2022 Patrick Sullivan 'Black Sands' Chardonnay

'Black Sands' is a new single-vineyard Chardonnay by Patrick Sullivan, made with grapes sourced from Heywood, far Western Victoria near the black-sanded coastline.

Lighter on its feet than Patrick's other 2022 releases, Black Sands is rich and textural, concentrated but not too oaky. Variosu winemaking techniques at play, the result is distinctive, earthy minerality supporting classic stonefruit, lemon and brioche. Electric on the palate, this is a fascinating expression and one of Patrick's best wines yet!

From Patrick:

The vineyard is located a short distance to the west of the township of Heywood in western Victoria. Planted in 1990 by Alistair and Alice Taylor the vineyard has produced some of the most interesting and pronounced Chardonnay grown in Australia. The soil is a unique shallow blend of black volcanic sand and basalt over pure white limestone that runs deep.

Nose: Lemon pith, orange blossom, honey, brioche.

Palate: Peaches, nectarines, mineral and earth. It’s powerful yet light on its feet.

Wine Making The fruit is hand harvested into 450kg bins, chilled overnight and transferred to the winery. The fruit is whole cluster crushed into the press and drained off into tank for settling. Primary fermentation takes place in barrique (30% new) over 3 weeks followed by complete malolactic fermentation. Lees stirring occurs twice towards the end of primary fermentation then once more at the completion of malolactic fermentation.