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
Red fruits dominate the vibrant nose with some Turkish delight and twiggy spices. The palate is rich with red and blue fruit that moves through the fine-grained tannins, finishing with some spice.
94 points, Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front “Talk about pristine. This Pinot Noir is presented in immaculate condition. Dark cherries, a splash of strawberry, toast and chicory notes, and rounds of turned earth and assorted dry/roasted spices. It’s fresh, crunchy, silken and spicy at once, the finish then well formed and well sustained. It has substance but mostly it has flow. I can’t fault this.”
RRP $49 Our Price $39.99 when you buy 6 or more of this wine.
