I tried something different this year and allowed the natural wild yeasts to do the fermenting in older oak barrels. The wine shows bigger mouth feel than normal, you could say more viscous, less fruity aromas and flavour and just a hint of oak. It’s easy to drink and pleasant enough. Right now I am enjoying it with a toasted slice of Ciabatta rubbed with fresh garlic and tiny fillets of white anchovies. If you want to match it with food I’d suggest serving it with strong flavoured antipasto dishes or even vindaloo.

Chardonnay, although slightly out of fashion at the moment, is and will remain to be one of the great white wine varieties of the world!  Perhaps it lost favour in Australia because many wines were over oaked  and lacked fruit flavour, or perhaps people just got tired of it.

Whatever the reason the demand has settled and cool climate Chardonnays are beginning a comeback.

I hope you enjoy my lightly oaked, fruitier and racier style.

Region: Boynton’s Vineyard, Alpine Valleys, North East Victoria

Colour: Light Straw

Aroma: Because the biggest part of the blend is Chardonnay it has dominated the aroma although there is just a touch of citrus there if you look hard enough.

Palate: Again the bigness of the Chardonnay comes through and what is really surprising is that the wine almost tastes of oak although I can assure you the closest it got to a barrel was when I pumped the blend past an empty one!  The Vermentino has definitely influenced the palate giving it a lift and making the wine a bit zippier.

Analysis: Alcohol 13.2%, pH: 3.4, TA: 6.5 g/l

Cellaring: Drink now, chilled

Serving suggestion: I’d try it with some traditional seafood dishes of Sardinia.

Region: Boynton’s Vineyard, Alpine Valleys, North East Victoria

Colour: White Gold    

Aroma: Aromas and flavours include honeysuckle, pear, peach and anise. This is a lovely clean, fruit driven wine oozing ripeness and complexity.

Palate: When I first tasted this wine prior to fermentation I was excited because it looked so good, so full of fruit flavours. After fermentation for some reason it appeared a bit thin – more like a Grigio style. Now that it is in bottle and I’m writing tasting notes I’m happy to say that my initial summary was correct and that it is true to the style of my previous vintages.

Analysis: Alcohol 13.5%        pH: 3.32        TA: 6.5 g/l

Cellaring: Perfect to drink now. Best chilled

Serving suggestion: Devine with a char grilled salmon and a whole host of dishes like pasta and right through to Thai green curry.

Region: Boynton’s Vineyard, Alpine Valley

Colour: Very light straw

Aroma: Tropical fruits

Palate: Crisp and citrus like

Cellaring: Best drunk fresh

Serving suggestions: Vietnamese or Thai

A fantastic wine made as Spanish Alborino that was recently found to be Savagnin or is it White Traminer? It’s flavours and aromas sit between a Sauvignon Blanc and a Pinot Gris. A refreshing wine that I believe has a wider appeal as a food wine than the Sauvignon Blanc and is lighter and zippier than the Gris.

Grown in front of the Cellar Door from some of our oldest vines. This fruit was hand harvested, whole bunch pressed and then wild yeast fermented to produce this fresh and lively style of Semillon. A casual wine for casual occasions.

A great follow up to the popular 2009 vintage. The nose displays peach and citrus aromas with complexing hazelnut and mealy nuances. The palate has a creamy, textural quality that is immediately mouth-filling, yet finishes with a focussed acid line and refreshing crispness. A modern Australian style that demonstrates that oak in Chardonnay is not a bad thing if handled deftly.

Currently Available

Dust off the over sized shoulder pads, grow yourself a mullet or get yourself a perm and bring out your  “Madonna” records because Fume Blanc, a long lost love of mine from the early 1980’s, is back.  And for all the white wine drinkers out there who “only like Sauv Blanc” give this wine a go as it is made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes with just a touch of oak.  In fact, the differentiator is generally that Sauv Blanc tends to be made in a “Bordeaux” style, with a great deal of ripeness, whereas wines bearing the title Fume Blanc are modelled after the Loire Valley wines, with a more subtle elegance about them.  A great wine to enjoy while watching “Footloose” or “Flashdance”.

Cellar door has been sadly without Pinot Gris for several months, however hiding quietly in the back of the winery has been three and a half pallets of this great wine – put aside especially for you, our Summit Cru wine club members.  I trust you will enjoy it accordingly.

The 2010 vintage continues our line of juicy Pinot Gris that are reasonably full bodied, full flavoured, yet dry and crisp.  It has aromas of honeysuckle, white nectarine and pear skin, and flavours that include a hint of honey, citrus and white peach.  It’s a great food wine with just enough floral aromatics of fruit flavours to make it special, even by itself.