Australia

Pale lemon in colour. On the nose, this wine showcases vibrant lemon, lime and pink grapefruit characters along with green apple and a dash of fresh herbs. It has nice mid-palate weight and texture and a fine acidity. Bright and aromatic, it has become known as a benchmark for Adelaide Hills and Australian Sauvignon Blanc.

The Sauvignon Blanc grapes were sourced from the Shaw + Smith estate vineyards at Balhannah and Lenswood. The 35-hectare Balhannah vineyard sits at 340 – 380 metres above sea level and has free draining soils of sandy loam over red clay with underlying quartzite, shale and ironstone pebbles. The Lenswood vineyard covers an area of 20 hectares and is at an altitude of 455 - 500 metres above sea level. Soils here are brown loam over clay and broken shale. The vineyards are farmed sustainably to promote the best possible soil and vine health and the grapes are harvested by hand.

Shaw + Smith began over a long lunch in 1989 when cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill Smith decided to realise a long-held dream to make wine together. Their vision remains to make exciting, refined wines, exclusively from the Adelaide Hills, that rank among Australia’s best. The wines are made from a number of sites throughout the Adelaide Hills. They specialise in grape varieties suited to the cooler climate, namely Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Shiraz.

You just don’t do a “half mullet” – you have to be all in. The mullet, like skin contact white wines, has been around for millennia. Things never go out of fashion, they just get re-discovered… it’s a cycle, see? The Buddhists talk of Samsãra, the endless cycle of birth, life and death, but AB&D know that to reach true enlightenment you need to grow that shaved head out, keep it short on top, grow out the back and rejoice in the pithy textures and heady perfumes of skin-contact white wine.

Golden Mullet Fury skin contact white wine has become a hallmark of AB&D wines. Notes of reserved lemon, curry leaf, nectarines, hint of marmalade on the nose. Racey acidity with chalky tannins and a real mouthwatering finish. Refreshing yet textural.

Try with Morroccan chicken, seafood and blue cheese.

The Semillon was handpicked, destemmed and plunged by hand, fermented until dry using native yeast. 3 weeks total skin maceration. Riesling was picked with >65% Botrytis affected grapes, pressed for 3 hours long and slow, wild fermented for 4 months in old barrels until dry, spontaneously going through full MLF. Semillon spent 12 months in barrique on full lees, Riesling spent 12 months in old oak then blended together for a further 12 months maturation in foudre.