South by South West Chenin Blanc 2023 | Swan Valley, WA

It’s salty, snappy and seriously drinkable — like biting into a green apple with a squeeze of lemon and a crunch of jasmine rice. There’s a dry quinine edge, a bit of raw quince, and just enough grip to keep it interesting. Nothing out of place. Clean, tight, and built on acidity. 

Single vineyard, 30-year-old vines. Hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed, wild ferment in old French oak, nine months on lees.

Producer: South by South West Wines

Region: Swan Valley, Western Australia

Grapes: Chenin Blanc

Nerd Notes:

Fruit was grown from 30 year old vines on a single vineyard in Baskerville, Swan Valley - positioned on the edge of the darling scarp foothills. The site is predominantly sandy soil with some gravel, while more gravel dense soils towards the eastern end of the vineyard.

Grapes were hand harvested in late January, 2023, kept as whole bunches and left to cool for 48 hours, then pressed to tank, settled for 24 hours, and then transferred to neutral French oak barriques where they underwent spontaneous fermentation with natural yeasts and matured.

Barrels were stirred frequently during fermentation, occasionally during maturation. Matured in barrel on lees for 10 months, with no malolactic fermentation.

Barrels were selected for quality, blended together, filtered, and bottled just prior to Christmas, 2023.