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We say this every year, but this release really is Garagiste’s best yet! With just three plantings, Australia’s roll call for Aligoté makes for pretty short reading. There are small parcels in the Whitlands area and in Margaret River (at Blind Corner), then there’s the mother-vineyard on the Mornington Peninsula (which supplied the cuttings for the two above sites).
This is cropped from three north-facing rows of 30-plus-year-old vines rooted in the sandy grey loams of Tuerong. These Aligoté vines have large, soft leaves and a matte appearance, in contrast to the glossy shine often found on Garagiste's Chardonnay leaves. The bunches are tight, berries are round and plump and there’s always a distinctive aniseed character to complement the saline and mineral highlights.
The grapes were hand-harvested and whole-bunch pressed to a single, old 500-litre puncheon for ferment, followed by nine months resting on its large, soft lees.
Delicate aromatics of citrus, saline minerals and flecks of green mango flow through to a direct and linear palate, perfectly balanced in weight, tension and phenolic grip. Real class.