fact that a hot spring followed a less than satisfactory winter compromised grape yields across all varieties with crop levels being for the second year in a row uniformly poor. While quantity was low quality cannot be doubted. The whites are fresh and crisply varietal and the reds are vibrant and ripe with that lovely medium body that is the signature of Margaret River.
Winemaking
Only the best ‘free run’ component of the juice was used resulting in the finest and brightest fruit expression with the least amount of phenolic impact. The juice was fermented in French oak barrels, no new oak was used so as to ensure that oak flavours and aromas were not dominant characters in the wine.
Aging
The wine was matured in barrel for 8 months before clarification and bottling.
Appearance
Pale straw colour with fresh green tinges.
