2007 The Feral Fox

© Brendan Akhurst

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Harvest Dates:
15 to 20 March
Oak Maturation:
9 months in new and 1 to 3 y.o French oak barriques
Alcohol by Vol:
14.5%
Glucose + Fructose:
0.3g/L
Titratable Acid:
7.3g/L
pH:
3.45
Bottled:
22 April 2008
Chief Winemaker:
Chester d’Arenberg Osborn

'very good texture and length to the predominately red fruits palate; good acidity and subtle tannin.’

The feral foxes that inhabit this area have developed an appetite for grapes as a replacement for their favourite meal as the local rabbit population has reduced substantially in recent years due to the Calici virus. We’re not fussed though, because these bushy tailed critters act as crop thinners, which enhance the quality of the grapes they find too high to reach. An additional consequence is the laxative effect on the foxes, resulting in increased aromas and tell-tale signs of their dining habits spread around the vineyards, providing natural organic fertilisation of the soil. Hence, this Pinot is sometimes known in the winery as the Funky Farting Feral Fox!

The appearance of the wine is brilliant in clarity. It has a tone of ruby-plum with edges of rosewater and a clear hue.
The intensity of the aroma suggest a complex medium-bodied dry red, dominated with fragrant spiced red fruits, plum and raspberries with some dark kirsch and roasted meat notes in the background.. As the wine opens up the meaty element gives way to a very fragrant musk, lavender, and talcum powder note and further to a fine, sweet character that is reminiscent of Life Savers confectionary.
A medium weight palate that oozes plenty of life and richness with a lovely balance of mineral-edged tannins and elevated acidity. The flavours are dominated with cherry and plum notes over an herbaceous, stalky edge. The finish is dominated by rhubarb and there is a juicy beetroot character that runs through to the finish.
It’s a lovely fresh style but with plenty of potential to develop over the next 3 to 10 years.

2007 will be remembered as the earliest start to vintage ever due to extreme drought conditions not seen for decades. For this reason our focus was selecting premium fruit from our Adelaide Hills vineyards, being a significantly cooler climate region due to its altitude and rainfall, fruit developed and ripened beautifully. Overall winter rainfalls were a third of what we normally receive though quality of the vintage held up but yields were tiny.
As vintage was to commence, we experienced a 50mm downpour which created considerable fruit splitting in many of our vineyards reducing yield further. This rain saved the vintage as it provided enough ground moisture for the grapes to ripen in their final period in a stress free environment. Grapes picked had more concentrated flavours at lower levels of beaume ripeness with excellent levels of acidity.

Under the supervision of Chester Osborn, the fruit, once picked, was crushed in our gentle Demoisy open-mouthed, rubber-toothed crusher. Natural yeast fermentation took place in our special 2 tonne open fermenters with a very large percentage of whole clusters included. An extended maceration period ensued in order to achieve structure, body and length of flavour, followed by traditional foot-treading in wader-clad feet. The still fermenting juice was then taken gently basket-pressed using our 19th century ‘Coq’ and ‘Bromley & Tregoning’ presses, followed by nine months maturation in French oak Barriques.