Description
David Hook cut his teeth at legendary Hunter Valley wineries such as Tyrells and Lake’s Folly and after several years as ‘flying’ winemaker in Bordeaux, Spain and the US, he returned home in the ’80’s to plant his Pothana Vineyard in Belford, Hunter Valley. The Belford Dome as it is known, is a geological formation of red clay soils overlaying limestone – excellent for reds and interspersed with sandy loams on the creek flats beautifully suited to whites. Natural organic approach in the vineyard (no chemical fertilisers).
The wines from the Pothana Vineyard comprise his premium Old Vine and Reserve labels. His winemaking style is modern traditional, minimal handling, sparing use of new oak with an emphasis on purity of fruit and elegance.
The Old Vines is only produced in exceptional years and 2018 was excellent.
From the winemaker: “This wine is produced from grapes grown at Pothana Vineyard on sandy loam soils.The vines are over 30 years old and low yielding, producing less than 2 tonnes per acre annually. The grapes were hand picked and whole bunched pressed. The juice was cold settled for 36 hours, racked then cool fermented at 15 degrees Celsius. The wine spent a short time on lees to build complexity before filtering and bottling to retain a fresh crisp citrus style so typical of Belford semillon.
Harvest Date: 3rd February 2018
The wine is bright lime green in colour. Reminiscent of Japanese Yuzu fruit, which combines the intensely fragrant notes of lemon and grapefruit. The rich citrus fruit flavours are complimented by a grassy herbaceous lift of Kaffir Lime. The palate is long with a soft lingering after taste and a crisp mouth watering lemon acid finish.”
10.5% alc. Will drink beautifully now or cellar for another 6-8 years. Pair with freshly shucked oysters, prawns, scallops, lobster or salmon carpaccio.”
RRP $32
