This wine is a pale straw colour in the glass. Opens with lifted notes of rose water florals and pear. A generous palate packed with lemon butter and pear fruit. The palate has depth, with some chalky texture anchoring the generous and rich fruit and a drawn-out, refreshing citrus finish. The wine has been praised for its similarity to its Greek counterpart and has great natural acidity with flavours of pear, apricot and apple.
The Assyrtiko vines are from clones that Peter Barry originally imported from Gaia’s vineyard, Santorini. They were first planted in 2012 in the Lodge Hill vineyard, on the eastern ranges of Clare, where the soils are brown loam overlaying a layer of clay and slate bedrock. Subsequently, blocks have been planted at the Florita vineyard in Watervale in the western ranges of the Clare Valley on terra rossa soils. The Lodge Hill block produces wines which are tight and have excellent persistence of flavour, while the vines planted on terra rossa soils are more generous and fuller flavoured. All the vines in the Assyrtiko blocks are planted in shallow soils over the bedrock, which makes them struggle just a little, producing intensely flavoured wines.
