The end of the 2011 ripening season is stop and go, with a very slow ripening process after veraison, up until last Monday. Then the rain stopped this acceleration in the maturation process in the last couple of days. The fruit can be expected to slowly ripen in the next few days until the end…
DetailsThe third release of this oak aged Sauvignon Blanc and it’s built in a similar (clever) vein to last year. Again it has seen 6 months in large/old oak with regular lees stirring along the way. Whilst it has been made in a similar fashion to the 2009 it looks a little riper and fuller…
DetailsAh, no, not another bloody sauv blanc. Whoa, hold on. Wow. This is Lucy Croser and Xavier Bizot’s Australian take on a sauvignon-blanc style made by leading small makers in France. Its barrel fermented and matured in a way that builds texture and body and mutes varietal exuberance while retaining exciting acid-driven vivacity. Terre à…
DetailsFrom a close planted vineyard in Wrattonbully, comes this fascinating barrel fermented Sauvignon Blanc. It just came in today – I’m feeling LIFO. Grapefruit, subdued pineapple frivolity, along with cinnamon and vanilla spice, smoke and hint of capsicum – it’s all going on here. Intense, focussed and citric combining balanced acidity with mildly abrasive grippy…
DetailsOne of the most interesting white wines seen in the past year, Xavier Bizot and Lucy Croser (son in law and daughter of Brian) have crafted a distinctiveive style here, the grapes fermented and matured in French barrels with a huge kick of flavour and minerally texture resulting. Small quantities; the 2010 has just arrived…
DetailsA complex barrel-fermented sauvignon that borrows from old and new-world winemaking; the resulting wine is complex and layered sauvignon with plenty of interest. Lemon and grapefruit rule the nose, ahead of gentle tropicals and nutty, oak-derived complexity. The palate has bright acid attack and wraps lemon-pith and grilled-nut flavours long, straight and true. Author: Nick…
DetailsA fascinating wine from a close-planted (1.5 m x 15 m) French clone vineyard, hand picked, crushed and cold-settled before fermentation in two French 600-litre barrels (one new, one second use) and 11 older French barriques, then matured in barrel for nine months, lees stirred every two weeks; the sheer intensity of the wine is…
DetailsMade by French winemaker Xavier Bizot, this sauvignon from Wrattonbully in southern South Australia has a distinctly Gallic feel. From close-planted vines, the grapes were fermented and aged on lees in an assortment of French oaks. The result is subtle, nutty and complex, with subdued herby fruit and oak in perfect harmony. It’s dry, savoury,…
DetailsWho would have thought that a wine from Wrattonbully under a new label would be perhaps the most interesting savvy in Australia? This is a very impressive wine from the husband-and-wife team of Xavier Bizot and Lucy Croser; very textural in a fumé style with some wonderful complexity and sensible alcohol levels (12.7%). Unsurprisingly, and…
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