d'Arenberg The Stump Jump White 2002

Since 1912 the Osborn family have tended the 19th century vineyards at their d'Arenberg Winery located in McLaren Vale, South Australia. The Osborns are proud to release The Stump Jump range of premium McLaren Vale wines, so named as the land for many of the region's old vineyards was originally cleared using the Stump Jump plough. This South Australian invention enabled the ploughshare to jump over the gnarled "mallee" Eucalypt roots, saving valuable time and resources.The Stump Jump white from the 2000 vintage is based on the Riesling (75%) and Marsanne (25%) grape varieties. d'Arenberg was the first winery in McLaren Vale to plant Marsanne, the origins of which can be traced back to the Northern Rhone Valley in France. Marsanne, being a full bodied, characterful variety, is a terrific blending partner with aromatic varieties with high natural acidity, such as Roussanne, Viognier and in this case, Riesling.Following harvesting in the cool of the night and gentle crushing by our open mouthed, rubber toothed "Demoisy" crusher, the Stump Jump Riesling Marsanne was lightly pressed by d'Arenberg's 19th century "Coq" and "Bromley & Tregoning" basket presses to ensure the gentle extraction of color and flavor. Fermentation in temperature controlled stainless steel vats ensured the fresh varietal fruit characters were retained in the wine.The result is a fresh, lively dry white that displays a herbaceous lime citrus palate and a crisp finish.