Allies
Mornington Peninsula (Vic)
The Story
A former Chef and Sommelier, David Chapman began Allies in 2003, whilst working at Moorooduc Estate. The first wine was just a few barrels of Pinot Noir from a vineyard around the corner in Tuerong. Today, there is a bit more but the quantity is limited by the number of acres David is able to manage by himself. His mission is to handcraft rich, silky and perfumed Pinot Noir, showcasing the diversity of the beautiful Mornington Peninsula through wines taken from different townships.
The Approach
David works intensively in the vineyard, ensuring that each bunch is perfectly positioned and exposed to achieve ripe, pure flavours and supple tannins. Winemaking is intentionally careful and is guided by a philosophy that when just ripe, the grape is perfect and any intervention has the potential to make it less so. The grapes are rigorously sorted both in the vineyard and winery, cold soaked for a few days, fermented warm, then remain on skins until the tannins are supple.
Nothing is added unless absolutely necessary and any processes that may take away from the concentration and character of the wine are eschewed. So, no stems, no added yeasts, no ferment supplements, natural Malolactic fermentations and never any fining or filtration.