CASTELLI ESTATE
In 2004, the Castelli’s dream of a family-owned winery became a reality when, upon the slopes of Mt Shadforth, the Castelli Estate property was purchased - A 120 acre farm which overlooks Wilson’s Inlet, Mt. Lindesay and the lush countryside around Denmark.
The property was acquired with a semi-complete winery which, with the family’s extensive construction and engineering experience, was later completed in 2006. With a strong commitment to quality, the next twelve months were spent putting together a highly talented winemaking team.
The Castelli family enticed winemakers Mike Garland and Andrew Hoadley to come on board in what were the beginnings of one of today’s most promising Western Australian boutique wine brands. Through our dedicated winemaking team’s extensive experience, the sourcing of the state’s best fruit and the family’s passion and commitment to quality, Castelli Estate’s wines hold the promise of something special. With our name on every bottle, we are proud to bring you what is synonymous with the Castelli name: a passion for wines that are made with a relentless commitment to quality.
SEASON NOTES
We have been blessed in recent years with outstanding vintages and the 2020 was no exception. For the first time in many years there were above average winter and spring rainfalls, this combined with excellent weather over flowering allowed for even canopy development and ripening across all varieties. An excellent red gum blossom also meant that there was little disease pressure from bird damage. Chardonnay and Riesling were the outstanding white varieties of the vintage with exquisite balance of flavour and acid.
VINEYARD SELECTION
The choice of vineyards for this project stemmed after being impressed from the outstanding minerality displayed from these vineyards over several vintages. The vineyards and rows (Mendoza and 7 clones) were carefully selected for this wine with its intended structure and style in mind. Careful attention was given to crop load, airflow and light penetration without exposure. Overall vineyard balance was the driving factor. The fruit was hand-picked over three separate ripeness levels.
WINEMAKING
The hand-picked fruit was chilled overnight to 5 º C then whole bunch pressed directly to barrel (NTU >300). Various yeast cultures (VL2, CY3079, and indigenous) were used. Approximately half of the ferment was conducted by indigenous yeast. The wine was fermented in approx 40% new tight grain French barriques (low toast) under controlled temperature conditions. Regular, non-oxidative, lees stirring was also employed to develop mouthfeel and structure. Bottling was conducted in late November when the oak/fruit balance was at its optimum.
TASTING NOTE
Our aim in attempting a wine as bold as this was to create a wine we believed could represent the style best suited to the cool climate of Denmark, and specifically the unique properties of these two vineyards. Inspired by the modernist Grand Cru producers of Chablis (e.g. Domaine Servin), in particular from the areas of Le Clos and Blanchot. It was the vineyard that basically drove the direction of this wine, with the level of flavor intensity governing the amount of oak and winemaking influence. We harvested a portion of the wine at "sparkling base” levels in order to provide a backbone for the other components of the blend. The other portions were picked at the optimum flavor profile, whilst always keeping in mind the overall balance. 100% fermentation on full solids (direct from the press) has provided an array of flavours and complexity that intertwines in and around the solid core.
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WINERY RATING |
James Halliday, Australian Wine Companion 2015 |
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