Glass half full
November 27, 2021
Dear friends
OK, so 2021 turned out to be another fizzer when it comes to so many of the social and cultural joys of life. Travel, seeing live music, going to the theatre or even carefree catch-ups with a good bunch of friends all largely put on hold. Again. But we are eternal optimists here and nearly two years into this pandemic our rose coloured glasses are sharply focussed on silver linings.
Yes, the majority of our wine is sold via the excellent restaurants of Melbourne and Sydney. And yes, those restaurants have been closed or operating at a significantly reduced capacity for much of another year. Oh, and our cellar door, which sells most of the rest… well, we haven’t opened that since July.
But!
We are in the extremely lucky position to be making and selling a product that gets better with time. Unlike so many of our favourite local businesses who suffer huge waste and losses when lockdowns hit and restaurants are forced to close, we just press pause and wait it out, taking comfort in the knowledge that our stock is slowly improving with every week that passes.
And now, friends, it is time to celebrate that fact!
Many of you know our Pètillant naturel. It’s a party in a glass but without the regret, being made from nothing but our biodynamically farmed grapes and… Nope, that’s it. No added sugar, acid or yeast. No preservative. Nothing.
But while most pèt nats are fun, simple, explosive and yes, a little cheaper, ours is a little bit fancy. We make it from 100% Pinot noir (pressing the grapes before the skins have a chance to colour the white flesh) and watch it like a hawk to capture the ferment at the precise stage we want. When there’s just enough residual sugar left from the grapes to finish the ferment in the bottle and provide a luxurious bevy of bubbles in the glass – the kind that showers the tip of your nose with positive vibes from the first sip – but not so much that it is overly sweet and out of balance with the beautiful natural acidity. Then we age it in the bottle and disgorge each one (releasing the spent yeast cells) before release.
A vintage Champagne is aged on lees for a minimum of three years, and while South Gippsland is a long way from the mecca of fancy bubbles, we thought we’d give it a go too. Then, thanks to COVID and all its trimmings, we aged it a bit more. And a bit more. Till it got so close to the festive season we figured we’d really hold the line in the hope of releasing something very special for Christmas.
And we’re so happy we did. Today we’re releasing the very last batch of our 2018 vintage. Having been picked, pressed and bottled in March 2018, that means these bottles have been ageing on their lees for a whopping 45 months.
The 2018 Pètillant naturel has always had a profusion of fine bubbles and a hint of residual sugar to balance out the racy acidity. And now, thanks to the extra time on lees, there’s an added complexity to the palate with those beautiful brioche notes we love in a good Champagne, and the bubbles have a little more finesse too.
This is the best this wine has looked and half a glass is definitely not enough.
Let us know if you feel like celebrating with us by hitting reply. Our cellar door won’t be open till next year so this is your only chance to get hold of this special release. We only ship in multiples of 6 bottles for safe freight* but if 6 bottles of fizz is a bit much, feel free to make up a case of Christmas drinks with any of our other available wines below.
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Pètillant naturel 2018 (45 months on lees) – $60
Rosè 2020 – $35
Pinot gris 2018 – $40
Gewürztraminer 2018 – $45
Chardonnay 2018 – $45
Riesling 2018 – $50
Pinot noir 2018 – $65
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Cheers
Anna
*Shipping is a flat rate of $10 for 6 bottles and FREE for 12 bottles Australia wide (we only ship in multiples of 6 bottles for safe transit). We offer free delivery of two or more bottles for locals (within 30km of The Wine Farm).