Winemaker: Bart van Olphen

Farming: Sustainable

Varieties: 50% Vermentino, 21% Pecorino, 12% Ribolla Gialla, 10% Falanghina, 4% Moscato Giallo, 3% Fiano

Terroir: East facing sloped site, 150-170m elevation planted on iconic red Cambrian soil of northern Heathcote. Well ventilated, warm site with sustainable farming practices and a focus on soil health and balanced vines.

Winemaking: Hand-picked, whole bunch pressed and co-fermented on full solids. Wild ferment, temperature controlled, maturation in stainless steel with 6 months on lees. Vegan friendly.

Tasting Notes: A co-fermented blend pulling the best qualities from six white Italian varieties imported by Chalmers, from their Heathcote vineyard. The aromatics combine citrus, florals, and orchard fruit in the form of grapefruit, passionflower, yellow apple, and finger lime. Dry and bright, but with a light textural grip on the finish.

From our 2022 Explorer Club Release:

Chalmers | Montevecchio Bianco Field Blend | Heathcote, Australia | 2020

Tucked into the southeastern Australian mainland, Victoria is the country's smallest state, and also its most climatically diverse winemaking region. The wine industry has been a mainstay here since the 1800s, and today it boasts more individual wineries than any other region in Australia! Victoria is home to twenty-one appellations (known as Geographical Indications), producing everything from crisp, tense whites to sticky, sweet dessert wines.

With their dedication to vine experimentation over the last 30 years, the Chalmers family has spearheaded the charge to continuously push the boundaries of what Australian winemaking can be. They have amassed a critical nursery of vines from France, Spain and Italy, providing a significant amount of plant material to vineyards across the country. But it wasn't until the early 2000s that Chalmers ventured into winemaking themselves. After a few vintages of experimenting, they came to feel that their Italian varieties produced the best wines in the hotter and drier conditions of the Heathcoate GI, roughly 110 miles north of Melbourne.

While the family does produce a line of single-variety wines under their namesake label, their second 'Montevecchio' label is an ode to the light-hearted simplicity of fresh, delicious Italian table wines. Drawn from their 80 hectares of sustainably-grown Italian vines in Heathcoate, the Bianco Field Blend brings together grapes that one would not find jumbled together anywhere in Italy, but somehow work perfectly when planted together Down Under. 50% Vermentino, 21% Pecorino, 12% Ribolla Gialla, 10% Falanghina, 4% Moscato Giallo and 3% Fiano are co-fermented in stainless steel, with 6 months of lees aging before release.

This wine is just GULPABLE. Fragrant, fresh, and fruity, it shows notes of white peach, cut red apple and zesty grapefruit. It is crisp yet giving on the palate with a clean dry finish. Enjoy it extra chilled with a summer spread and lots of sunblock on! — Simi Grewal