The block was hand picked on flavour ripeness and then destemmed and pressed cold. The resulting juice was fermented in French oak puncheons of which around 30% were new, and approximately 20% wild ferments. The final wine was left to mature for 8 months before being blended and prepared for bottling.
Our high altitude Orange vineyard experienced excellent ripening conditions and produced some of our best wines from the 2015 vintage. Rains in early February, which looked like threatening the vintage eventually gave way to solid ripening conditions in mid-February and March. Excellent parcels of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc have made wines of very high quality and our 'Venus Block' Chardonnay is no exception. Shiraz, Pinot Noir and Cabernet all ripened beautifully and produced wines of great flavour and balance.
The Orange region of New South Wales is one of Australia's newest premium regions being favoured for its high altitude cool climate. Situated approximately 270 km west of Sydney the topography and soils of the Orange region are dominated by the extinct volcano Mt Canobolas. The present day peak of the mountain is at 1400m and vineyards in the region are planted at elevations as high as 1100m with the lowest elevations in the region being 600m. Soils in the central part of the region are derived from the basaltic lavas of the old volcano, and primarily consist of deep red to brown free draining clay loams.
2017 AUSTRALIAN WINE COMPANION 93 A chardonnay that scores for its finesse rather than depth or complexity. It's not going too far to describe it as a one size fits all proposition, white peach matched by citrussy acidity, the barrel ferment inputs there, but not obvious. Hard for anyone to dislike it. Drink to 2022.
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