Named in honour of our viticulturalist Lucas Grigsby, who has been with us for 35 years. This is the first single vineyard release from our close planted Chardonnay block.
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Viticulture
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Winemaking
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Tasting Notes & Reviews
This organic certified block (NAASA 2021) is planted to 1.2m rows x 1.0m vine spacing, Bernard clone 76 Chardonnay on a north-south row exposition. The soils are made up of dark cracking clay over weathered basalt and limestone. The 2021 season was cool but also featured the rains of La Niña. A small yield of excellent quality fruit was picked on the 10th March.
The grapes were whole bunch pressed and settled overnight followed by racking to two second year French oak hogsheads for wild fermentation; one barrel was allowed to complete malolactic fermentation. The wine spent 11 months on lees with minimal stirring and was blended and bottled in February then rested in bottle until release.
94 points - Glowing straw colour. Full of flavour. Grilled peaches, juicy pears and some green pineapple too. This is a wine of both concentration and poise; it bursts up front and through the middle but then tightens considerably through the finish. Indeed there’s a fair amount of grip here. Woodsmoke notes rise through the aroma and appear again through the aftertaste. It’s complex. It’s a bit wild at heart. It’s not 100% cohesive at present, but it will become so. Campbell Mattinson, winefront.com.au.
