Brut Nature : Zero Dosage Vintage : 2011/2017 
 
This has been a very long time in the making!
Back in 2011 the Australian wine landscape was a very very different place, it was one of the hardest vintages to date (on par with the 2023 season, it feels like we’re so much better prepared these days compared to then). Natural wine hadn’t yet quite broken the foundations of conventional wine practice, it was a very very different time & place a simpler time about to be turned on its head.
 
I really wanted to produce a sparkling wine with a vision to celebrate our momentous 40 years of the vineyard (super long term stuff). Norm & Di my parents originally planted Pinot Noir for the young wine guru Trevor Mast to produce sparkling wine for his project ‘Mount Chalambar’ only one vintage of this cuvee was produced with our fruit way back in 1987 (we have one bottle left to enjoy on our 50th). 
 
I had always wanted to produce a sparkling from our fruit again, so a base was produced in 2011 whole bunch pressed straight to well seasoned French hogs heads for 3 years on full lees un disturbed. 2017 was another perfect opportunity to produce sparkling base from a cooler season, this time pressed into stainless steel for ferment & élevage for 18 months. Both wines were assembled & triaged in 2019 left on lees for 4 years in the cold cellars at Eastern Peake. Disgorged July 2023. I have kept base of this wine which went into the recently triaged 2011,17,21 sparkling thus creating a house style & will keep a portion of base each year to continue this as a house style. we’re absolutely stoked to releasing this wine, so excited to get it out. It’s been a long journey while this little batch of fizz has been patiently waiting hidden away in the cellar awaiting release. Enjoy.
 
 
Ballarat Sparkling Wine Triva!
 
1888 Ballarat Business man Hans Irvine travels to Great Western to buy Seppelts after the sudden death of Joseph Best in 1887. Already renown for fine wine production local & internationally, Hans wanted to fulfil his dream of replicating the style of champagne eventually popularising Australian sparkling wine (also keeping miners in a job post gold tunnelling out all the drives underground at the winery)
 
Did you know Yellowglen was based in Ballarat producing very fine sparkling wines would you believe! (named after a gold mine) Established in 1971 by Ian Holm - Melbourne bon vivant & Businessman. Who had the likes of a young Gary Farr (Bannockburn at the time) making the red wines & a young Neill Robb of Redbank/Sallys Paddock making the sparkling wines from his time under his Father who started Chateau Remy (Blue Pyrenees). Ian had a love for Champagne, realising his site could produce very high quality base wine for sparkling wine. He was convinced that his site in the Ballarat region was the place for Sparkling wine! In 1982 The wine industry got Quite the surprise when famed Dominique Landragin left Seppelts Great Western (huge sparkling production at the time) to join Ian Holm as a Business Partner & take the reins of Winemaker. Yellowglen became a success & continued to grow & grow & Grow in a very different direction.