Vintage Notes

We had terrific winter and spring rains leading up to vintage 2017, a marked contrast to the previous year, proving once again if proof were needed, that every vintage is different. We had a cool early part to spring too, combined with the spring rain. Flowering was about 3 weeks later than the previous year which of course meant that vintage was 3 weeks later than normal, or as some old locals said sagely, back to the old normal. There was a very long and slow ripening period which is terrific for allowing grapes to develop their flavours. We had a pretty dry February March and April, once the spring rains finished in mid-January. Overall a late vintage with some incredibly promising reds and outstanding whites.

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TASTING NOTE: The 2016 has a beguiling aroma of cherries with a hint of wild herbs. On the palate it’s a mouthful of juicy red cherry and warm, ripe strawberry fruit. It displays the Spanish varieties hallmark tangy acidity and firm chalklike tannins, giving it a firm but beguiling, elegant, dusty finish.

WINEMAKING: Harvested from the Tempranillo block Russ planted several years ago to try the new variety, further plantings have occurred since due to the popularity of this new variety with local winemakers grown in the Margaret River climate and soils. Harvested in the cool of the night to retain maximum fruit aromas and flavours the Tempranillo has a short, warm fermentation in small open top fermenters with hand plunging. The wine was pressed before the fermentation completely finished to a single new French oak puncheon and older French oak barriques to finish off to dryness. Maturation occurs for 9 months to ensure the oak does not overwhelm the inherent generous fruitiness of the variety.

VINTAGE: The 2016 vintage started off with warm dry spring weather and progressed into a summer that was warm without excessive heat. A rare heavy rainfall event in January gave the reds a good watering but the combined cooler conditions in late January and early February delayed the harvest and had us watching the disease prone Tempranillo grapes anxiously. Following the settled late summer ripening the Tempranillo was harvested a lower sugar levels than 2015, producing a more elegant and structured wine.

CELLARING AND SERVING: The Tempranillo is released for immediate enjoyment. The 2016 does however have the fruit weight and structure to develop up to around 8 years, showing complex earthy, smoked savoury meat notes with age. It is the ultimate BBQ wine and a fantastic match for grilled meats, pizza and Italian food.

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Winemaking

Making the Forget-me-not in the tradition of a beautiful fresh and floral dry white style is reasonably simple. We pick both Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc at night, to keep hold of the delicate characters of the varieties. Semillon is picked later, generally. We ferment both Sem and SB in stainless steel tanks, because we can control the temperature in the tanks and ensure a cool ferment. We don’t mature the wine in oak barrels, because we are making a fresh bright wine. Oxygen is the enemy of the floral characters, so we try and keep it away (this is called reductive handling). Once the grapes have gone through ferment it is pretty much straight to bottle.

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Tasting Note

Imagine lying in a meadow late in summer with the smell of sweet hay all around you, underlain with the delicate fragrance of white flowers.  This is what you get when you open a bottle of the Spring Seed ‘Forget-me-not’ and when you taste it, that dreamy summer meadow follows through onto the palate with a twist of lime, too.  Forget-me-not is a classic white wine blend, and is so versatile; mixing and matching with spicy Thai food, creamy cheeses or on its own.

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Technical Details