Fraser Gallop Estate 2010 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc

When making the Fraser Gallop Estate Semillon Sauvignon Blanc we focus on a number of aspects to create the best possible wine, and for us this means creating a wine which is more than just simple fruit flavours. We aim to make a wine which has elegance, texture and complexity as well as lively, fresh fruit. To do this we source the fruit from the areas we believe it is best suited to, the Semillon from Wilyabrup where it can mature past the green, herbal notes to the riper spectrum of fruit flavours such as lemongrass and quince. The Sauvignon Blanc we source from the cooler sub-region of Karridale, an area which we believe produces finer, more elegant Sauvignon Blanc with fresh fruit flavours. In the winery we then employ a number of techniques to preserve the vibrant fruit characters while building complexity into the wine. Fermentation in stainless steel tanks retains brightness and provides some estery notes, while texture and length come from fermentation and maturation in small stainless steel barrels and oak barrels. By making our Semillon Sauvignon Blanc this way we have created a wine that in not just eminently drinkable now but will also age surprisingly well over the short to medium term.

Winemaker's Notes

Vintage 2010
Another sublime season in Margaret River with one of the warmest and driest seasons on record. A return to normal rainfalls in winter (855 mm from May –September) saw the sub-soil moisture replenished for the long dry summer (76mm from October – April). Warm spring conditions without too much wind during November and December enabled most varieties to flower and set fruit well with more bunches/vine than normal resulting in yields up by 15-20 % across the board. Yields would have been considerably higher if it wasn’t for the 2 days of above 40C in mid- January that shrivelled and cooked berries that were fully exposed to the sun, however this event did not appear to affect quality in the reds as these berries dried up to nothing, however some Chardonnay was affected and sunburnt bunches were removed before harvest. The grapes are all hand-picked at Fraser Gallop Estate so this gives us a second opportunity to cull out any untoward bunches of grapes. The warm weather accelerated the ripening of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon which all came off in a flurry and made for a vintage that started 1 week earlier than usual. The conditions for March and April moderated and the conditions for ripening reds were perfect. On March 23rd a severe hail storm hit Perth and passed 50 kms away to the East of us luckily and we got very little rain from it. The average maximum temperature for March 2010 was 26.5C compared to 24.5C in 2009 so conditions were still a little warmer than we liked, however as far as vintages go we would rate this as one of our best yet.

Winemaking Notes
The grapes were harvested in the cool hours of the morning and delivered promptly to the crush pad. The Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes were de-stemmed and crushed and gently pumped through a must chiller on it’s way to the press to get the grapes down to 8ºC in our Bucher XPF 80 press. With the automatic Ortal computerised pressing programme the quality of pressing was superb with minimal rotations of the press. The juices were settled at 8ºC, 3 days later the moderately clear juice was racked off gross lees and warmed to 16º C for fermentation. The juice was then fermented in stainless steel tanks to maintain the freshness, bright fruit flavours and aromatics using two different yeasts. A small proportion of both the Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc were fermented in new and one year old French oak barriques and stainless steel barrels which adds to the complexity, structure and length of flavour in the wine. Sulphites were added to the wine on completion of fermentation to deter Malolactic Fermentation from occurring and to preserve the fruit flavours of the wine. The wine was protein and cold stabilised prior to blending, cross flow filtering and bottling.

Nose

The warmer conditions for vintage gave us a wine showing slightly riper flavour profiles than the 2009 with the Southern Karridale Sauvignon Blanc dominating the nose of the wine. Ripe gooseberries, passionfruit, lemongrass and fruit jube esters dominate the aromas, however over time the 'bubblegum' esters will fade away to reveal a more minerally edged wine.

Palate

The palate is quite chalky and the fresh crispness of acidity sits well with the apparent sweetness of the wine. Flavours of gooseberry, passionfruit, lime and juniper berries and some lemony twang make for a very delicious wine.

Cellaring

Best consumed within 12 months of bottling, however will cellar well for up to 4-5 years.