Description / Reviews
"A cool, wet winter followed by a mild growing season was perfect for ripening Chenin Blanc with great flavour intensity. After hand-harvesting, a combination of crushed and whole bunch pressed fruit was fermented in both concrete and large format oak before maturing in old French puncheons. The resulting wine has lovely cool season aromatics, with notes of white jasmine and grapefruit, complemented with energy and extract on the palate." - Winemaker Notes
"The fourth release of this old-vine chenin, and it’s another exceptional one. Half crushed and half whole-bunch pressed fruit, with fermentation in concrete and large oak, then maturation in old puncheons. An orchard stroll, crossing the seasons, with fragrant blossoms as well as crisply ripe fruit. Fresh, waxy red apples and green pear, yellow and lemon-skinned citrus, along with poached apple, cumquat, hazelnut and preserved lemon characters. A thread of mineral tension is the insistent plot line, with winemaking aptly subservient. Chenin blanc has never lacked for potential in the Vale, but the standout examples have hardly been legion. Here’s one." - 96 Points, Marcus Ellis, Halliday Wine Companion
"This wine is made in the pursuit of both texture and flavour and the outcome is exactly that, texture and fruit weight, set within a context of both freshness and taut control. It’s pretty damn impressive. Pepper, metal, brine, cooked apple, preserved citrus and nut-like characters all make positive contributions here, as do whispers of Vietnamese mint. This wine is excellent now, and will build with extra time in the bottle." - 94+ Points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front