2022 Sailor Seeks Horse Huldufolk Chardonnay

WINEMAKER: Paul & Gilli Lipscombe
REGION: Huon Valley, TAS
VARIETY: Chardonay
VITICULTURE: Organic/Sustainable

2022 was a standout vintage for Chardonnay in the Huon Valley. Just the right combination of weather and yields to create wines of precision and balance. Our hallmark tends to be a slatey, briney, almost mineral-like palate weight which unites the three Chardonnays from 2022.

Whole bunch pressed with full solids straight to two hogsheads. 50% new oak. 15 months elevage. No MLF. Full lees until bottling. Not fined. Clone 96 with a little 95. Waxy, lemon rind, brine, bay leaf.

So, in our pursuit to produce the country’s best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, we headed to Tasmania and after scouring the state, we decided on the Huon Valley. Neither too dry nor too wet, too warm nor too cold and with two of the most awarded vineyards in Tasmania (Elsewhere and Home Hill), the industry had barely scratched the surface of the myriad of microclimates within the valley. Within a few weeks of arriving, we stumbled upon a dilapidated 6.5ha vineyard, planted in 2005 and then walked away from. Opportunity beckoned. NE-facing slope, sheltered from the prevailing cold south-westerly and planted to six different clones of Pinot; perfect. Half the vines were dead, blackberry above our heads and about one hundred trees littered the vineyard; not-so-perfect. But it wouldn’t be satisfying if it wasn’t challenging. That was one of the reasons we decided to change our lives. If you love what you do and have a plan, then it doesn’t matter what the challenges are, they are surmountable and all-the-more rewarding.