1999 Djinta Djinta Semillon

The Djinta Djinta winery is located at Kardella in South Gippsland, and is owned and operated by Peter Harley and his wife Helen. The vines were planted in 1991 on East and North facing slopes on brown and grey loam soils. Unlike many new entrants into the wine industry, the Harleys have been patient with wine development, allowing their vines to grow slowly without the aid of irrigation. Yields are miniscule, with crops at a tiny one tonne per acre - (that is very low indeed). Peter Harley has completed his Bachelor of Applied Science at Charles Sturt University and is responsible for winemaking.

The Djinta Djinta whites are very interesting in that even with their very low yields they are very austere wines which display very high levels of acidity. The 1999 Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Marsanne should be drinking near their peak, but are in fact far from it and it will be at least 3-4 years before they begin to blossom. We believe the Harleys should hold back their wines for at least 5 years from vintage and release them onto the market as mature wines. We realise this may not be viable especially when considering the costs associated with cellaring 5 vintages - quite prohibitive to a small winemaker. In the meantime, the wines are very interesting for Wine & Food Societies and people with good cool cellars that will allow these wines to evolve and display their potential complexity.

Bright straw colour, with slightly green hue. The nose is just beginning to show some developed bottle maturation characteristics over a grassy, herbal background, with green tea end notes. The palate is dry, herbaceous, with green tea flavours emerging over a very distinct lemon end note. Very crisp acid finish, followed by a long honey and lemon aftertaste.
Cellar 4-5 years (2006-2007)

RATING: 88/100

VALUE: XXX/5