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

The vintage of 2021 is a bit of a blur in the memory with constant decisions made on the fly at all hours of the day given the unusual weather conditions across Margaret River, and to a lesser extent the Great Southern of Western Australia.
It was a great start to the season with the first really wet winter for several years and therefore good soil moisture entering spring and summer. This is even more important for ‘dry grown’ (unirrigated) vineyards such as Hay Shed Hill. There were positive signs at budburst with potentially better crop levels than the last two years.
Spring was mild with Chardonnay from Block 6 and Block 8 at Hay Shed Hill being harvested in the first week of February. There was a small break until the avalanche of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon started. In this middle to late part of February and throughout March we experienced multiple episodes of rain, some of these falls being heavy. This sort of weather is rare in a Margaret River summer requiring harvest plans to be constantly reviewed and updated.
Given the conditions I am thrilled with the result, all whites and rosés were pristine and clean, perhaps a little lighter in body than many years but wonderfully fresh and pure in character.

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.

Aging

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. The wine was matured in barrel for 8 months before clarification and bottling.

Appearance

Pale straw colour with fresh green tinges.

Food Pairing

This wine comes to life with food. It's delicious with a Gruyere and herb tart or equally with any seafood or chicken meal.