We had a very wet winter (between June and September) and a cool wet spring, which tested the mettle of our in-house viticulturist/ vigneron, AKA Joch. As a result of these trying conditions, vintage started later than in previous years (we picked Chardonnay on the 15th February in #v2023) and we had much smaller volumes than in 2022 or 2021. We had a few warm days in January and February and picked the whites quite quickly, then about 10mm of rain in early March which settled the dust and stopped picking for a little while. Despite the smaller vintage, the quality of grapes was excellent across both red and white varieties.

We pick and ferment the 4 varieties separately so they can develop their own varietal characters before they get blended prior to a little bit of oak maturation and bottling. Joch picks on sugar and flavour ripeness, which of course varies with all varieties.

• Halliday Wine Companion

  A blend of 42/32/20/6% touriga nacional/mataro/graciano/shiraz. Floral and grapey, with blueberry, wild cherry, violet, rose talc, Earl Grey tea, graphite and lavender, this is a wine of immediate appeal and quiet ease that belies its complexity. Comparisons are inevitably inadequate, but this is a fair identikit portrait of quality gamay – a young Fleurie Beaujolais, perhaps. Persistent, with chalky, quietly nagging skinsy tannins, this is an absolute delight, especially with the gentlest chill.

  93 points

  Marcus Ellis, 29 January 2024

• The Wine Front

   

  A little waft of wetsuit, dried rose, cherry, bergamot, thyme and spice, iron filings. It’s medium-bodied, a little ferrous and stony, blue fruit and cherry, orange peel, crisp acidity, with a lively finish of excellent length. Well, the blend here works to excellent effect, and the wine in glass offers charm and a big point of difference to many from the region. I really like it. It’s juicy, drinkably complex, and savoury/saline all at once.

   

  93 points Gary Walsh

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