Climate

Hot, dry and minimal frost across the region during the period of critical growth leading up to harvest has enabled high quality grapes with intense varietal flavours to be grown. The dry winter did result in reduce yields from some vineyards planted on sandy soils but overall yields were as expected. Large temperature differentials from night to day have resulted in wines with excellent natural sugar/acid balance.

Viticulture

Trained onto two wire vertical trellises with both wires mechanically pruned back to 2 buds. The canopy is managed through reduced water to restrict its vigour and increase both colour and flavour intensity.

Vinification

Harvested during the cool of the night to retain freshness and varietal character, the Chardonnay and Viognier were processed separately. Both were de-stemmed and pressed gently in an airbag press to release juice without extracting too much tannin.

The juices were clarified before being inoculated with specifically chosen yeast strains designed to bring out the varietal characters of the wines.

The wines were then stored in stainless steel and stirred on lees to create texture and mouthfeel before being blended together, fined, finished and bottled.