Our wine.

2023 proved an extended yet very rewarding vintage in the Geographe Wine Region. Optimal, dry weather conditions paired with the absence of any significant climatic challenges or disease pressure set the scene for a moderate season, ideal for gentle, consistent ripening across all varieties, but particularly for Sangiovese.

Winter temperatures were lower than average, which made for a quick senescence and sound dormancy for the vines. There was markedly less-than-average rain; however, the vineyards received sufficient supply to recharge soil moisture levels, paving the way for a promising growing season ahead. The growing season began with a late budburst after a relatively cold winter that pushed vine development back by about 3 weeks for this vineyard and Spring saw less rain and cooler conditions than usual, resulting in a slow start to canopy growth and an extended flowering period for early blooming red varietals like Sangiovese.

January brought consistently warm, sunny days, which saw vines start to catch up nicely on their development. Veraison was delayed by around 2 weeks for the Sangiovese. February, dry with plenty of sunshine and no extreme heat, provided perfect ripening conditions and March saw cool mornings and evenings retain natural acid in the fruit. At the same time, short periods of peak heat during the day were ideal for slow, even ripening of Sangiovese. The only negative was that the Marri tree blossom was scarce this year, which made grapes an easy target for the native birds, and as a result, bird monitoring and control was required.

The fruit for the 2023 Sangiovese comes from a single vineyards site in the Geographe wine region (Harvey specifically). The earlier ripening from this region was ideal for this lighter style of Sangiovese we were aiming to achieve. This fruit was selectively harvested on February 28 to capture the natural acid, and vibrancy of the fruit.

On the whole, our general take on vintage 2023 is that wines will be characterised by intense aromatics, great structure, vibrancy, delicacy and elegance. A stunningly epic vintage.

The selectively harvested fruit was sorted and then the fruit was sent to a static red fermenter without crushing to keep the berries whole and unmacerated to allow for some partial carbonic maceration in tank where it underwent gentle cap management and was pressed off skins early after 8 days to a stainless steel tank to mature for 10 months to keep it bright, vibrant and fresh, but allow for the tannins and flavours to integrate.  A portion of new French oak was used to provide some added sweetness and structure to this wine.

We aim for rational intervention in the winery to let the fruit express itself, so there are certain things we do to maintain the quality and integrity of this wine. Minimal sulphites have been added to stabilise the wine and ensure its shelf life, along with coarsely filtering the wine prior to bottling.

In a glass the wine presents with a vibrant, translucent crimson red colour that can be appreciated clearly through the flint bottle. The nose is lively and aromatic with the spicy cherry aromas, typical wine fermented with some partial carbonic maceration from the whole berries. On the palate, our 2023 Sangiovese is a juicy, vibrant, fruit-driven wine, balanced by beautiful tannins you would expect from the Italian varietal, some tangy acid and a lovely lightness in alcohol. The slight use of oak provides a hint of clove which combines with cherry and spicy plum notes on the mid palate.