Nose
Grapefruit, grilled peach and freshly baked pastry give way to flinty complexities.
Palate
Wild ferment and extended time on lees contribute to a delicious savoury character to the palate which is both powerful and defined by a core of natural acidity. From a heritage Margaret River vineyard on the river bank, this Chardonnay captures the unique character of this unique site.
Growing Conditions
Vintage 2019 required meticulous vineyard management as a result of cooler than average temperatures, wet conditions and low sun exposure. Careful canopy management, precise picking decisions and accurate fruit sorting were essential for producing high quality wines. The Marri trees didn’t blossom and the birds were hungry resulting in a lower than average yield despite our extensive netting program. Smaller canopies in our dry farmed vineyards and regular leaf plucking enabled us to pick ripe, clean fruit and produce whites with excellent purity and great natural acidity.
Bottling
Wine was racked with full lees to tank in December and spent two months on lees in tank before bottling in February 2020.
Winemaking
Hand-picked, whole bunch pressed and transferred directly to oak with full solids. Fermented by the native years in barrique (approximately 30% new). Post ferment, barrels are left cool but unsulphured for 4 months to encourage autolytic activity. Batonnage every two weeks based on flavour and partial MLF to balance the high natural acidity of this vintage.
