Spring Dozen

I make Rosé in those years that I am inspired to, with dreams of lazy indolent afternoons by a pool, with no responsibilities next day.

On these afternoons, wine needs to be cool and pale, perhaps slippery-mouthed. Perfectly matched with a smudged newspaper long form interview if possible, and your phone out of site. The wine is moreish and has enough grip to draw me back out of the page and appreciate the the moment. Pour again while it's chilled.

I made the wine to that feeling rather than a recipe, a chance occurrence with what ingredients I had at hand. The first press of Grenache, Pinot Gris made like red wine with all its skins retained, and finished with a little of our Marsanne Roussanne Viognier, blended in to get the texture just so. All old barrels and all let rest for 9 months.

Teeny tiny production, fleeting like dreams of sun-daze.

Our third release from Whitlands, and undoubtedly the best to date. Whitlands is a regional departure for us but unfortunately our Henty vineyard source Barratt's vineyard was pulled out so that Rod and his wife could sell up and retire. A shame for us but a well-earned rest for them. Its replacement is much further afield, but shares the very cold climate character I think Riesling needs. I was told about an old Brown Brothers contract site next door to their Whitlands vineyard that had some pretty smart Riesling, so went to investigate. The Croucher Vineyard is set at close spacing on red volcanic soils, up at around 800m above sea level, and was planted in the mid-1980s. It seemed to have the right credentials. 2017 was a very cold, long season that enabled a full flavour spectrum to develop yet retained considerable acidity. The abundance of flavour and structure led me to ferment half of the wine in 1000lt oak foudre to soften the wine, without losing precision. Talc, ripe lime, orange blossom, tonic water, alpine herbs and pine needles are all there, and this year's sugar sits at 9g/l. Intense, delicious, and will age admirably.

- Vine Age 30 yrs
- 12.0% alc
- pH 2.95
- Total Acidity 8.5g/l
- 260 dozen produced

Our fourth release from Whitlands, and we are just beginning to understand the charms of this beautiful site. The Croucher Vineyard is set at close spacing on red volcanic soils, up at around 800m above sea level, and was planted in the mid-1980s. It is proper cool-climate viticulture - something I think Riesling really needs to give full expression. 2018 was a warmer year than the cool 2017, and ripeness was more easily achieved, but the site retains superb, slicing acidity even in the warmer years. With riper flavours I opted to ferment entirely in stainless steel to preserve and lock in the flavours rather than 'build' them with oak. Lemon, lime, red apple, blossom, tonic water and a hint of that 'alpine herb' character are all present, this year with a little less residual sugar at 6g/lt.

- Vine Age 30 yrs
- 12.0% alc
- pH 2.95
- Total Acidity 8.0g/l
- 260 dozen produced

Grown at Westgate Vineyard, site of some of our best Shiraz grapes. We convinced the owner to pull out cabernet and plant 3 rows of Marsanne and one each of Roussanne and Viognier. Crazily, it is the only Marsanne and Roussanne in the region. 2016 is now the seventh vintage of this wine, and again all varieties were picked and pressed together, settled overnight and then racked to and allowed to ferment with wild yeasts in very old French puncheons and barriques. The wine was allowed to complete malolactic fermentation, which I think makes the wine more vinous, delicate and less fruity. Almost paradoxically the malo contributes to the transparency and unforced feel of the wine without sacrificing line. It is held on gross lees for a full 11 months, and is neither cold stabilised nor fined in any way. It's a mellifluous, mid-weight style with a gentle grip to close. A little riper and more unctuous than 2015, it is developing into another nice vintage of this wine that seems to defy all my dire predictions for the blend at its conception!

- Vine age 9yrs
- 13.5% alc.
- pH 3.5
- Total acidity 4.5g/l
- 260 dozen produced.

Grown at Westgate Vineyard, site of some of our best Shiraz grapes. We convinced the owner to pull out cabernet and plant 3 rows of Marsanne and one each of Roussanne and Viognier. Crazily, it is the only Marsanne and Roussanne in the region. 2017 is now the 8th vintage of this wine, and again all varieties were picked and pressed together, settled overnight and then racked to and allowed to ferment with wild yeasts in very old French puncheons and barriques. The wine was allowed to complete malolactic fermentation, which I think makes the wine more vinous, delicate and less fruity. Almost paradoxically the malo contributes to the transparency and unforced feel of the wine without sacrificing line. It is held on gross lees for a full 11 months, and is neither cold stabilised nor fined in any way, and in 2017 we decided to bottle it without any filtration whatsoever. Mid weight, with a gentle grip to close. Leaner but more intense than 2016, possibly closest to 2011 in style, but with more malo character.

- Vine age 10yrs
- 13.0% alc.
- pH 3.4
- Total acidity 5.6g/l
- 270 dozen produced.