Baxendale’s Vineyard (-36.754874, 146.369186)

Baxendale’s Vineyard was established in 1988 by the Baxendale family in the cool climate wine region of the King Valley. It occupies most of a remnant portion of plateau deriving from a tertiary lava flow originating near Tolmie, to the south and comprises moderate to steep slopes, facing north and east and varying in altitude between 560 and 620 metres above sea level. At this elevation, daytime temperatures are typically cooler than the adjacent valley floor allowing full flavour development and good acid retention. The sloping topography eliminates frost danger and favourable air movement across exposed slopes allows minimal use of fungicides. The dark red topsoils are free draining, iron-rich and high in organic matter with open texture of the subsoils allowing the vines to develop large root systems. The retention of available moisture in this soil type, along with reliable winter and spring rainfall, means that irrigation is usually not required for mature vines. Close vine-spacings, arched cane system and vertical shoot-positioning of the leaf canopy ensure that grapes ripen evenly and completely.

VALLEY SELECTION

Our Valley Selection range of small batch wines are created from parcels of fruit carefully selected by our winemakers from a single vineyard. The wines explore the individuality of each variety and our expression of wine styles, while reflecting the unique region in which they are grown. Each bottle captures the essence of the growing season and the vineyard, nurtured by our growers, and then passionately crafted by our winemakers into remarkable and age-worthy wines.

Picked on the 6th of April in the early morning at 16°C baumé of 11.4. The grapes received 12 hour extended skin contact to draw out as much flavour as possible. The wine was then gently pressed and only the light free run was used for the final blend. The wine was racked partially cloudy and warmed to a tank where it was seeded with a Sauvignon Blanc specific yeast isolate. Once the culture had clearly commenced, the ferment was pumped into French oak barrels: 10% new, 30% one year old, 20% two year old, 40% were older. The wine fermented for 20 days at a temperature of between 13-16°C. In the last third of the ferment the wine was stirred daily to impart ferment complexity into the wine. After fermentation, the wine was stirred weekly for a month. The wine was racked from barrel one month prior to bottling.

The 2023 vintage will go down as not only one of the latest on record, but also one of the most challenging in recent memory. A third La Niña event in a row made for a much cooler and wetter spring followed by a cool summer and autumn with small rain events that certainly kept us on our toes. Whilst the weather made for some stressful and very busy periods, we were able to harvest everything at optimum ripeness and clean of disease. The below average crop levels coupled with a long slow ripening have produced wines that have intense aromatics, ripe flavours and all the hallmarks of age-worthiness. An excellent vintage.

Toni Pla Bou