Arfion
Yarra Valley, Victoria.
Available in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales.
Dave 'Davebro' Mackintosh grew up in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, surrounded by farmers and other land-loving types. Hard-headed from birth, by the age of four he had announced to his mother that he wished to be a farmer and an artist. He wasn’t aware of it at the time, but his path to winemaking was already being paved. The obligatory stints in hospitality during his studies at university sparked a great interest in all things wine, particularly the finer details to be found when comparing wines from the same area and the same vintage and observing their starkly different personalities.
His first major break (Assistant Winemaker at Oyster Bay in New Zealand) taught him a lot—mostly about the changes he would make when it came to making his own wine. He left in 2006, to go to Brokenwood (where he met PJ Charteris) followed by Giant Steps (with Steve Flamsteed). These experiences, and the people within them, helped cast the foundation for Dave’s winemaking style. Inspired by his years in the Yarra with Steve, working across a plethora of different sites and soils, Arfion (‘our wine’ in Scottish Gaelic) was born in 2012.
Wine
Arfion Pinot Grigio
Variety
Pinot Grigio
Terroir
Sourced from the Yarra Station and Cahilton vineyards in the Lower Yarra Valley. The Cahilton site contributes the lion’s share (82%) and lies on a gentle, west-facing slope of ironstone-rich, grey/brown clay loams. The steeply sloped, south-facing Yarra Station site has soils rich in granite and grey clay with ironstone running throughout.
Vineyard
Yarra Station and Cahilton
Winemaking
The Cahilton fruit was picked early in the morning and immediately pressed to tank. The fermentation started slowly, and the Yarra Station fruit was pressed directly to the same tank a few days later. Fermentation went for 18 days, with a peak temperature of 22°C. The wine was stirred a couple of times and matured for a few months before bottling.
Arfion Spring Pinot
Variety
Pinot Noir
Terroir
Sourced from the Yarra Station and Cahilton vineyards of the lower Yarra Valley. Yarra Station (31%) sits on a mild north facing slope of granite and grey clay soils that have ironstone running throughout.
Vineyard
Yarra Station and Cahilton
Winemaking
The Cahilton fruit was picked early in the morning and destemmed straight to open fermenters. The Yarra Station was fermented as whole bunches with minimal work. At dryness, the batches were pressed together and aged at low temperatures without sulphur for all maturation. Racked, unfined and unfiltered to bottle. Minimal sulphur added 2 weeks prior to bottling.
Orders
For all order enquiries please get in touch.