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Vineyard Smart Vineyard
Viticulturalists: Bernie and Wayne Smart
Situated at 230m above sea level, The Smart Vineyard provides a unique location compared to the vast majority of others closer to sea level. Fruit ripens much later and tends to be more perfumed, aromatic and medium bodied in intensity.
Red clay loams over a mix of quartz shale and limestone. Soils derived from this unit have good water retention properties and moderate fertility, perfect for root penetration and ultimately consistency and longevity
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25% whole bunch. Open fermented for 10 days. Hand plunged twice daily. Indigenous yeast. No added acid, enzyme or tannin. 11 months oak maturation in old French oak puncheons. Lees stirred periodically.
This is quite literally the easiest wine we make. If it aint broke then don’t fix it. A hands-off, less is more approach to the winemaking is key here.
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The regions milder summer and warm autumn resulted in a gentle and slow ripening period, producing outstanding fruit. We didn’t have one day above 40C and only a handful above 35C. Fantastic conditions for ripening all wine-grape varieties, less so for a knock-off swim and cleansing ale at Port Willunga beach. Yields were generally lower compared to 2021 but flavour intensity is exceptional with amazing levels of natural acidity for both red and white wines. La Nina influenced vintage in much of eastern states, but McLaren ale had its mildest weather conditions in recent memory.