2022 "The Assembly" Blanc de Blancs - Whitlands VIC
100% Chardonnay from the Eminence Vineyard made by the super talented Clare Burder.

Her notes are exceptional so we've used them here:

Blanc de Blanc is French for 'white from white' - meaning this is white wine, made from 100% chardonnay grapes. The counterpoint is the Blanc de Noir (white wine made from pinot & meunier grapes) and together these two wines are our first foray into varietal sparkling wines - a shift sideways from the classic 'cuvee's' which include all three varieties (pinot, meunier and chardonnay).

I say all this because while there is good reason the classic cuvee exists, this blanc de blanc really shows why we would bring the focus in. It is a pure chardonnay experience, totally effortles, charming, light, fine and really bloody delicious. The flavours sit in the realm of lemon meringue, buttermilk pastry & white florals. Super clean and long on the palate, very light and fine, a flourish of dryness on the finish. To me, it's the the paradox of flavourful 'chardonnay-ness' against the lightness of this wine that makes it a bit special. 

To go back a step, the base wines were made from our Whitlands grown grapes, all sourced from the 2022 season. Hand picked, gently pressed to neutral barrels for the primary ferment with no yeast, sulphur or enzyme additions. Most barrels went through malo and aged on gross lees in barrel for 11 months before blending. The base wine was then filtered and prepped for the second ferment, which happens in bottle. Once fermented, it aged on lees in bottles for two years prior to disgorging. 

And against advice, we disgorged this wine with no dosage, meaning it it has no residual sugar at all. As I've said before, no dosage means nothing to hide behind and so it exposes the framework of the acid - which is this case is typical of chardonnay, tense and high tone without being abrasive or crunchy.