By Farr Viognier 2023

Product Information:

One of, if not the best Viogniers in the country. The By Farr viognier comes from two family owned vineyards. The first is the original house block, planted in 1994, which is friable red soil over limestone leading to sandstone—similar soils to the Sangreal pinot noir and By Farr chardonnay. The second vineyard is a younger planting of unknown clones in red ironstone soil. 

The wine has a lovely perfumed, yet subtle expression of viognier. Fresh peach and apricot flavours as a young wine, which we believe will intensify over time. The palate is restrained, luscious and shows a ginger-flavoured freshness with underlying power and lingering aftertaste. This wine benefits beautifully from 12 months of bottle ageing, as the acid softens. Compelling stuff.

Viognier can be a challenging to work with, as winemaker Nick states, the trick is to catch the variety when it's just on the cusp of ripeness to achieve a balance of equal parts flavour and fine minerality through the finished wine. All in all Nick is super excited about the fruit and the wines they are becoming, yet it is the smallest vintage since 2002!

For vinification the Viognier is foot stomped and left for two or more hours on its skins to extract the phenols, flavour and texture. The fruit is then pressed, cooled and put straight into barrel with all solids for a natural fermentation. Gentle stirring during the end of autumn encourages malolactic fermentation, which softens the finish by converting the tart malic acid to lactic acid. The wine is then racked, fined and filtered. It is ready to be bottled 11 months after harvest.

Maker:

The Farr Family established the By Farr brand in 1994, on a north-facing slope in the township of Bannockburn, Moorabool Valley. The original wines included Chardonnay by Farr, Viognier by Farr, Shiraz by Farr, and Pinot Noir by Farr, now known as Sangreal by Farr. With the help of Cassie and Nick, the vineyards have expanded to neighbouring properties, resulting in greater expression of the single-site wines. The wines of By Farr are renowned for their complexity, layered structure and undeniable length, making them highly regarded by both consumers and critics worldwide. The Farr estate is located in the Moorabool Valley, between Geelong and Ballarat, 100km southwest of Melbourne. Gary and Robyn Farr purchased the original property in 1994, followed by a second section in 1998, which had been untouched for almost 40 years. The final piece of the puzzle, linking the two blocks of land, was purchased by Nick and Cassie Farr in 2011, totaling 130 acres. Nick and Gary Farr each have their own winemaking style, which has resulted in their respective lines - By Farr by Gary and Farr Rising by Nick - receiving critical acclaim both in Australia and overseas.

Vineyard:

The viognier is a difficult variety to manage as it has a tendency to grow horizontally rather than vertically, it needs a lot of water and can become sunburnt very easily. Because of this they have decided to pick the fruit earlier in the past few years in order to retain its natural acidity, ensuring it maintains varietal character and creating a more delicate and refined wine.

After three solid years of rain the team had hoped for some different growing conditions for the 2023 season. Unfortunately not the case! A cool and wet Spring in 2022 meant that there was severe disease pressure and constant canopy management required up until Christmas. Because of the two previous growing seasons the team was well aware of what was required and did an amazing job once again. Crop levels certainly seemed below average because of the cool and windy conditions, particularly in the chardonnay sites.

With frequent rain events throughout January and early February the ripen period was making little progress until they finally saw extended days into weeks of dryer and warmer weather. The welcome relief started to reveal signs of delicate, super fine flavours, driven by high acidities.

The first day of picking was set for the 16th March, they hedged their bets and picked a little Chardonnay from the Cooper block and a couple of tons of Pinot from the Windmill block. With acidity still quite high and looking for balance of flavours they decided to not pick again until the 20th March. The final harvest was at Bannockburn on the 6th April, and Irrewarra fruit on the 14th April.  All in all Nick is are super excited about the fruit and the wines they are becoming, yet it is the smallest vintage since 2002!

Nose - Fresh Peach, White Flowers, Light Char
Beautifully fragrant aroma of honey, apricot, creamy lees and tropical flowers, jasmine included.

Palate - Luscious, Energetic, Ginger Spice
The palate is restrained, luscious and shows a ginger-flavoured freshness with underlying power.

Finish - Saline, Mouth-watering, Chalk
A lingering aftertaste, saline-almost, all fruit and stones, spice and steel. Satisfying.

The Finer Details
Style - White Wine
Varietal - Viognier
Country - Australia
Region - Geelong, Victoria
Vintage - 2023
Bottle Size - 750ml
ABV - 13%