New Release Spring Whites

Announcement posted by Michael Hall Wines 31 Aug 2016

Michael Hall Sauvignon Blanc, Roussanne and Chardonnay 2015 vintage released

Media release

Monday, 29 August 2016

Tanunda, South Australia (for immediate release)

Welcoming springtime, Michael Hall brings you his 2015 vintage flagship white wines from Adelaide Hills and Barossa Valley.

Michael’s 2015 Summertown and Echunga Sauvignon Blanc, Greenock Roussanne and Piccadilly and Lenswood Chardonnay were each made at the small batch, high-spec facility of Murray Street Vineyards, a terrific base at which to preserve the nuanced expressions of these sites. Michael’s ninth vintage was noted for its warm spring and early veraison mitigated by a cool January period of very gentle development. Typical summer temperatures returned in February bringing very rapid ripening and Michael recalled that a nimble response to this compressed vintage was required in order to produce some great wines.

“Meticulous attention to soil moisture levels was required to manage the canopy during early vintage – all due deference to the prodigious talents of my growers in the Adelaide Hills and Barossa Valley – but with careful management and a bit of agility at harvest, the result has been an excellent Roussanne, an exceptional Chardonnay and a Sauvignon Blanc with a bundle of attitude,” Michael explained.

Michael Hall Sauvignon Blanc, Adelaide Hills 2015 (13.4% Alc./Vol., 1950 bottles produced, RRP $35.00 per bottle)

Vineyard: Grown on two sites in the Adelaide Hills: the steep, east facing Hill Block in Summertown in the Piccadilly Valley and the short rows at Ironstone Road in Echunga, arguably some of Australia’s best Sauvignon Blanc plantings.

Winemaking: Picked on 3 and 5 March, 90% was pressed to French oak barrels (30% new, Damy), 10% left on skins and fermented in tank, before spending nine months on lees, then fined and filtered.

Tasting notes: Uncompromising, ultra-savoury capsicum, flint and mustard seed characters belying a chalky, viscous mouthfeel and long finish.

Michael Hall Barossa Valley Roussanne Greenock 2015 (12.8% Alc./Vol., 2010 bottles produced, RRP $38.00 per bottle)

Vineyard: Grown on David Materne’s vineyard in the Barossa Valley subregion of Greenock, this late ripening grape is ideally suited to the warm conditions and sparse soils of this site, producing a dry, delicate and lifted floral wine.

Winemaking: Handpicked on 12 February, the grapes were destemmed and pressed, before being wild yeast barrel fermented, 25% malolactic, spending 10 months in French oak barriques (Damy), then racked to tank, fined and filtered.

Tasting notes: Characteristic white floral chamomile and honeysuckle present, with a textural palate of unsweetened ice tea lifted by lemon citrus.

Michael Hall Adelaide Hills Chardonnay Piccadilly and Lenswood 2015 (13.4% Alc./Vol., 1710 bottles produced, RRP $50.00 per bottle)

Vineyard: The Garden Block is at 500 metres altitude in the Piccadilly Valley below Mount Lofty, cooled by descending air currents so allowing an extended ripening season. Ben Anderson’s Lenswood block 15 kilometres to the north-west sits slightly higher at 560 metres, though typically ripens earlier.

Winemaking: Handpicked on 28 February (Lenswood) and 13 March (Piccadilly), before being wild yeast barrel fermented, 75% malolactic, and spending 11 months on lees in French barriques and puncheon.

Tasting notes: Shows the tightly-wound minerality of an elevated Chardonnay terroir, with a spine of citrus, firm white stone fruit, mealy cashew texture and a hint of struck match.

Michael Hall looks forward to sharing his latest white wines with the wine interested public. The wines are available online (http://www.michaelhallwines.com/pages/buy-wine.php) and at a collection discerning of restaurants and retailers.

Michael Hall Wines retail stockists include:
Adelaide: East End Cellars, Goodwood Cellars, P.A.L.S., West Lakes Cellars.
Brisbane: Cru Bar, Grand Central Cellars, Malt Cellars, Spiro’s, Wine Emporium, Wine Experience.
Melbourne: Armadale Cellars, Blackhearts & Sparrows, Bottle House, City Wine Shop, Cloud Wine, Harry and Frankie, Nillumbik Cellars, Parkhill Cellars, Prince Wine Store, Purvis Wine Cellars, Rathdowne Cellars.
Perth: The Re Store.
Sydney: Annandale Cellars, Australian Wine Centre, Bests Cellars, Bottega del Vino, GPO Cheese and Wine Room, Oak Barrel, Rose Bay Liquor Store, Summer Hill Wine Shop, Vintage Blue.

For more information or images, please contact Kimberley Pearce at Wine Brain, kp@winebrain.com.au, 0413 120 385.

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About Michael Hall

Originally from the UK, I released my first vintage of Michael Hall Wines in 2008, bringing my wine dream to fruition after two decades of jewellery valuation in Switzerland. From Europe to the Barossa, I took this leap into the unknown, completed wine science at CSU and worked stints in Australia with Cullen, Giaconda, Henschke, Shaw + Smith, Coldstream Hills and Veritas; in France with Domaine Leflaive, Meo-Camuzet, Vieux Telegraphe and Trevallon.

I have identified eight extraordinary vineyard sites across the Barossa Valley, Eden Valley and Adelaide Hills and have since pursued my passion for making thoughtfully produced wines, which provoke thought; individual, small batch, elegant wines made with passive interventions and meticulous attention to detail. For wine nerds, like me.