Palate
Laced with aromas of honeysuckle and citrus blossom, peach skin, pear essence, vanilla and nougat. The palate is rich in summer and citrus fruits, yet restrained by a chalky/mineral thread that provides texture and drive. Subtle support from fine grain French oak adds further complexity. A bright lemon acidity gives length and finish to the wine.
Growing Conditions
In both the temperate and cool regions of the south west, the winter of 2015 was mild with sufficient rains to replenish catchments. The spring, less blustery than preceding years gave way to a hot start to summer. When verasion began, in late January, the native marri blossom was abundant in Margaret River yet curiously absent in the Great Southern, a complete about – turn to 2015. The “bird pressure” as we call it, does have a significant impact on quality, quantity and stress levels. As summer progressed, the weather conditions between our two premium grape growing regions began to diverge Vintage at Burch Family Wines is a protracted event which commences each February and concludes in April. It is a time of frenetic activity, excitement and lots of weather watching, the closer one gets to harvest. During this annual progression of the seasons, the quality and style of each vintage evolves.
Harvest
Handpicked around 12⁰ Be. The individual parcels of grapes are cooled, hand sorted then whole bunch pressed to extract the finest free run juice. After minimal settling, the juices are allowed to ferment naturally in French oak, of which 20% is new and composed of barriques, hogsheads and puncheons.
Winemaking
Fermentation temperature is between 18⁰C to 22⁰C and the lees are stirred weekly from later in the fermentation until dry. The separate parcels are matured on lees in barrel for 9 months and a portion of each batch undergoes malolactic conversion. The wine was blended to tank and received minimal fining and filtration prior to bottling in November 2016.
Appearance
Crystalline bright with a lemon skin colour.
