VINEYARD REGION: Margaret River, WA

VINTAGE CONDITIONS: A warm, dry vintage was experienced in 2010 in the Margaret River wine growing region of Western Australia. These conditions resulted in rapid, uniform ripening in Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc with great retention of flavour and natural acidity at full ripeness. The vineyard blocks were managed to ensure the canopy completely covered the fruit to prevent sunburn and to retain flavours in the grape and subsequent wine.

GRAPE VARIETALS: 71% Semillon, 29% Sauvignon Blanc

VINIFICATION AND MATURATION: The fruit was harvested from consistently high quality vineyards in the southern area of the region, with a small portion of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon sourced from a vineyard in the Wilyabrup area of Margaret River. This provided additional layers of flavour and aroma in the end wine with the Sauvignon Blanc contributing fleshy tropical notes and the Semillon adding lovely lemon citrus character. The Semillon drives the style of this blend and was picked at varying degrees of ripeness to impart layers of flavours and aromas from lifted herbal and gooseberry notes to the riper characters of nectarine and melon. Sauvignon Blanc fruit from select vineyard blocks was cold-soaked in the press on skins for eight hours to extract the intense flavours from the skins. Following pressing, each batch of juice was cold settled separately before fermentation. Cool temperatures were used throughout fermentation to encourage aroma production and overall varietal character. Three very special parcels of Semillon and two Sauvignon Blanc parcels (13 per cent of the final blend) went direct to barrel and were fermented in new and one year French oak barriques with the Sauvignon Blanc batches naturally fermented on high solids to impart subtle spice, texture and a degree of minerality to the end wine. On completion of fermentation, each batch was lees stirred to impart texture and complexity to the final wine. Each batch of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc was assessed separately before being included in the final blend. Minimal handling has retained the vibrant primary fruit flavours and aromas critical to our style.

Colour: Very pale straw with a fresh, green rim

Aroma: Intensely pungent Semillon aromas of lemongrass, nectarine, gooseberry and citrus drive the nose of this blend with the Sauvignon Blanc parcels adding grassy, tropical notes

Palate: This wine’s primary aromas are replicated on the palate. Savoury spice, toast and shortbread characters, produced from a small amount of natural fermentation, add a fascinating and unique aromatic and textural dimension to this classy wine.

Chef food suggestions: Mexican spiced chicken quesadillas; Seafood lasagne