McHenry Hohnen - Sauvignon Blanc 2021 750ml

Tasting notes

Lifted and varietal nose, with delicate notes of gooseberry and frangipani, intertwined with pastry notes from extended lees contact and barrel maturation. The palate is fresh but full flavoured and textural, with a core of ripe tropical fruit and a touch of grassiness, balanced by a salty acid line. A highly flavoured and textural wine combining varietal definition and intriguing barrel ferment complexities.

Winemaker notes

The season started out with a cooler, wet spring which resulted in a lower fruit set for some varieties such as Chardonnay. We experienced above average rainfalls in early spring, meaning extra effort was required in our organically grown vineyards to mitigate disease pressure. Spring rolled into summer with long warm and dry days, however a couple of rain events in February and March required extra effort from our committed vineyard team in terms of canopy management and fruit selection at harvest. All white varieties show fragrance and vineyard characters with perfume and aromatic lift combined with elegant textures and fine acid lines.

Sourced from 25 years old vines on the eastern side of our Calgardup Brook Vineyard. The fruit was picked in the cool hours of the night, whole berry pressed and taken with some solids to barriques for extra texture and aromatic complexity. Fermented in French oak barriques and puncheons (10% new). Frequent lees stirring through the year to balance the high acid of the vintage. After 6 months in barrels the wine was taken with full lees into tank for extended time on fine lees before bottling in December 2021.

100% Calgardup Brook Vineyard. This vineyard lies just inland from the coast. Its soils are well drained sandy and schisty. The climate of this vineyard is strongly influenced by its immediate vicinity to the Indian Ocean.