The Marsanne grapes were sourced from Wattle Glen Vineyard, a small, one-acre block of unirrigated vines located in Mount Evelyn, Yarra Valley. The vines were planted in 1994 and benefit from the cooler nature of the "Upper" Yarra Valley.
Along with abrupt arrival of the pandemic, the year had extra challenges as we were back to a somewhat unfamiliar, mild “Old School” ripening season. It was a vintage of holding nerves and staying mentally strong, I learnt a lot throughout this vintage and I do believe the most complex wines come from the cooler vintages.
The grapes were handpicked on the 25th March at ripeness when the pear, honey, mascarpone notes with bright acidity were present. Once in the winery, the grapes were whole bunch pressed to oak barrels for a wild fermentation, where 33% was new oak. Only the free run juice was extracted and the pressings were discarded. All barrels were left to undergo malolactic fermentation and the wine was blended and bottled unfiltered in November 2020, with only a small addition of the anti-oxidant/preservative sulphur dioxide; nothing else was added to this wine.
The appearance is pale straw with green tinges. The nose shows white petal, peach and marzipan. There are notes of honey and mandarin peel which push into flinty aromas with lifted oak tones of crème brûlée.
The palate shows grapefruit, lemon and mandarin fruit notes with richer, more forward tones of fleshy peaches with cream. The finish shows manuka honey, apricot and mandarin, with a charred creamy oak character underpinning the finish.
The perfect seafood wine; match this with Spaghetti Vongole or Patagonian Toothfish with a miso-butter sauce.
Although drinking well as a young wine, this wine shall reward careful cellaring for 10 or more years.
Serve with a modest chill, not cold.
70 Dozen bottles produced.
Along with abrupt arrival of the pandemic, the year had extra challenges as we were back to a somewhat unfamiliar, mild “Old School” ripening season. It was a vintage of holding nerves and staying mentally strong, I learnt a lot throughout this vintage and I do believe the most complex wines come from the cooler vintages.
The grapes were handpicked on the 25th March at ripeness when the pear, honey, mascarpone notes with bright acidity were present. Once in the winery, the grapes were whole bunch pressed to oak barrels for a wild fermentation, where 33% was new oak. Only the free run juice was extracted and the pressings were discarded. All barrels were left to undergo malolactic fermentation and the wine was blended and bottled unfiltered in November 2020, with only a small addition of the anti-oxidant/preservative sulphur dioxide; nothing else was added to this wine.
The appearance is pale straw with green tinges. The nose shows white petal, peach and marzipan. There are notes of honey and mandarin peel which push into flinty aromas with lifted oak tones of crème brûlée.
The palate shows grapefruit, lemon and mandarin fruit notes with richer, more forward tones of fleshy peaches with cream. The finish shows manuka honey, apricot and mandarin, with a charred creamy oak character underpinning the finish.
The perfect seafood wine; match this with Spaghetti Vongole or Patagonian Toothfish with a miso-butter sauce.
Although drinking well as a young wine, this wine shall reward careful cellaring for 10 or more years.
Serve with a modest chill, not cold.
70 Dozen bottles produced.