• Spicy oak
• White peach & citrus
• Nutty & brioche notes
• Fine acidity

“First vintage of a limited edition (3, 156 bottles) barrel fermented chardonnay that’s been fermented using indigenous yeasts and aged in oak for 12 months. Good weight and mouth-feel with grapefruit, struck flint, brioche and spicy oak flavours. A stylish wine that received good support from a fine backbone of acidity” Bob Campbell, Master of Wine, Real Review, Mar 2018

A compelling and complex nose with savoury, smoky and nutty characteristics overlaid with pineapple and citrus, delicately spiced with toasty oak. It all comes together on the palate with well-defined, balanced flavours of white peach and citrus, lifted by warm oak characters, savoury notes, soft vanilla and a creamy mouth-feel.

Empirical wines are finely crafted through collaborative experimentation and observation by both viticulturalist and winemaker. The combined knowledge, passion and complete freedom to make wines in a style reflective of this talented teams’ vast experience, results in truly exquisite, limited edition wines that showcase the very best of their vineyards.

Unsettled spring conditions resulted in lower than average crop levels, along with smaller bunch and berry sizes on the vines. The summer and early autumn weather was near-perfect, which had a beneficial effect on quality, giving us lower yields with more concentrated flavours.

The free run juice from the whole bunch pressing was transferred directly to French oak barriques (33% new, 67% older barrels) for full malolactic fermentation and maturation for 12 months. The natural fermentation process means that this wine will continue to evolve in the bottle, developing interesting characteristics over time, and will cellar well for up to 10 years.