Marsanne “Museum Release” 2017 – Tahbilk

Marsanne “Museum Release” Tahbilk is made in a reductive style – without contact with oxygen to preserve the fresh, fruity character. The Marsanne “Museum Release” Tahbilk fruit was destemmed, lightly crushed and cooled through a heat exchanger and pressed. The must was clarified and fermented with neutral yeasts at low temperatures of 10 to 12°C, fermenting at 0.5 to 1°Baume per day. The ferment stopped at 2 to 3 grams per litre residual sugar. The wine did not go through malolactic fermentation in order to retain its crisp character. It was then protein stabilised, cold stabilised, medium filtered, blended and bottled.

Tahbilk’s vineyards are grouped along the banks of the Goulburn River and an anabranch of it which flows through the estate. The water has a tempering influence on the climate. The vines are grown at approximately 134 metres elevation of gently undulating and flat terrain. The soils are sandy loam with ferric oxide content, which vary from very fine sand near the anabranch to denser loams on the plains. The vines planted prior to 1986 are on ARG rootstocks. They are trained on a single wire trellis with a mixture of head and cordon training, with cane pruning. Tahbilk’s vines are sustainably cultivated; composting and mulching takes place which improves soil health by promoting earthworm activity. Mulching helps to control weeds and conserves water, reducing vine stress. The grapes were hand-picked.