A ‘natural wine’, this is a pure and raw expression of place free from winemaking manipulation and artefact.
100% Hazel's Vineyard
Grapes: Select parcels of Chardonnay from the Apiary block Gingin clone
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Wine Specs
Vintage
2024
Varietal
Chardonnay
Vineyard
Hazel's Vineyard
Aging
Drink Now
Bottling Date
September 24
Alcohol %
13.5
Wine Profile
Tasting Notes
This wine draws its name from beehives perched atop of this block at our biodynamically farmed Hazel’s vineyard in southern Margaret River. This is a pure and raw expression of place free from wine making manipulation and artefact.
It has a cloudy appearance, which is the natural result from being unfiltered.
The wine shows a complex nose with lemon curd, lemon zest and frangipani sitting on top of a palate of white nectarine. There is vibrancy and freshness with intertwining savouriness, waxy texture and creamy complexity all framed by attractive phenolics that carry the wine to a lingering finish.
Vineyard
100% Hazel’s Vineyard. Our southernmost vineyard further inland than our Burnside and Calgardup vineyards. Hazel’s combines cooling Southern Ocean influences with a northerly aspect and plenty of sunshine.
Certified Biodynamic.
Wine Making
Selected parcels of Chardonnay from the Apiary block were handpicked and whole bunch pressed straight to a 700L concrete vessel and large barrels without any sulphur addition. The juice underwent wild fermentation and partial malo-lactic fermentation and was left on full lees for 8 months. Moved only once in the winery a few days before being bottled unfiltered the wines received minimal sulphur.
Vintage Report
Vintage 2024 will be remembered as the earliest start of harvest at McHenry Hohnen. After good rainfalls during winter our vines reacted to the excellent moisture levels in the ground and the warm spring conditions by developing healthy canopies earlier in the season which set us for an early harvest.
Summer was characterised by zero rainfalls and above average diurnal temperatures. Depending on the blocks, veraison was anticipated across the different sites by 2-3 weeks.
The Marri blossom was incredible in 2024, we have rarely seen anything like it before. With birds totally uninterested on our crops and no disease pressure we were able to harvest pristine fruit.
We experienced a very compressed white harvest which kept our winery and vineyard teams extremely busy. The wines show expressive fruit profile, with texture and generosity but without compromising on freshness, Chardonnay and Marsanne Roussanne are the highlights.