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2009 had sufficient winter rains that set up the vines well with good canopies, particularly in the Adelaide Hills. December and January were very cool with the exception of a few hot days. Mild weather followed allowing the vines to recover from a brief heat spell and finish ripening in low stress conditions.
72% Viogniner and 28% Marsanne.
The nose is expressive and rich with orange peel, candied ginger, apricot, and citrus notes. The Marsanne shows itself in the peach and nutty complexity which is married nicely with an appealing straw like vegetal character. The palate has a lovely balance of sweetness, palate weight, and acidity. Lemon and lime characters are prominent on the palate with a lively granny smith apple acidity providing great focus. With some bottle age the stone fruit notes become more prominent with less emphasis on the citrus spectrum.
"Very pretty, with floral, passion fruit and pineapple aromas and flavors up front, settling into a nice apricot silkiness on the finish."
90 Points
Wine Spectator
"Chester Osborn named this wine after the hermit who gave his name to Hermitage and the hermit crabs that live on the beach in McLaren Vale. Tasted blind it started a discussion about crab-meat soup dumplings at Grand Sichuan in New York, and lobster rolls in Maine. So there is something to the name-a friendly, party style of white that will get any hermit out of his shell-especially if there's crab to match the wine's creamy, lush peachy flavors."
Wine & Spirits
