Billy Button
Jo Marsh is not a box ticker. She embraces every task with great expectation and seeks out the path less travelled. With a focus on alternate varietals, Jo produces an astounding array of wines, which, including cellar door only wines, comprises over 20 different varietals, some in miniscule quantities. Working closely with local growers, Jo has helped to breathe new life into this tiny wine region, and shine a light on the breadth and depth of the grape varietal variation that we have in Australia. Jo follows no rule book, she believes in doing what’s best for the wine, polishing and perfecting, highlighting the fruit and sculpting the palate so the wine flows through the mouth with texture and interest.
Friulano originates from the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region of NorthEast Italy. (It also goes by the names of Sauvignon Vert and Sauvignonasse.) Jo’s interest in this white variety began in 2013 when she experienced it for the first time while working at Feathertop. She was intrigued by the intensity of flavour combined with a fantastic texture, and she knew there and then that she wanted to play with the variety even more.
Initially sourced in 2020 as a replacement after the summer bushfires left all Alpine Valleys fruit destroyed by smoked taint, the winemaking team were hooked and this Friulano, sourced from the Whitlands (a stones throw from where we sourced our Riesling) is now a Billy Button staple – this is the second release of wine made from this true cool climate site sitting at 780m above sea level and with snow in the winter. This King Valley Friulano is quite different from previous releases when it was sourced from Porepunkah.
Vintage Snapshot
A cool season has delivered a wine with lovely aromatics and favours of "green fruit salad”.
Production Notes
Handpicked, the fruit was cooled right down before processing. The fruit was whole bunch pressed to stainless steel and settled overnight before racking. Inoculated with selected yeast and fermented cool and slow. Sulphured on completion of ferment, the wine was held on yeast lees and given the occasional stir to build texture. Filtered and bottled in November 2022.
Tasting Notes
The palate has a lovely cool climate appeal, with the crunch of the tropical green fruit carrying through. Hints of kiwi berries and subtle citrus peel linger. An interesting wine to watch as it ages.
Optimal Drinking Window - now until 2032
Technical details
Vineyard: Whitlands Plateau Vineyard
Region: King Valley
Alcohol: 11.3%
Winemaker: Jo Marsh and Glenn James
Reviews
"Lives up to its name in texture and flavour. Juicy fruited nose of pear, white peaches and a kick of lemony zing, followed through with firm grapefruit freshness. Wonderfully ripe with melon, pear, white peaches and an underlying minerality." Herald Sun, November 2023
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