2019 The Wine Farm Sauvignon Blanc
WINEMAKER: Neil Hawkins
REGION: South Gippsland, VIC
VARIETAL: Sauvignon Blanc
VITICULTURE: Certified Biodynamic
"This is the penultimate vintage for our Sauvignon blanc vines and the best we’ve released to date. The thing we love about this wine is, while it’s unmistakably Sauvignon blanc, it doesn’t leave you smelling like a cheap date. It is restrained, fine, with a mineral-driven expression, subtle tropical notes and dried herbs on the nose and bursts of gooseberry and cut grass on the palate. There is a texture to the palate that comes from the wine being fermented and aged on its full ferment lees in a single, two-year-old 600L barrel." - Neil Hawkins
All the vines on The Wine Farm are planted on their own roots meaning the site expresses itself more truly through the variety, not via the roots of another – something that excites Neil in particular having worked with vines in France, South Africa and New Zealand where barely a single one taps its own roots. To the west of the property lie mineral-rich red soils derived from ancient volcanic mass. To the east, grey loam. In line with ancient folklore, a natural spring has formed at the convergence of these two soil types, meaning The Wine Farm is blessed with a small, perpetually full dam from which we draw water to irrigate our veggies.
One advantage of purchasing an existing vineyard is that for once age is on your side – in our case 20 to 25-year-old roots trucking up the all-important minerals from deep within the soil profile. We farm the vines without the use of insecticides; just copper, sulphur and a pair of hands to combat the mildews. With more emphasis on the latter pair than the former we harness nature’s predators, sun and air, to control powdery and downy mildew respectively.
With a focus on soil rejuvenation and controlling weeds with nothing but a whipper snipper below the vines and a mower deck between them, the essential micro-organisms are allowed to thrive and aid the transfer of minerals from soil to vine and ultimately glass. Under no circumstances whatsoever will we use herbicides, systemic fungicides or insecticides in our vines/on our property. The most important life on The Wine Farm (family and pets aside) is what crawls beneath the soils.