Arguably the best Sauvignon Blanc in Australia
Since its inception, Flowstone Wines has doggedly focused on delivering crafted, beautiful Sauvignon Blanc from Margaret River. The first release of Flowstone Sauvignon Blanc in 2011 was judged the best Sauvignon Blanc in Australia by Halliday Wine Companion, and the accolades and quality focus have continued since that day. This is demonstrated by the fact that the 2017, 2018, and 2020 Flowstone Queen of the Earth Sauvignon Blancs received the same Top Rated Sauvignon Blanc Halliday award, which is no small feat given the volume of Sauvignon Blanc grown in Australia. In the last Wine Australia vintage report 2024 Sauvignon Blanc was the fourth largest varietal crushed, up 4%.
Despite the volume of domestic Sauvignon Blanc wine now being made, and not forgetting the contributions of our kiwi cousins, there continues to be some great examples available. Our most recent Sauvignon Blanc wines, the 2022 Flowstone and 2022 Queen of the Earth Sauvignon Blanc continued with high praise and accolades. Critic Jane Faulkner noting:
“A powerhouse of wine and regularly one of the best SBs from Margaret River. It’s complex with juicy acidity matched to a textural palate, lots of stone fruit and citrus, a touch of feijoa and freshly cut herbs plus some smoky sulphides. The palate feels tight, yet there’s a succulence throughout, and it opens, revealing expansive flavour. It is an excellent drink with or without food.
Jane Faulkner – Halliday Wine Companion – 02 September 2024, 96 points.
So why so much focus on Sauvignon Blanc and how has the Flowstone Sauvignon Blanc style evolved over the last decade? We asked Stuart and Janice to answer the most common questions.
- What do you love about Sauvignon Blanc and why do you love producing this style
Sauvignon Blanc is always exacting and demanding, in the vineyard or winery. If you are diligent and pay attention to detail in the vineyard, your winemaking techniques and skills allow you to build complexity in the wine whilst preserving varietal character. Perfect ripeness is critical to wine quality, subject to climatic factors daily – things which are easy to miss, and difficult to nail.
- What makes your Sauvignon Blanc unique and describes the style you produce
Our vineyard is in a climatic sweet spot for Sauvignon Blanc at the cooler southern end of the Margaret River region where the cooling breezes of the Southern and Indian Oceans converge to moderate summer temperatures. Combined with deep gravel loam soils, old vines, and moderate yields, the vineyard consistently delivers Sauvignon Blanc with a perfect balance of potent fruit notes, florals, and sweet herbs. The fruit weight is always substantial, allowing for a complex wine style. Fermentation includes high juice solids, a touch of whole bunches and indigenous yeast to build wine structure and complexity without distracting from the purity of the Sauvignon Blanc varietal notes.
- 100% Sauvignon Blanc – not a blend
Margaret River is well known for blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, either in the fresh, bright fruit-driven style or the more complex oak-matured style that mimics Bordeaux Blanc. Semillon certainly brings a structural element to these blends that facilitates aging, allowing the wines to live beyond a few years. However, it also brings a boniness that can dominate. This is a style we are not chasing with Flowstone.
If your Sauvignon Blanc is well grown, picked at the right time, and deftly vinified, it can do it on its own. We have chosen to tread this path because we are confident in our vineyard and our ability to make the most of our fruit through the winemaking process.
- How do you approach the winemaking process? What are the traits you like to see in your wines, how do you achieve this in the vineyard and winery, and other key focuses and inspirations?
The winemaker’s role is custodial, preserving and subtly embellishing what the vineyard has grown. All our winemaking techniques, from whole fruit pressing, spontaneous fermentation in big old oak and ceramic eggs, and a lengthy maturation on lees, are simple and gentle. Big oak barrels with really thick (54mm) staves are important to our ultimate wine style and delivery. Big barrels mean the oak-to-wine ratio is heavily weighed to more wine with less oak, so less “oaky ” flavours and oaky tannins. Thick staves also mean less evaporation of wine and ingress of air into the barrel over time which serves to keep the wine varietally preserved and fresh while allowing for the development of complex flavours and textures from the fermentation and maturation processes.
- Your own winemaking influences and vision
A visit to Sancerre and Pouilly Fume in 2004 showed us Sauvignon Blanc does not have to be brash and in your face; it can have poise, subtlety, good flavour, complexity, refinement and longevity. Our gentle winemaking approach to fine-quality fruit delivers just that. The Flowstone Sauvignon Blanc is our journey in discovering and displaying a sophisticated Margaret River/Australian Sauvignon Blanc.
- Does your style change with each vintage? Or has your winemaking process evolved over the vintages? Maturing vines, changes in climate, any big learnings when working with these varieties.
The single vineyard source of Flowstone Sauvignon Blanc is now 25 years old and confidently yields high-quality grapes from vintage to vintage that set our wine’s tone and style. Nevertheless, minor tweaks to accommodate annual seasonal variations and lessons from previous vintages are always in play. In the winery, ceramic egg-shaped vessels companion demi muids for fermentation and maturation. The eggs contribute a delicate mineral note to the wine and support our philosophy of preserving and enhancing varietal expression in wine. We can also do regulated skin contact fermentation in the eggs to add yet another flavour and textural element to our wines. This gives a slightly “wildish ” note to the aroma, texture and flavour of the wine.
Flowstone v Queen of the Earth – what is the difference?
The grape growing and winemaking is largely the same. The selection happens in the vineyard. The soil structure and profile within Margaret River vineyards can vary significantly from deep lateritic gravels to sandy topsoil over a clay base and many iterations in between. This means that over time in a vineyard, the influence of these soil differences will manifest in fruit quality and suitability to the wine you are crafting. Queen of the Earth has consistently come from a selection in the vineyard that grows at the top of the slope in deep gravel loam soils. As we move down the slope, the soils are lighter and show a greater content of sandy loam which is more free draining. So really, we are saying style, quality and suitability are determined by the vineyard site and our ability to identify and define.
- How is the Flowstone Sauvignon Blanc best enjoyed?
To savour and enjoy the layers, textures and subtleties in flavour and aroma of Flowstone and Queen of the Earth Sauvignon Blanc, give yourself plenty of time and surround yourself with Sauvignon Blanc lovers.
A glass with a narrow opening will retain the potent fruit notes, delicate florals and herbs and channel all the pleasure to the middle of your palate.
Drink at 15-17 degrees C for complete organoleptic appreciation or between 10-12 degrees C for outright drinking pleasure.
- Food pairings
The classic pairing that takes us back to Sancerre and indulges our love of goat’s cheese. Try a Crottin de Chavignol with fresh asparagus and broad beans. Otherwise, a roasted beetroot salad with basil, walnuts, and Persian feta – yet another goat’s cheese!
Want to read more about our Sauvignon Blanc story? Stuart shares his vision for making serious Sauvignon Blanc.