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Description
This is Jono Koerner’s tribute to his dad, Anthony - aka Albert - who planted Vermentino on the family’s Watervale vineyard back in 2009, well before it became the cool white of the moment. The grape’s taken to Clare like a duck to water: tough, drought-hardy, and full of personality when grown on these limestone soils.
The 2024 vintage saw warm, steady ripening through summer, and Jono’s taken that generous fruit and built a wine with real texture and charm. It’s all free-run juice, wild fermented in old oak, with full malolactic and no fining or filtration. Kept on lees for nine months, it’s plush and layered but still lifted by that classic Watervale acidity and a lovely hit of saline minerality.
This is a step up from your usual easy-drinking Vermentino - more savoury, more detailed - but still super approachable. One of the best Australian examples of the variety kicking around right now.
94 points
"Sea spray and oyster shell with lime, green melon and pomelo. Briny, zesty and mouth-filling—this salty white is party-starting gear."
- Katrina Butler (Halliday Wine Companion)
