2024 Chardonnay 'Wildberry Springs'

Vineyard

Sitting in the heart of Willyabrup, growing on rich gravelly loam soils, this 30 year old vineyard is immaculate, with no vines out of place, it's almost perfect. It took a few years of begging to be able to pick fruit from this vineyard.  Planted by John Durack, who’s family were the first to bring cattle over the top end into the kimberly. The vineyard is all gin-gin clone chardonnay. Tiny concentrated bunches full of flavour.

Winemaking

Hand picked first thing in the morning, chilled overnight, whole bunch pressed and fermented/ matured in 50% amphora of different shapes and sizes. We hope that the different sized vessels of different porosity provide differing fermentation kinetics and oxygen uptake into the wine.  Providing complexity and depth in the same way different oak barrels are used. The remaining 50% is fermented and aged in oak barrels to provide familiarity and structure. A partial natural malolactic fermentation occured during its time in vessel softening the edges of the wine and providing length and depth.

Wine

Purity is the word that I think everytime I try this wine. Purity and elegance. Pure flavours of Willyabrup chardonnay, peach lemon, lime, green apple, a touch of cream and a hint of flint and struck match.  The wine will age gracefully for 10 years if cellared correctly.

2024 Chardonnay 'Barrels of Metricup'

Vineyard

The forth time making wine from this incredible, certified organic vineyard in the heart of Metricup, Margaret River. Twenty four year old  'gin-gin' chardonnay grown in a sandy loam topsoil over a mottled clay subsoil. (In contrast to Willyabrup's dominant forest loam soils with mottled granite).

Winery

The fruit hand picked, chilled, hand selected and then whole bunch pressed prior to fermentation in ten barriques, two of which were new. The wine undergoes a full malolactic fermentation with fortnightly lees stirring prior to maturation for 10 months in barrique prior to blending. The wine is bottled un-fined with a light filtration

Wine

A complete contrast to the 'Wildberry Springs' chardonnay due to ; sub-region, soil, climate, and fermentation vessel. The allure of creating a new very different chardonnay was too hard to pass up.  A wine made with certified organic fruit and treated in the winery 'organically'.

In Margaret River the days are warm due to where the vineyard sits in lattitude  and the nights are cool due to the pure afternoon breezes flowing off the Indian ocean. This impacts the wine. It has warmth, weight, richness and flavour but also an incredible freshness with flavours of citrus, lemon, lime, curd, peach and stonefruit.

2022 The Pirate Blend

Vineyard

Portuguese varieties in Margaret River are rare. So rare that the 40 year old vineyard that we source fruit from, (originally planted to make port), is one of only three small vineyards within the appellation. This is one of the reasons that make it such an interesting and exciting wine to make. The vines are planted on gravelly loam soils on a north east facing slope overlooking Geographe bay. The blend is comprised of three Portuguese varieties: Touriga Nacional for structure, depth and flavour; Tinta Cao for aroma and finesse; and Souzao for colour and acidity.

Winemaking

The fruit was picked by hand, chilled, then bunch and berry sorted. The individual berries were partial crushed and co-fermented for 20-30 days in open fermenters with regular hand plunging prior to pressing. The wine matured in oak for 18 months and was left to settle naturally in stainless steel for a further 2 months prior to bottling.

Taste

Ruby red in hue. The wine displays notes of sweet spice, cinnamon, clove, plum compote, blueberry and dark chocolate. Soft silky tannins with an exotic mix of red berry fruit sweetness and cocoa on the palate. Long, complex and an intriguing finish.

Why The Pirate blend? Pirates were the outlaws, the one’s who broke the rules, the fighters, the one’s who lust after life with gusto. They drank with a passion that was truly magnificent. For pirates liquor was the saviour; it soothed the heat of the sun and made the dark nights brighter. This blend is an ode to those salty sea dogs we left behind and those still sailing. Those willing to break the rules and live a life according to nothing but passion and the pursuit of personal desire.

