Mount Horrocks Watervale Clare Valley Semillon 2022
This wine is pale gold in colour with a lime-edge. Impressively light, elegant and zesty with vibrant flavours of lemon, apple, freshly cut grass, and subtle spicy oak. The wine has a restrained creamy texture and is stylish and balanced on the finish.
The Mount Horrocks Semillon is from a low yielding, north facing vineyard in Watervale, sitting at an elevation of 480 metres above sea level. It has been an Australian Certified Organic (ACO) wine since 2014. Harvest is done by hand.
Upon arrival at the winery, the hand-harvested grapes were crushed and destemmed. This wine was 100% barrel-fermented in French oak barriques, of which 40% were new. Lees stirring took place every two weeks for three months, and the wine remained on the lees to age for a further nine months. The wine was bottled without fining.
Mount Horrocks Wines, in Clare Valley, is owned by winemaker Stephanie Toole, who purchased the estate in 1993 after a career selling fine wines in Perth. By April 1998, she had renovated the historic Auburn Railway station as her cellar door and by 2000 she had acquired land in Watervale to plant her own vineyards. The grape varieties are carefully matched to each site's soil and microclimate. These include the 'Cordon Cut' vineyard, close to the cellar door, which has been planted only with Riesling. The 'Alexander' vineyard at Watervale is planted with just Shiraz, while the ‘Watervale’ vineyard boasts Riesling, SemiIIon, Nero d'Avola and Cabernet Sauvignon. With this level of care, and attention to detail, it is unsurprising that Stephanie’s wines are now regarded as among Clare Valley’s finest. To quote James Halliday’s 2023 Wine Companion, “Stephanie Toole has never deviated from the pursuit of excellence in the vineyard and winery. The attention to detail and refusal to cut corners are obvious in all her wines.”
Mount Horrocks are now ‘A grade certified’ organic and biodynamic, one of only two wineries locally to do so. As all fruit is hand-picked and gently handled, fining is unnecessary, meaning all the wines are suitable for vegans and vegetarians. Having overseen the regeneration of the land, Stephanie believes this involves more than certification; it requires a different way of thinking. Classic, no-compromise winemaking combined with a fully integrated organic and biodynamic approach to growing and making sets Mount Horrocks Wines apart from the status quo.
Stephanie’s wines are designed with food in mind, emphasising structure and generous fruit flavours. She restricts production to no more than 2,500 cases each year to achieve her aims of quality and single-vineyard expression.
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