I read in one of Jancis’s books that Vermentino ‘seems to benefit from proximity to the sea,’ which got me off on a tangent trying to think of who and what doesn’t enjoy the ocean? Mild steel is probably not much of a fan, nor are your car windscreen wipers… people of English pedigree can be quickly wounded and if you happen to be a leftover hot chip on a foreshore bench, your chances are slim. Luckily for us, McLaren Vale is bordered by one the most beautiful coastlines you’ll ever see, and the vineyard where this wine was grown is on the flat expanse directly to its east.

Making or drinking a wine with origins on the Island of Sardinia is always going to evoke a sense of anything but work, especially when it’s super fresh and full of zingy, citrus-like characters. It’s pretty much impossible to tame this varietal profile, or it was in 2014 anyway. It was destemmed back into its picking bins and soaked on skins at around 2C for a few days before being lightly pressed in the flash new bag press at MVW. The free run was transferred to a stainless tank where it fermented on lees for about 3 weeks, and post primary fermentation, the settled lees were sparged weekly with the intent of adding some texture throughout the mid palate

It’s been a wicked wine since mid-ferment, everyone around the winery loves ‘the verm’ and Charlie Roberts’s penchant for girls with fringes has, to this point, given us my favourite pack to match. If I’m obliged under journalistic integrity to disclose my involvement in this label, what are the guidelines when you ‘reallocate’ from the 5OS Project to your own label just prior to bottling? SG

Bottles made: 1150