Food Pairing:  This wine is best served as an aperitif or would perfectly accompany salami, cured meats, and green olives.

Winemakers Notes:   After detrimental Bushfires over Xmas 2019 knocked out all Sangiovese vines at Woodside there was a need to source extra grapes for the 2021 Sangiovese.  This was going to be hard as most of the Northern and Central Hills were affected to varying levels of vine and fruit loss or smoke taint, let alone bigger brands scrambling for fruit.  This left the Southern end of the Hills where I have previously sourced Sangiovese from Macclesfield which was luckily not affected by the 2019/20 bushfires.

The fruit picked at around 14 Baume and were destemmed without crushing and underwent a cold soak for 48 hours prior to being separated into two parcels.  Both parcels were sent to small open fermenters with one being inoculated with cultured yeast, while the other parcel was naturally fermented over a longer period of 21 days with hand plunging three times daily.  After fermentation was nearly complete, the inoculated parcel was basket pressed straight into French oak hogsheads to retain lifted aromatics and fresh fruits.  While the naturally fermented parcel was transfer into tank sealed on skins for about 30 days before being carefully pressed into older French oak, this helps soften out the mid palate while also adding complexity and savoury notes.  After aging in oak for 12 months both parcels were blended and bottled without any fining or filtration.

Grape Source: Macclesfield Adelaide Hills

Closure:                    Stelvin                           Drinking Window:      2019 -2035