Alpine Valley, Victoria

Despite the challenging growing season leading into the 2023 harvest in the Alpine Valleys, the picturesque vineyard on the banks of the Ovens River provided exceptional fruit. Pinot Bianco (48%), Malvasia Istriana (37%) and Friulano (15%) were hand-picked, de-stemmed and inoculated with non-saccharomyces yeast for bio protection on location, before returning to the Heathcote winery. After 48 hours in the cool room, the grapes were separately pressed into barrel and stainless-steel tanks, before undergoing a wild ferment. Bâtonnage was undertaken throughout fermentation for the portion in French and Hungarian oak, before being aged in the same mix of vessels for 9 months. After ageing, the wine was racked and assembled, before being lightly fined, gently filtered and bottled in February 2024.