Arlewood, Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2017

The Sauvignon Blanc was tank fermented; 20% of the Semillon was matured in new French oak barriques for 2 months.

Garry Gosatti established Arlewood in the Wilyabrup Valley of the Western Australia's Margaret River in 1999. Just a couple of miles from the Indian Ocean which bounds it on three sides, Arlewood benefits from the best of the region's landscape and climate. The ocean moderates extremes of temperature: a maritime climate providing for wet and stormy winters, with an annual rainfall of 1150mm, usually between April and October, and long, dry mild summers. In 2009 Arlewood acquired an established vineyard in Forest Grove, Witchcliffe, ten minutes south of the town of Margaret River, and made the move from Wilyabrup. The Forest Grove Estate is now Arlewood HQ. This area is much cooler and offers more freshness to the fruit. Another change is the appointment as winemaker of Bill Crappsley, something of a legend in Australian winemaking and who has been making the wines since the 2009 harvest.Arlewood's Cabernet Sauvignon remains their trump card, and the Sauvignon Semillon is always a charmer. The last couple of years have seen the addition of two new wines in the rich and opulent Roussanne Marsanne and the weighty yet seductive La Bratta. A favourite remains the Chardonnay of which just 200 cases were made in the 2007 vintage: rich, opulent and sensitively oaked, it offers lithe acidity and leesy texture. It is drinking well now but will continue to improve for at least another five years.