2006 Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc
Although our sauvignon blancs have been very successful over the years, this year we endeavoured to take the wine to another plane by moving higher up the Adelaide Hills. Previously the fruit has come from a vineyard in Kuitpo; in 2006, we contracted an excellent vineyard in Lenswood, the premier sub-region of the Adelaide Hills for sauvignon blanc.
We are still keen to maintain the same textural style. Being very much a restaurant brand, our wines have to be “food friendly”, which can be difficult with sauvignon blanc. Therefore, we fermented 7.5% of the wine in a new Vosges barrel and stirred the lees once per week for 3 weeks. A small portion of pressings was also added for additional complexity.
The wine is very pale straw in colour. Gentle wafts of gooseberry and herbs, with a tropical note. Subtle nose, rather than an assertive, commercial style.
Creamy texture on the palate, with gooseberry, banana and herbal characters. Persistent finish with good acidity cutting the richness of the wine.
Our sauvignon blancs tend to age well under their screw caps. We prefer them with 2 to 3 years of development in the bottle and they will cellar for 6 or 7 years.
Unlike most “new world” sauvignon blancs, a good food wine. Particularly good with tomato-based seafood dishes, with or without some spice.
| The Wine | Sauvignon Blanc |
|---|---|
| Harvest Date | 24 March 2006 |
| Bottling Date | 18 December 2006 |
| Oak | 7.5% fermented in new French oak. |
| Altitude | 340 m |
| Soil | Sandstone over rich red clay |
| Average rainfall | 1000 mm |
| Sunshine hours per day | 8.5 |
| Heat Degrees Days | 1270 |