Winery

Varieties: Touriga Nacional (65%), Tinta Cao (32%), Sousou (3%)
Vessel: 225l oak barrels
Time: 18 months
Closure: Diam 10s / Wax
Fining: None (Vegan Friendly)
Alc: 14%
Production: 350 doz

Vineyard

Soil: Gravelly loam
Elevation: 80m
Sub Region: Yallingup, Margaret River
Vine Age: 40 years
Vines: Lyre System
Sea: 2km away
Picks: Two hand picks, 10 days apart
Sorting: Hand pick & bunch sorting & Berry Sorting

Review by Ray Jordan

'Peterkin has taken a deft approach to gently coax the delightful fragrances and flavours from these varieties. So many things happening on the nose with spicy, cloves and light plum with a subtle chocolate coating. It's such a vibrant high energy wine with bright fruit flavours lifting from the palate.'

95 Points

The Wine Front review by Mike Bennie

'A slurpy, rollicking ride of red berries, mulberry compote, dark chocolate, panforte, dried herbs, ground mixed nuts and toasty spice elements. Go forth! Has a touch of that sense of liquified Xmas pudding, though not with the ribald sweetness, here decidedly dry, somewhat chewy, still quite plush and rich, but with train tracks of tannin tightening screws. Feels good to drink .'

93 Points

2023 Cabernet Sauvignon

The Vineyard 

 A certified organic and biodynamic site at the northern end of the cape. For the previous few years the vineyard had been completely unkept and unpruned with no trellising. The vines sprawl everywhere where pigs, geese, guineafowl and cows roam free.

The site faces north with a little creek running through the middle of the vineyard. Native flowers and plants grow under the rows with no herbicides or pesticides sprayed. It is one of only four certified biodynamic vineyards in the region and was one of the first to receive Demeter certification.

Winemaking

The fruit was hand-picked and cooled, followed by bunch and berry sorting by hand. This led to to an almost black cavier apparence of fruit in the fermenters.  The fruit was naturally fermented as whole berries in large format barriques for 20-30 days. Plunged by hand and left to ferment at ambient cellar temperature with skins and seeds for 20-30 days prior to pressings directly back to the same barrels the wine fermented in.

The wine matured for 13 months in barrique and 3 months in tank prior to bottling. No fining and a light filtration (vegan friendly).

The Wine

A smooth, rich full bodied wine with dark rich fruit flavours of blackberry, blueberry strawberry and raspberry. Layers and layers of silky tannin through the extended maceration. A wine that can be put down for at least 10 years and comes into its own by decantering. A cabernet without comparison in Margaret River.

Made with certified organic and biodynamic grapes.

2022 LAS Vino Vermouth

One of the most unique vermouths in Australia—possibly in the world!

The journey of creating this vermouth began with the immersion of Vermentino grapes in water from the Indian Ocean, adding a subtle hint of salinity to the wine. After soaking, the ocean water was drained, and the fruit was cold-pressed and transferred to barrels for fermentation. Both primary and secondary fermentation took place in barrels, developing richness and complexity, and the wine rested in oak for 18 months before the addition of botanicals and sugar to balance the salinity from the time spent in ocean water.

Months were spent trialing different botanicals to find the perfect match for this vermouth. The selected botanicals were native plants collected from the seaside, including saltbush, sea rosemary, and peppermint for flavour, alongside traditional wormwood and gentian for texture and balance. Finally, a touch of dried blood orange was added for aromatic complexity.

This is a sweet vermouth crafted from Vermentino grapes infused with ocean water and native botanicals from the coastline—a unique coastal creation.

Only 200 bottles were produced. Enjoy it neat as an aperitif, with an ice cube, or craft one of the finest Negronis by adding 1 part gin, 1 part Campari, and 1 part vermouth over a large ice cube with a slice of orange.

16% Alc

(Image: L.A.S Vino / www.lasvino.com)