Winemaker
Frieda Henskens
Grape/s
70% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir
GI
Tasmania
Site(s)
Multi-regional blend, primarily Coal River Valley and Tasman Peninsula.
Vintage notes
The vintage started well, with above average rainfall and mild to warm days. Fruit set was lower than expected and ripening lagged so that vintage started approximately two weeks later than normal. Grape yields were around 30% down on average but as this wine attests with great flavours.
Vineyard notes
All fruit was sourced from mature vines with all vineyards established, from the 1980’s to 1990s. All family-owned and painstakingly tended by hand. Two of the three Coal River Valley vineyards are on dolerite soils and the third with Jurassic dolerite and basalt soils. The Tasman Peninsula vineyard is planted on red sandy and clayey soils with stony inclusions.
Winemaking
All fruit was hand-picked. Each individual parcel (three of Chardonnay, one of Pinot Noir) was gently pressed as whole bunches. Juices then cold-settled and carefully racked prior to fermentation in stainless steel. One of the chardonnay parcels underwent partial malolactic fermentation in old, small format barrels prior to blending.
Use of reserve wines: The initial blend contained 2% of barrel-aged (puncheon) reserve wines, drawn mostly from 2011. At disgorging, the liqueur d’expedition included a tiny proportion (1.75%) of wine from the 2022 vintage.
Eight years on lees, disgorged 12 August 2022. 2 g/L dosage, TA 8.98 g/L.
Closure: Natural cork (Amorim Spark)
ABV: 12.1%
Production size: 1560 individually numbered bottles.
Accolades
95 points Dave Brooks, Halliday Wine Companion
95 Points Huon Hooke, The Real Review
Silver Medal 2023 Australian Wine Show
