Battle of Bosworth Sauvignon Blanc 2023

Battle of Bosworth was established in 2001 by Joch Bosworth and Louise Hemsley-Smith. The wines take their name from the original Battle of Bosworth, fought on Bosworth Field, Leicestershire, England in 1485. The roots of the Bosworth family’s battle were planted in the early 1850’s with their first vineyard in McLaren Vale. The modern day Battle of Bosworth saw the conversion of ‘Edgehill’ vineyard to organic viticulture by Joch Bosworth in 1995.

Joch and Louise have been growing their grapes organically for 21 years this year. Joch's vision saw him convert 24 acres of vines to organic viticulture in 1995. In 1999 they gained their organic certification from ACO P/L (Australian Certified Organic). This process represented a big leap of faith in many regards, not least because in those days 'organic' was not the buzzword it is today. Their vineyards were the first in McLaren Vale to achieve organic certification, too, and they were the very first winery to release an organic wine. Hats off, Joch.

Making our Sauvignon Blanc has the whiff of a military operation about it. We need to pick the grapes early as we want to preserve the delicate aromatics of the grapes and not lose them. Joch always says with our Savvy that if the grapes on the vine taste of pineapple, we have left it too late. So, we make a lightning strike and pick in the cool of the night just as the grapes are beginning to take on the very faintest hint of the tropics. The key to the winemaking side of the Sauvignon Blanc is cool fermentation, so we ferment in stainless steel tanks which we can chill down. We don’t want the ferment to get up a head of steam and get hot. Our SB doesn’t spend any time in oak, although it does sit ‘sur lie’ (little bit of French for you there) which means it spends some time on the lees (yeast cells and grape solids; part and parcel of fermentation). Time spent on lees helps scavenge any oxygen – which helps preserve the wine, and adds some complexity and mouthfeel.

The SB smells of cut grass, a hint of passionfruit and lantana. The palate is zippy with a very slight tropical and citrus palate. Absolutely nothing like a Kiwi SB, but then it’s a McLaren Vale organic Savvy B….. one of the best we have made, Joch and Nairn think.

vineyards, Braden's, Edgehill and Wilcadene