Nose
Aromatically the wine is complex and alluring offering honeysuckle, Nashi pear, white currant, lemon tart, honeydew melon and oatmeal notes, along with oak ferment characters of toasted almonds, brioche and baked biscuits.
Palate
The finely structured palate is smooth, succulent, layered and long. Lemon, red grapefruit, pear and cantaloupe characters are complemented by hints of almond meal, brioche, subtle oak spice and a mouth-watering saline acidity. The finish is persistent and moreish
Growing Conditions
The 2016 vintage featured a summer that was warm and sunny but not hot, followed by a very pleasant mild autumn. The harvest was shaping
up to be quite early but some rain in late January pushed picking out by about 10 days. Semillon was early to ripen this year with picking before
the Sauvignon Blanc which is unusual. The flavour spectrum was at the riper end this year while still maintaining good natural acidity.
Harvest
Hand-picked in 3 batches; Semillon was harvested on 13th February at 11.7°Bé from the Wilyabrup vineyard, and the Sauvignon Blanc was picked on 27th Feb at 12.2°Bé and 1st March at 13.0°Bé from our Karridale site
Winemaking
Whole-bunch pressed to barrel for ‘free range’ yeast fermentation, no juice amelioration. This was followed by barrel aging and some early lees stirring.
Aging
10 months in French barriques of which a quarter were new
Appearance
Palest white gold
Food Pairing
King George Whiting in beurre noisette with capers and samphire
