Highgate Chardonnay 2019 New South Wales Orange

Ocean Eight Pinot Gris 2021

Another exeptional Pinot Gris from Mike Aylward. Aromatic with delicate citrus and floral perfume. Ripe pear and tangerine. it is crisp, refined and fresh with exture from ageing in French oak.

About Ocean Eight

The winery is located at 271 Tucks Road in Shoreham on the Mornington Peninsula. All grapes picked for this small production come from the Aylward’s 17 Hectares of vines. The Mornington Peninsula has become one of the most sought-after regions in Australia for the production of high quality Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. These are the varieties planted at Ocean Eight’s vineyards. The winery is managed by Michael & Hollie Aylward whose passion originated over a decade ago with a part-time job at the family’s previous winery Kooyong. Ocean Eight has evolved into the couple’s full-time obsession. Whilst the first crops ripened on the vine, to further cultivate their viticultural experience, the Aylward’s embarked on several tours of the renowned vineyards and cellars of the Burgundy region in France. These trips played an important factor in the style of wines now produced at Ocean Eight. This passion-driven endeavour to bring the highest quality wine to the Mornington Peninsula saw Michael win the sought-after Australian “Young Gun of Wine” award in 2011.

When defining what identifies the Ocean Eight wines, Mike Aylward always returns to two ideas he has worked on since the first release wine; how well are they going to match with food and will they best represent the climate and grape growing conditions of the Mornington Peninsula. Therefore the Ocean Eight wines are lean, bright & tight with acid at the finish. These characters help the wines pair with food and age incredibly well. It is no coincidence that these characters are also intrinsic to the cool, maritime conditions of Mornington Peninsula vineyards, where the Aylward’s chose to grow grapes and make wines over 20 years ago.

Another year of work in the vineyard steering our Pinot Gris towards harvest has seen further progress in our style towards true “gris” weight, texture and complexity. Select parcels were fermented separately in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks to retain fragrance and flavour. Following fermentation, approximately 50% of the wine was transferred to neutral French oak for a short time to subtly build savoury and textural complexity.
The distinctive ripe spiced pear characters of the variety dominate with honeysuckle and hints of citrus. The palate texture is rich through the middle, then balanced by a crisp, clean acid finish.

Viticulture
Our Gris grape site is on a north-western slope attracting maximum afternoon sun. The vines were cane pruned to ensure an even range of shoots & training VSP.
Vinification
Grapes were destemmed only, no crushing. The fruit soaked in press for 20 hours before a gentle cremant cycle released juice from the grapes. The now plush pink juice was briefly cold settled in tank. The coarsely settled juice was then racked into tank & barrel for spontaneous fermentation. Upon fermenting to sugar dryness, the wines were fined & clarified. The oak & tank batches were blended & left in tank to allow integration & equilibrium of the final wine.

Winemaking at Jones Road starts in the vineyard. Careful management of yields and hand picking ensure the grapes reach the winery in premium condition.Vineyard owner, Rob Frewer and son Matthew, vineyard manager have nurtured the vines since planting and always take a hands-on approach throughout the year especially at vintage when timing is critical for optimum baume, pH and acid levels. Wines are made at Sticks Winery in nearby Yarra Valley by winemaker Travis Bush. Here they are given special traditional treatment whilst using the best handling methods combined with the latest technology. The wines are matured in the finest quality new French Oak for at least ten months before being bottled and laid to rest until the flavours develop.