Description
Onannon is three people with one goal. The people are Sam Middleton, Kaspar Hermann and Will Byron, each of whom contributed the last letters of their surname to make Onannon. A friendship forged in winemaking studies was cemented in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with each of them serving stints at Coldstream Hills in the Yarra Valley in the noughties. Sam and Kaspar are still based in the Yarra, making wine at Mount Mary, while Will works at a winery on the Mornington Peninsula. Their goal at Onannon is to craft wines that speak a little of themselves and a lot of their place. Since starting out in 2008, their focus has been Pinot Noir and the regions of Gippsland and Mornington Peninsula, though in 2012 they added a first Gippsland Chardonnay. This tight band of brothers has garnered a devoted following with bright, expressive wines made in minuscule quantities. They have a great future ahead of them.
“You would have to go a long way to find three more open-hearted and utterly committed winemakers; the world is their oyster, their ambitions unlimited.” James Halliday
About this wine from the winemaker: “A blend of seven vineyards across the sub-regions of Tuerong, Main Ridge, Shoreham, Red Hill, Red Hill South, Merricks and Flinders. A combination of handpicked and machine harvested fruit. 20 percent of the blend was fermented with 100 percent whole bunch. Every ferment was left on skins for a minimum of 4 weeks, with some batches reaching 9 weeks for tannin development. 5 percent new French oak. Bottled with just one minimal SO2 addition before bottling.” Will Byron, Onannon
95 points, Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion “Fruit comes off seven sites across the peninsula, some of which make up the single-vineyard wines, and this very much the sum of its parts. It’s excellent. Aromatic, enticing, savoury and spicy, full of cherries and pips, Middle Eastern spices, a hint of mint and just a skerrick of oak. Medium bodied, laced with supple tannins and mouth-watering acidity. It fits the bill perfectly for a drink-now pinot.
92 points, Gary Walsh, The Wine Front “Strawberry, raspberry, spice, roses, just a little autumnal and earthy. It’s bright and frisky, juicy red fruit and blueberry flavour, some sage and mint, fine-grained dusty tannin, a pleasant sappiness, with a lively spicy finish of good length. Plenty of energy and refreshment. Good now, likely better next year.”
RRP $45 LAST OF THIS VINTAGE! Our Price $39.99 while stocks last!
