Waxy,

       sea spray,

finger lime.

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Best Chenin Blanc of Australia Trophy
Australian Chenin Blanc Challenge 2022

From the first vintage for the MMAD team, and it’s hard to imagine a better season. Lovely mild ripening conditions gave us Chenin Blanc with bright acidity and plenty of flavour. The fruit was hand-picked, and approximately one third was whole bunch pressed to old French oak puncheons, and the balance crushed for more skin contact, and fermented in concrete vats before going to puncheons. The wine combines a fine-ness from the whole bunch pressed component with more texture from the crushed fruit, and an array of characters including citrus peel, cumquat, hessian, sea spray and a hint of lanolin. The palate is long and framed by crisp acidity, with exciting ageing potential.

Tasting notes

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Notes

The Wine

From the first vintage for the MMAD team, and it’s hard to imagine a better season. Lovely mild ripening conditions gave us Chenin Blanc with bright acidity and plenty of flavour.

The fruit was hand-picked, and approximately one third was whole bunch pressed to old French oak puncheons, and the balance crushed for more skin contact, and fermented in concrete vats
before going to puncheons.

The wine combines a fine-ness from the whole bunch pressed component with more texture from the crushed fruit, and an array of characters including citrus peel, cumquat, wet stone, hessian, and sea-spray. The palate is long and framed by crisp acidity, with exciting ageing potential.

Serving

Serving Temperature - 10 – 12°C

Cellaring Potential - Has the concentration and structure to develop fine tertiary characters in bottle over the next 15 years

ABV - 12.5%

The Vineyard

Located in the dress circle of Blewitt Springs, MMAD Vineyard has Grenache that was first planted in 1939, as well as Shiraz and Chenin Blanc, the oldest of which were planted in 1941 and 1964 respectively. The vineyard has the fine Maslin sands found in Blewitt Springs, and is exposed to the fresh sea breezes from the south-west. Below the sand is a layer of ironstone pebbles, and this combination of sand, ironstone, and cooling winds gives both perfume and structure to the wines.

The Story

The old vines of Blewitt Springs are a precious resource, and an important part of Australia’s viticultural history. In early 2021, MMAD Vineyard was purchased by a quartet made up of winemakers Martin Shaw and Adam Wadewitz, and Masters of Wine Michael Hill Smith and David LeMire. MMAD takes its name from their first initials. The MMAD wines aim to reflect the unique terroir of Blewitt Springs and the rare old vines that thrive there.

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MMAD Vineyard Chenin Blanc

Magnum / 2021