Let’s paint a picture. Your boss has been a jerk all week. It’s been a long Friday. It was hot all day but you were stuck at work unable to enjoy it. Instead of being a joy, the weather made the office uncomfortable and whiff of body odour. But you’ve escaped and the weekend lies before you like a glorious promised land. You’re parched, but someone hands you a chilled drink. Condensation glistens on the glass coquettishly. You know how good that drink tastes? Well that’s how good this wine tastes every time.
In 2006 David Hohnen and his brother-in-law Murray McHenry launched McHenry Hohnen, a family owned winery sourcing grapes from four vineyards around the Margaret River. Common sense farming philosophies are employed, cultivating a system in which soil and its organisms, along with plants, insects and animals co-exist in a thriving equilibrium. The team has a huge amount of experience from Canada all the way to New Zealand and with companies like Flying Fish Cove, Cape Mentelle and Cloudy Bay. This wine is produced from traditionally managed vines of an average age of 10 years, is fermented in stainless steel tanks and fined with milk.
In 2010, El Nino brought reduced rainfall, Spring was wetter and summer had more temperature extremes. A heat spike in January 2010 with a week of over 35 degree heat brought whites into line quickly and the grapes came off earlier than normal. For the first time every grape that went into this wine came from the family’s’ vineyards. Semillon came from the in-laws on the east side of town, Sauvignon Blanc from the Burnside vineyard and a little bit of both varieties from the Calgardup Brook vineyard. This adds an eclectic edge to the wine, which is a blend of 56% Semillon and 44% Sauvignon Blanc. But the wine is trademark fresh and simple with neutral yeast inoculated into a stainless steel vessel for a cool ferment. A small tweak this year was a 5% portion of each variety going into new oak for a natural ferment and 5 months on lees. This was blended into tank prior to stabilising and bottling.
The result; a very flamboyant blend of all things expressive. A lively blend, imagine a Caprioska filled with mixed passionfruit, guava, gooseberry and sweet snap peas. Generously shaken it will show a leg of lychee and nectar while remaining firmed by a lime peel acid. Starting boisterously, its palate is more restrained and sophisticated. With a touch of oak and natural ferment this wine is seductive to the senses yet challenging to the mind. Drink any time as an aperitif or with lighter dishes.
View Larger Map
