Vintage
2018
ABV
12.8%
AUD$ FOB / 9L Case
Above $200.00
Wine Type
White
Wine Style
Still
Wine Description
The fruit was whole bunch pressed with no sulphur addition at harvest and the juice is oxidatively handled. Minimal settling follows before each batch is transferred to French oak barriques and puncheons (32% new) for wild fermentation and natural malolactic fermentation. The wine is left to mature on lees, which are stirred when appropriate following appraisal. The wine is aged for 11 months in oak prior to blending and bottling.
Accolades
96 Points James Halliday, 2020
Gold Medal, National Wine Show Canberra, 2019
Winemaker's Bio
Approaching his 12th vintage as Montalto winemaker, Simon Black has a tremendous grounding and recognition for the vineyards that provide the life-blood to the Montalto winery, together with a meticulous understanding of how to vinify and capture the potential of each site. Following his graduation in Oenology from Charles Sturt University in 1996, Black travelled extensively, nationally and internationally, honing his craft. It was inevitable that his love of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir would eventually see him settle on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.
He is a Len Evans Tutorial graduate and was also a Gourmet Traveller Winemaker of the Year finalist in 2015.
The ongoing search for wine-perfection is what drives Black:
“I may get 40 vintages to apply my craft. If the wine Gods are friendly and the planets align, one in ten of these might produce grapes of exceptional quality, leaving only 4 opportunities in my career to make truly great wine. The quest feeds the fascination.”
