2021 Shadowfax Macedon Ranges Pinot Gris

Shadowfax

Australia / Werribee / Shadowfax

Fruit for the 2021 Shadowfax Macedon Ranges Pinot Gris was grown on our Little Hampton Vineyard near Trentham.
A cool summer and mild spring led to a very long 2021 growing season. With a La Niña pattern set in over Australia it was the coolest vintage in ten years. Crop levels were good and careful canopy thinning was required throughout the season to keep airflow and invite sun onto the grapes. The 740m elevation of Little Hampton gives the site extra cool nights, helping to retain natural acidity in the grapes. These ripened very late in the season with full flavour and phenolic ripeness.
Hand-harvested fruit was firmly whole bunch-pressed to release the full Pinot Gris flavour profile. Natural fermentation occurred in older French barrels. The wine was left to unwind and age slowly on its ferment lees to add generosity. After nine months the wine was racked and filtered prior to bottling in October 2021. Alcohol 12.2%; RS 0.2g/L; pH 3.14; TA 7g/L.
The wine is light straw in colour, with a green hue and brilliant clarity. This high-altitude Pinot Gris displays great aromatic lift. Pot pourri, lychee and green melon notes leap from the glass. Hints of crushed rock and lees add complexity. The perfume is persistent and intriguing, always bringing you back for another sniff. On the palate, this is a fine Pinot Gris with grapefruit and lime with sherbert-like acidity. Textured and mouthfilling, the fruit is powerful, long and beautifully defined. These fruit flavours are complexed with barrel ferment characters such as nougat. The fruits are enveloped with fine grapefruit pith texture which lends the wine extra intrigue. - Al Timms, Shadowfax

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About Shadowfax

Shadowfax has taken tremendous strides in recent times, with the team refining the range and proving their prowess with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Their single-vineyard Chardonnays have taken out Best Chardonnay at the Macedon Ranges Wine Exhibition no fewer than five times. Especially noteworthy have been the Little Hampton Vineyard in Macedon's high-altitude plantings of Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, in the chilliest region of Australia’s mainland. These are the vibrant future of Australia’s cool-climate wine scene. The counterpoint to this is the dynamic Minnow project, based around the Werribee vineyard’s southern French varieties. The name is both a reflection of the grapes’ underdog status and a clever play on “Minervois”, a southern French appellation where these kinds of blends are common. It's the source of bright, spicy, textured rosé and reds, with the micro-make Mondeuse immediately becoming a delicious cult hit. With long-serving vineyard manager and assistant winemaker Alister Timms taking the helm in October 2017, these are hugely exciting times for Shadowfax.

About

Shortly after completing this second degree, Alister started working at Shadowfax as Assistant Winemaker, a position he held for three years before moving back home to run his family’s winery, Kilgour Estate. In 2008, Alister returned to Shadowfax to manage the winery’s various vineyards and establish the Little Hampton property in the Macedon Ranges, whilst working as Assistant Winemaker to Matt Harrop. When Matt decided to leave Shadowfax in October 2017, after almost 20 years as winemaker, Alister was the obvious choice as his replacement. “I look forward to building on the foundation that we’ve created over the years and seeing our vineyards reach their full potential, and to follow that through in the winery.”