Ampelus.

Ampelus; (Latin) a personification of the grapevine and lover of the god of wine, Dionysus. These wines extend this personification back to the bottle, reflecting traditional techniques and the vineyard in which they are grown.

Vintage.

A wetter than average winter season followed by cool and windy conditions resulted in smaller than normal bunch and berry sizes allowing for concentration of grape flavours and high natural acids. A window of warm weather in early January provided extremely high quality white grapes, particularly Chardonnay and Semillon, with the wines displaying complexity and concentration of flavours as well as fine framed structures which will enable long term bottle aging. Overall, a high quality vintage that is accessible young but will provide plenty of enjoyment after careful cellaring.

Vineyard.

Our Single Vineyard Chardonnay block is grown on well-drained sandy loam soils located in the heart of Hunter Valley wine country, NSW. It is a south facing slope. The crop yields are relatively low, producing excellent concentration of fruit flavour.

Winemaking.

Hand-picked and whole-bunch pressed followed by sequential fill to a single French second fill oak cask for 18 months. Left unsulphured until bottling. Bottled without finings or filtration. The art is in simplicity here.

Tasting Notes.

Complex aromatic profile of cap gun, hazelnut, nougat and lime custard. On the palate the wine displays generous regional fruit of ripe orchard pears and white peach surrounded by creme brulee, baking spice and savoury smoke. This wine is concentrated and rich with fresh acidity and light phenolic spice providing all the components to enable medium to long term cellaring.