Our wine.

After coming off one of the more extended vintages in 2023, vintage 2024 brought us the opposite! 2024 has certainly been the earliest and quickest Margaret River vintage we have been a part of. Fruit was around two to four weeks earlier than a ‘classic Margaret River vintage’ for most varietals due to an unusually warm November and the increasing temperatures and lack of rain through the Summer. Margaret River would normally see on average 94 days being the time from flowing to harvest, however this year on top of the earlier start, the grape maturity was around 10 days less which compounded how early vintage started (and finished)!

The dry conditions kept disease pressure in the vineyard down, however on our vineyards we noticed an increase in weevil activity in these conditions which is very difficult to deal with when you are organically farming, so that has certainly contributed to slightly lower yields across our parcels in addition to smaller berry sizes, smaller bunches, dehydration and some shrivel from being dry grown.

The early start wasn’t a great concern for us as it has timed in with a spectacular Marri blossom which is kept the bird pressure down. In general, harvested fruit had epic concentration with slightly higher sugar levels, but strangely so with higher acid levels as well keeping it fresh and vibrant. Although record breaking in a number of areas, 2024 was yet another solid Margaret River vintage, but with a slightly different story, and those vintage conditions that give us vintage variation is what we love to show in our South by South West wines.

Each vintage the Fiori is produced by timing. We assess what fruits will best ripen and then ferment together. The fruit for the 2024 ‘Fiori’ came from Chenin Blanc and Muscat grapes from a single vineyard site in the Treeton sub region of Margaret River.  Aptly so, the fruit was harvested on Valentines Day which was also a Biodynamic Flower Day, perfect for our ‘Flower’ wine! The average vine age of all varietals in the Fiori were over 25 yeas where very little intervention is required so we had the luxury of picking at the optimum time to allow flavour intensity, tannins and sugars to develop with balance and harmony. These aromatic varieties that make up the Fiori are fresh with lovely natural acidity from an early vintage.

The fruit was harvested in the early hours of the morning and then left on skins for 12 hours prior to processing to incorporate some light phenolics from the skin contact time before it was pressed and co-fermented and then matured in a stainless steel tank and kept fresh. It was bottled in June to ensure that freshness and vibrancy transferred to bottle. The overall blend is an even split of Chenin Blanc and Muscat.

The fruit was harvested in the early hours of the morning and then left on skins for 12 hours prior to processing to incorporate some light phenolics from the skin contact time before it was pressed and co-fermented and then matured in a stainless steel tank and kept fresh. It was bottled in June to ensure that freshness and vibrancy transferred to bottle. The overall blend is an even split of Chenin Blanc and Muscat.

In a glass this wine is pale onion skin / peach colour. On the nose it presents with a floral dominance with a spicey edge, and gentle citrus aromatics. The palate presents with a fresh fruit and flower spice, balanced level of phenolics and crunchy acidity on the finish.