Forester Estate

Margaret River Georgette Sparkling Brut 2022

Grape variety - 100% Chardonnay. Oak maturation - None. Colour - Pale straw with green tinges. Aroma - Rich with a complex bouquet. The wine opens with intense yeast autolysis characters of brioche and nougat. There are also underlying characters of fennel and lime with a hint of toastiness. Palate - Long and rich with a creamy texture balanced by fine acidity. Rich autolysis characters of nougat and cream lead the way with underlying hay, fennel and citrus. Food matches- Ideal as a match with aperitifs, seafood, cheese or lightly flavoured poultry. Peak drinking - Upon release however will develop more complexity with a further 3-5 years. Viticulture - The Chardonnay grapes used in the production of this wine are sourced from contracted growers in the northern Margaret River region. We pick small parcels earlier than the remaining fruit used to make our still table wines, principally to maintain the higher natural fruit acidity necessary for quality sparkling wine. These small parcels are required to be handpicked to reduce phenolic extraction from broken berry skins. Winemaking - The Chardonnay fruit is gently pressed off skins with a series of press fractions going to separate holding tanks for later assessment. The juice is settled bright and fermented cold with a neutral yeast strain in stainless steel. No malolactic fermentation takes place, so as to obtain a finer, tighter acid structure. The wine was then bottled on the 10th of June 2022 with a dose of active yeast and sugar (known as ‘tirage’) to encourage the secondary ferment. The bottle ferment lasts approximately six weeks after which the tirage sparkling wine rests in storage for three years gaining complexity from contact with the yeast lees. When deemed to be balanced and with sufficient autolysis character, we send the bottles for riddling and disgorging where the yeast plug is removed and the cork inserted. This wine was disgorged on the 6th of June 2025. Storage Bottling - The unique nature of this sparkling wine is that bottling occurs as part of the winemaking process early in the wine’s life. In the case of the Georgette, the final disgorging and packaging process occurs three years after the wine is first put to bottle. Heavy grade sparkling glass, stylish labeling and the traditional white hood of the Forester brand complete the elegant package.