2026 Texture Like Sun
Released each spring in clear glass with nothing to hide: parcels of fermenting juice from other Ochota wines, blended for the result rather than the parts. The name comes from ‘Golden Brown’ by The Stranglers, the song Taras and Amber danced to at their wedding.
- Pinot Noir, Grenache, Gewürztraminer, Gamay and Meunier, blended from ferments meant for other Ochota wines.
- About 40% whole bunch, 12 days on skins, four months in old French barriques.
- Bright, juicy and supple: red fruit, damson and cassis over fine tannins.
- Grapes
- Pinot Noir 30%, Grenache 24%, Gewürztraminer 23%, Gamay 15%, Pinot Meunier 8%
- Vineyards
- Wait, McLaren Vale (Grenache); Eureka, Adelaide Hills (Gamay, Gewürztraminer); Chapel Valley, Adelaide Hills (Pinot Noir); Uva, Adelaide Hills (Meunier)
- Vine age
- 40 years on average
- Soil
- Mostly ironstone and gravel in red clay
- Alcohol
- 12.2%
- pH
- 3.49
- Total acidity
- 5.6 g/L
- Production
- 295 cases
Winemaking
Hand picked and cold soaked for a few days, then wild fermented in small open-top fermenters with about 40% whole bunches. Hand plunged several times a day for 12 days, basket pressed to old French barriques and aged four months. Amber chose the barrels for the blend, settled it in tank and bottled with a small sulphite addition and a pad filtration. No fining.
Tasting Notes
Bright red fruit and damson up front, with a darker note of cassis and a savoury, cedary edge. Soft and juicy through the middle, held together by fine tannins, finishing long and fleshy. A wine to open anywhere, from a picnic to the dinner table.
Critics
- James Suckling: 93 points (2025)
Distributed in Australia by Principal Wine.