Pack contains 1 bottle each of..

2022 Nikau ‘Tolone’ , 2022 Nikau Tonimbuk ‘Granite’ (Amphora), 2021 Nikau Pinot Noir Rosé… Notes below..

2022 Nikau ‘Tolone’

 The “tolone’ block is the other small vineyard on our farm (pictured above) and is planted mainly to Riesling. It has some Chardonnay interplanted within it and these plants are only evident later in the season when the slightly different shape of the leaves is recognisable to the trained eye. The vines are an average age of 31 years old. As with the other vineyard on the property it is farmed organically and has been since it was planted. This is clearly evident in the abundance of life both in and above the ground. We have been farming these vineyards for 7 years now and the work we are putting in is now becoming evident in the resulting wines which is a nice thing to see. Cover crops, compost teas and the planting of many fruit trees in the block being some of the improvements so far.

The soils here are much the same as the Pinot Noir block being mostly comprised of a sedimentary sandstone base with a high silica content and with a friable loam layer over the top. The loam layer is thinner here than in the pinot block, most likely due to the steepness of the slope. It is also much faster draining for the same reason. The biggest difference with this block though is the aspect. It is facing predominately west and It is the highest hill on the property and indeed the area as a whole. This makes it extremely exposed to southerly weather systems coming in from the Bass strait. This weather exposure makes the fruit development slow, often times painfully so, and results in small berries, small bunches which ensures we are always picking at low baume's with good flavour ripeness.

As for the winemaking, after the cold soak as whole bunches it was pressed directly to a small stainless tank for a long cool ferment (it was mid April by this time) 

There it sat for 8 months on full solids without being disturbed at all. 

It was then bottled by hand directly from that tank (without racking or moving the tank). It has spent a further 2 years in bottle since composing itself. 

The wine seems very refined. It is a dainty 10.9% alcohol, but you wouldn’t know it, It has incredible structure and presence. 

It is an elegant and haunting thing of beauty (I don’t say such things about my own wines lightly). It has so much vitality and freshness with a beautiful floral lift. It is a very individual wine in it’s own right. 

There is nothing added to the wine at any stage of the process (including oak). It is a stunningly pure expression of site place and time. These are very special wines to me and are the culmination of a lot of hard and exacting work in the vineyards over the last 7 years

2022 Nikau Tonimbuk ‘Granite’ (Amphora)

This year the ‘Granite’ cuvée is comprised of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio andSauvignon Blanc from our Tonimbuk site.The coarse, weathered granite soils always give the wines from this site a lean and very mineral driven nature. They always show an abundance of energy with such delicate and precise structure.

Co-Fermentation took place in stainless steel with whole bunch skin-contact for 48 hours. The wine was then pressed back into a single ceramic egg where it sat undisturbed for 14 months elevage. It was then bottled (without racking) directly from the vessel.

This is a delicately orange wine with a very refined and elegant nature to it. It has more tannin than the 2021, largely due to the Pinot Gris/Grigio element. The time in Amphora on gross lees has given yet another layer of fine complexity to the wine.

As always..Wild ferment, No s02, No pumps, No additions, No oak.

As pure a representation of site, place and time possible.

Bottles by gravity, Sealed with premium natural cork and beeswax

2021 Nikau Pinot Noir Rosé

 In 2021 we made our first rosé (I use the term loosely) from the Nikau Pinot vineyard. I’ve long had a love for light pink wines and have made many under the Momento Mori label. 

Having the chance to make this style from the same fruit each season has been educational and a lot of fun. 

We dedicated the 11 short (30m) rows on the west side of the block to make this wine from each year. 

The goal being to show the nuance and character of the site, and to hopefully portray the varietal complexities of the fruit, not the easiest thing to do with rosé. 

The west rows get the sunshine last and lose the sunlight first so the fruit always shows a slightly higher and fresher acidity from the other side of the same block. The soils are the same of course and comparing the Rosé and the Home Block Pinot Noir you can really see the site specific characters in both. 

The fruit was picked early morning while still fresh and cool and was then immediately hand sorted and hand destemmed into an open tub. It then rested overnight in our cool room until the next morning when it was pulled out and pressed so the cool juice could begin a slow ferment. 

Elevage was in a small 500L stainless steel tank for 10 months after which it was bottled by hand off of full solids. It has since had more than 2 years resting in bottle and is a very resolved wine. 

It is a beautiful translucent pink in colour and has a wildly complex nose. It has so many similarities with the Pinot, it’s quite serious really with great structure and layer upon layer of complexity.