2024

Climate & Growing Season

An unusually dry winter led to low soil moisture levels at the start of our growing season which continued and intensified. While the threat of fire risk loomed, the hot, dry days and cool summer nights provided low disease pressure, resulting in extremely clean fruit and joyous harvesting conditions. The berry flavours were superb – bright, vibrant and concentrated.

Harvest

Blocks ripened quickly, with a very short period from veraison to harvest, but in an orderly fashion allowing us to strip pick pristine fruit in optimal condition with no stress.

Aside from the first pick of Pinot for some Methode from the vineyard on the 26th February, harvest took 28 days from the 7th March to the 4th of April. After a slow first week we picked 60% of our harvest in 8 days.

Picking dates:

Chardonnay: 12th March to the 20th March

Chenin Blanc: 28th March to the 4th of April

Pinot Noir: 7th March to the 28th of March

Winemaking

La Carbonique
A 100% carbonic maceration Pinot Noir, protected by dry ice with skins fully in tact for 14 days, and a further 7 days following a gentle foot-stomp to release some juice bringing a total of 22 days on skins. The wine was then pressed and returned into stainless steel tanks, cold stabilised naturally in July and bottled on November 6, 2024. The wine is not fined or filtered, with minimal SO2 added to ensure the wine’s stability and to preserve the its pure, fruit-driven character.