2021 - Turbulent Juice - Skin Contact Semillon

Skin Contact Semillon

Swan Valley

Zero additions

456 bottles made

The most sought-after wine of the 2020 vintage is back. This wine has been a lesson in patience and continually questioning your own
assumptions about how to make wine. Semillon grown using organic practices from our block in the Swan Valley. Unfortunately, we had a lower yield this vintage due to a cooler growing season and disease pressure meaning we have slightly less to go around this year.

Picked January 10th, processed 11th January. The vineyard was
afflicted with a small amount of powdery mildew, so the fruit was split into two ferments in order to separate the healthier portion from the rest. Macerated on skins for 10 days, the ferment getting warm but not overly so (topping out around 31C). Pressed separately to stainless steel and glass demijohns for élevage over the next 8 months, the expectation was that the cleaner portion would make up the entirety of the Turbulent Juice and the other component would be declassified due to the astringency of the phenolics resulting from the mildew infection. When it came time to put together blends for bottling, however, the wine which included all separate portions of Semillon appeared more complete. The wine was then racked and bottled soon after with no fining, filtration or additions of any kind.

An intense tropical nose, all pineapple, mango and orange, likened by one trusted friend to a Golden Circle fruit box, came, intriguingly, from the mildew-affected portion. The acid line, tropical fruit and more restrained and attractive chalky phenolics were from the cleaner portion. Combined they create a skin macerated orange wine with approachability and edge in equal measure. A very different representation of the Turbulent Juice compared to the 2020, but equally worthy.

Label art was inspired by Sam’s love for Hüsker Dü and our desire not to risk a copy strike from Heavy Metal’s most litigious band for a second year in a row. 2020 sold out insanely quick so you know what to do.