Koerner - 'Pigato' Vermentino, Clare Valley, Australia (2022)

TASTING NOTES

Pure, fresh and vibrant. Subtle white spice and ginger on the nose but the palate is all vibrant stone fruit, peach iced-tea, soft tannins and well integrated acidity. A perfect introduction to skin contact wines.

100% Skin contact Vermentino from Terra Rossa, red clay on limestone soils in the Koerner Gullyview Vineyard, Clare Valley. Hand harvested and sorted in vineyard, destemmed while retaining ~ 50% whole berries. 

20 days on skins followed by a natural fermentation in open top steel fermenters, hand plunged twice daily and settled off gross lees for 7 days and then in steel for 7 months with no fining or filtration

Brothers, Damon and Jono Koerner, are wine lovers from way back. They grew up in the Clare Valley but have since spent time working and living around Australia and overseas. They make wine from the Clare Valley and Adelaide Hills, under three different brands – Koerner Wine, LEKO Wine and Brothers Koerner. They work with both traditional and unique varieties and focus on staying honest to the variety and the vineyard.

Koerner Wine was established in 2014 with the intent to make unique wine from the Clare Valley. The wines are mainly produced from their family vineyard, Gullyview. They also source fruit from neighbouring vineyards, Parish and Vivian. All fruit is grown within a 750m radius. With a focus on fruit quality and transparent winemaking, thier wines are textural and approachable, light, fresh, and ultimately easy drinking.

Their winemaking philosophy is simple – to make wines that reflect their place in the world, wines that are made in the vineyard. They believe the date of picking is the most crucial part of the process. Once the grapes make their way to the winery they work with each batch individually.

An understanding of terroir and the individual varieties enables them to produce unique wines using nothing but the grapes and a small amount of sulphur. They are currently implementing organic practices within their vineyards.