WINEMAKER NOTES: Fruit was hand harvested in the cool of early morning. We cold soaked the must for 2-3 days prior to fermentation kicking into gear. This allows a gentle extraction of colour and flavour and ultimately helps to build complexity. Maximum temperature never got above 25C and the must was open fermented. Only indigenous yeasts are used and no added acid, enzymes or tannins. 21 day skin contact time gave us the perfect extraction required to make the full-bodied style we desired.  Free run and pressing are combined and racked immediately to oak. One sole 300L French oak Hogshead was made in total. 12 months maturation time and then 24 months bottle age prior to release.

35mg/L SO2 added prior to bottling.  384 bottles made.  Bottled January 2022

THE VINEYARD: The Alagna Vineyard under the watchful eye of Derek Cameron - is perfectly situated to grow high quality Aglianico. Located close to bottom of the escarpment that borders the Willunga basin, the block is west facing, it really cops a lot of exposure, particularly in the afternoon. The variety is late ripening, it needs a lot of sunlight hours to ripen properly. The elevation and exposure is also beneficial keeps the nighttime air temperatures lower than normal and helps retain natural acidity. The airflow also helps with fungal disease management. East/west row orientation ensures that adequate light penetration into the fruit-zone and even ripening of the individual bunches. This is critically important to ensure that those beautiful savoury Italian tannins ripen at relatively low sugar levels resulting in wines of good colour, flavour and texture while keeping the alcohol levels as low as possible.