2012 Botrytis Viognier
Viognier is grown in very small quantities throughout the World and its history lies in the north of the Rhone Valley in France where it is typically made into a varietal dry white wine in the tiny Condrieu appellation and is sometimes included in small percentages with Syrah in the reds of the Cote Rotie. The Sweet style is made only in exceptional vintages and is noted for aromatics of apricots and honey, a soft, textural palate, with the sweetness blanced by clean aciditiy.
Nose
Full flavoured with a syrupy sweetness and a rich texture balanced by subtle refreshing acidity giving the wine great length and persistence of flavour.
Palate
Fruit was hand harvested in the cool of the morning on two occasions to select only the berries most affected by the fungus Botrytis Cinerea which results in shivelled berries with a concentrated sugar content. The very sweet juice once pressed was transferred
to two year-old French oak barriques for a long fermentation using a selected neutral yeast strain until the juice could ferment no more leaving sugar behind in the wine. The wine was stabilised in tank and bottled in November 2012.
Blend
100% viognier.
Cellaring
Drink now to 2020.
Food Pairing Notes
Fresh white or blue mould cheese on crunchy lavoche or pair with an orange infused panna cotta for dessert.
The Vineyard
The fruit was handpicked from our Chapman Brook vineyard, which has predominantly free draining sandy loam with a high percentage of lateritic gravel. This block, planted to 2500 vines per hectare in 1997, is 15km south of Margaret River and benefits greatly from the cooler breezes off the Southern Ocean during the ripening period.
The Season
The 2012 vintage was noted by above average summer temperatures and average rainfall. What resulted was a steady ripening period leading up to a hot January and an early start to the harvest. Mild temperatures throughout February and March ensured fruit harvested in perfect condition and completed by early April prior to heavy late April rains.
Winemaking
Full flavoured with a syrupy sweetness and a rich texture balanced by subtle refreshing acidity giving the wine great length and persistence of flavour.
Analysis
12.5% alcohol, 5.34g/l total acidity, residual sugar 79g/l, 3.83 pH.
