Elegant and with layered flavours and textures, this 'Bull Ant' Chardonnay from Lake Breeze Winery in Langhorne Creek, opens with tropical fruit and citrus aromatics. On the palate it offers white peach and cashew with carried by impressive structure on a long finish. Good fruit, aging in French oak and extended lees contact have crafted a wine with real depth and charm. A perfect match for fresh seafood—try it with the day's catch or salt and pepper squid.

About the Producer

Lake Breeze is located in Langhorne Creek, South Australia, where the Follett family has been farming grapes since the 1880s. The estate is situated on the banks of Lake Alexandrina and the vineyard benefits from the 'lake breeze'. Winemaker Greg Follett was brought up on the farm but left to study winemaking at Roseworthy before heading to make wine in California and France. He returned to his roots and in 1987 started making wine exclusively from the best 40 per cent of his old vine fruit. He rapidly built an enviable reputation for consistently producing outstanding wines and Lake Breeze is now one of the most awarded boutique wineries in Australia and has recently been awarded the accolade of being Halliday’s Best Value Winery 2022.

Vineyard and Winery

Langhorne Creek is situated South-East of Adelaide and is a premium viticultural region with cooling lake and ocean breezes. The Lake Breeze winery lies on the banks of the Bremer River overlooking the 90-hectare Follett family vineyard. Cool afternoon breezes from Lake Alexandrina help to create a surprisingly cool climate, which allows for a longer, more even ripening period. The fruit is carefully selected from old vines whose average age is between 55 and 60 years. They are cultivated on their own rootstocks in soils that are generally alluvial sandy loam with some parts over a clay base. As part of the Eco Vineyards programme, native insectary plants create a biodiverse ecosystem in and around the vineyards, which will in turn contribute towards biocontrol of vineyard pests and lead to the reduced use of chemicals. The vineyards are surrounded by striking, historically important gum trees that still bear the holes that were once dug out by the Aboriginal Australians which were carved into canoes to sail up the river. The Bull Ant depicted on the label refers to the ants that were discovered in the vineyard when it was first planted, their propensity for biting encouraged swift work in the vineyard!

50% of the fruit underwent natural fermentation in second and third-use French oak barriques, which was then matured in same barrels for nine months on gross lees, imbuing the wine with texture and complexity. 50% was tank fermented, followed by maturation in 3rd and 4th-use French oak for eight months. 15-20% underwent malolactic conversion.