2022 Dirty Black Denim Barbera Novello

WINEMAKER: Lawrence Scanlon
REGION: King Valley, VIC
VARIETY: Barbera
VITICULTURE: Organic

Lawrence wanted to build savoury characters into the wine this year and felt that long elevage would enhance concentration and drop the extreme primary notes that Barbera can sometimes present when vinified this way. What has happened is an excellent tango between elements, like a fiery salsa between lovers. Pepper and bramble, brine and plum. A line of ants along a log in terms of acidity, driving up and down the palate reliably. Barbera is the ultimate wine for steak, or anything you want to put on the grill, and is a perfect bistro style wine for any kind of cuisine. We are so charmed with the freshness of this wine whilst still managing to show its intellectual quality. Think, a little, but drink, a lot. Bottled with 25ppm SO2. From the top block at Corsini Vineyard. Much cooler, but again, quite sun exposed. So here we see good acid retention, but greater fruit ripeness at a lower baumé (a good thing for Barbera, which looks like battery acid at 13bé.) 2 days on skins, then pressed to old barriques when ferment begins. Racked off solids after primary fermentation and MILF are completed, elevage on very light lees for just shy of 24 months.

In an industry that often celebrates tradition rather than innovation, Lawrence Scanlon is breaking away from that stereotype. Originally a project started with his brother Tim, now Lawrence runs the show and the young, edgy, independent winemaker has built a brand from scratch specialising in Italian alternative varieties. The Dirty Black Denim describes him perfectly - cheeky, a little raw and fun. The wines celebrate community and hedonistic side of wine enjoyment - self describing the project as "smashable vino from Coburg”. Lawrence comes from Queensland, and has worked in viticulture and winemaking for a long time. As a young project, invested in sourcing and exploring fruit sources, Lawrence explores and makes wines with fruit from Heathcote, Sunbury and Merbein in northern Victoria. Recently he has just taken on the lease of an old vineyard in the southern part of the Heathcote region.