Botrytis Semillon Reserve 2019 – Berton Vineyard (375ml)

The grapes to produce the Botrytis Semillon Reserve Berton Vineyard are harvested in early May, the sweet shrivelled fruit was left on skins overnight in a bag press to allow maximum flavour and sugar extraction before being pressed. The juice was then clarified and filtered before the start of fermentation. Fermentation lasted for four weeks and when half of the sugar had been converted to alcohol, fermentation was arrested by chilling to 3°C. Once clarified, the wine underwent 12 months of oak maturation before being prepared for bottling.

The Griffith area is internationally renowned for producing some of the best Botrytis affected wines. The fruit is left on the vine for a significantly longer time than other Semillon to encourage the growth of Botrytis, which desiccates the skin allowing the moisture to evaporate. The berries are harvested at optimum maturity. The vine age is varied, but all vines have been spur pruned and are generally trained on a single wire cordon trellising system. The soil types in the vineyards are varied, with each adding its own characteristic to the resulting wine.

Established by Bob and Cherie Berton in May 1996, Berton Vineyard is one of the most important wine producers in Australia. The estate covers 30 hectares of land located on gently rolling hills at 450 metres above sea level, in a subregion of Eden Valley in South Australia. The superb Reserve Shiraz and Reserve Chardonnay wines are still sourced from this plot. In 2007, Bob purchased the Yenda winery in the heart of the Riverina. This state-of-the-art facility has the capacity to process 20,000 tonnes and enables Berton Vineyard to produce value for money wines which sit alongside their premium single-vineyard offerings.