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Just one puncheon made of this achingly beautiful wine. Elegance personified in the glass. Restrained on the nose, slowly unfurling to offer up orange blossom, lime zest, lemon curd, warming spices such as nutmeg, cardamom and white pepper, hints of pink grapefruit, lifted notes of honeysuckle and a gentle hum of marzipan. A delicious wave of salinity that flows throughout induces a vision of the Indian ocean. On the palate, the fruit purity and intensity are jaw-dropping, with waves of flavour coating the front, middle, and back palate and washes of just-ripe stone fruit, preserved lemon, lime zest, curry leaf, freshly grated ginger root, lifted white blossoms such as honeysuckle, pink grapefruit flesh, and a subtle salinity that reminds me of a deep breath of fresh seaside air. This is such a baby of a wine, but is already showing what greatness is to come with time. A layered, balanced, and textural wine that dances across the palate, leaving it’s footprints of etched long after the last steps.
Winemaker’s notes:
Kevin John wanted to improve the breed and these small batches are made as an experimental series to make the best chardonnay.
Hand harvested on a biodynamic flower day and placed as whole bunches into amphorae, then pressed two days later into a new puncheon where it fermented and remained for a further 8 months before being bottled with-out fining or filtration.
VINEYARD : 100% Cullen Vineyard
VARIETIES: 100% Chardonnay
HARVEST: 12th February – flower day
OAK: 8 months in a new puncheon
ALCOHOL: 13.5%
660 bottles made
RRP: $350.00
A touch more golden in colour than the flower day. This is a totally different wine to the flower day, yet clearly from the same vision and vineyard. The nose is more opulent, singing with tones of preserved lemon, lemon pith, tangerine, crushed citrus leaf, marzipan, nougatine, crushed oyster shell, yellow nectarine, a hint of fresh pea shoot, honeysuckle, an intensity and depth of powerful and crystalline fruit. The palate is a awash with spice and zest, interplaying with ripe yellow peach. Ginger and nutmeg, cinnamon and bright Meyer lemon. A hint of curry leaf, mandarin zest and herbal notes linger – fresh thyme and lemongrass stalk. A powerful, yet impeccably elegant, layered wine with fine tannins and textural dexterity. A lesson in the art of precision and persistence.
Winemaker’s notes:
Kevin John wanted to improve the breed and these small batches are made as an experimental series to make the best chardonnay.
The 2021 Legacy Series Fruit Day Kevin John Chardonnay is an artisanal wine, hand harvested on a biodynamic fruit day during the 2021 harvest.
After hand sorting these bunches were placed in amphora for two days skin contact, before pressing into 50% new puncheons to ferment, then and resting in oak for 8 months before bottling, with no fining or filtration.
VINEYARD : 100% Cullen Vineyard
VARIETIES: 100% Chardonnay
HARVEST: 17th February – Apogee fruit day
OAK: 8 months in biodynamic puncheons, 80% new oak
ALCOHOL: 13.5%
1308 bottles made
RRP: $350.00
Two very different wines, and a study in experimental winemaking done right. Is one better than the other? I think these are both incredibly strong wines, and at the end of the day it will come down to personal taste. I have a soft spot for aromatic and perfumed wines, so for me the Flower Day nudges ever so slightly ahead of the Fruit Day. I’d not hesitate to fill my glass with either of these, and the chance to enjoy a bottle is a cause for celebration, especially given the small quantities produced.
