Palate
Aromas are fragrant, fresh and full of gooseberry, passion fruit, lime zest and elder flower. Juicy yet fine, the palate has stone fruit richness, fresh citrus, exotic black currant , a crisp acidity and a fine mineral/talc finish. A wine with great varietal expression and complexity, lasting flavour and poise.
Growing Conditions
Growing season in the south west of Western Australia was favourable for the production of great wine. After a winter of sufficient rain, the spring to autumn period was continuously warm to hot, dry and characterised by less than average summer precipitation or humidity. An added bonus to the benign harvest conditions was the explosion of native blossom which sated the otherwise grape-loving, resident bird populations. vintage was without significant weather events such as heat spikes or summer rains. Diurnal temperature variations were below average which meant the nights remained warmish. Strong maritime cooling influences and retained soil moisture allowed the vines to maintain healthy canopies until harvest.
Winemaking
The winemaking and blending of Howard Park Sauvignon Blanc focuses on the contribution of regional fruit strengths to build layers of flavour, structure and texture in the wine. Mount Barker provides stone fruit, gooseberry, lime citrus and refined acidity: Margaret River , palate weight and classic varietal characters of lemon /lime citrus, guava with perfumed hints of elder flower, sweet herbs and black currant.
Only the finely structured free run juice is used to make Howard Park Sauvignon Blanc. The majority of vineyard batches are cool fermented in stainless steel tanks to maintain their regional character and delicate fruit flavours. Select batches are hand-picked, whole fruit pressed and barrel fermented in oak to add complexity, texture and flavours to the wine.
Appearance
The wine colour is limpid green.
