"The aroma is apricot with benefits, spice, ginger and citrus. The palate is silky. The ’23 Viognier has some weight, but is better to think of this as velvet, not blousy. The acid makes this wine even better, as Viognier has a pre-existing condition leaning towards more robust than is sometimes wanted, but this wine avoids it. Viognier may not be the first thing you think about when you recall the wines from By Farr, but this is every bit as legendary as any from here, and it’s just an absolute pleasure to drink.
Fruit from two different vineyards: original house block, planted in 1994, and younger planting of unknown clones in red ironstone soils. Fruit is picked early to retain natural acidity & ensure varietal character that is delicate and refined.
The viognier is foot stomped and left for two or more hours on its skins to extract the phenols, flavour and texture. The fruit is then pressed, cooled and put straight into barrel with all solids for a natural fermentation. Gentle stirring during the end of autumn encourages malolactic fermentation, which softens the finish by converting the tart malic acid to lactic acid. The wine is then racked, fined and filtered. It is ready to be bottled 11 months after harvest." - Ben Knight and By Farr
