Our Elevage Sauvignon Blanc is pale straw in colour with a fresh green hue. Flavours of white pear, guava, lemongrass and sweet lemon, floral notes like elderflower, and subtle nutty, toasty flavours coming from the barrel fermentation and maturation on yeast lees. The palate is smooth and balanced, creamy in texture, with lingering fruity flavours of ripe pear and white nectarines.

Geographe - The Sauvignon Blanc grapes are Estate grown in our Whicher Ridge Vineyard, nestled in a hidden valley in the Whicher Range with Margaret River to the west and the seaside town of Busselton to the north. The vines were planted in ancient gravelly ironstone hillside plantings in 2004, and the cool winds at night coming off the Southern Ocean during summer, give rise to wines of intensity and finesse.

The inspiration for making this style of Sauvignon Blanc came about from a trip to Austria in 2008 and we have modelled our style on those Austrian Sauvignon Blancs which impressed us with their beautiful textures and intense flavours coming from barrel fermentation and an extended period of time maturing on yeast lees.

Our winemaking philosophy is to handle our white juices gently, with minimal additions and no fining. The juice is fermented in two portions, with 30% being fermented in new and one year old larger French oak barrels, and the balance fermenting in a stainless steel tank. After fermentation, the wine remains in the barrels and tank in contact with the yeast lees for 12 months to produce a textured, more complex wine with a creamier mouthfeel and a long lingering finish.

The name Elevage is a French term encompassing the 'raising or bringing up' of the wine from immediately post fermentation to the time it goes into the bottle. The closest English term to it, would be 'artisan'. The term encapsulates our small batch winemaking practices that we undertake with this wine. It is a 100% Sauvignon Blanc wine, made in style which is very different to the vast majoirty of Sauvignon Blancs made in the Margaret River and Geographe wine regions.

This wine is a very versatile style to pair with food. It has a crisp acidity level which is balanced beautifully with a distinctly creamier textured mouthfeel, so the recommendation is to pair with dishes of similar texture, but you could also opt to go with focussing on the crisper acidity level, and move away from the creamy texture. Using our wine sensory garden affinity beds as inspiration, flavours pairings are lemon, thyme, lavender, rosemary, dill, coriander, spinach, parsley, lemongrass, dill, green olives, lemon basil, green peppers, pumpkins and lentils, caper berry, and elderflower.