New icon releases from Howard Park

Margaret River winery Howard Park has unveiled two 2020 vintage releases in its Icon Wines range, each named in honour of significant members of the Burch family.

The new releases include the 2020 Allingham Chardonnay and the 2020 A.S.W. Cabernet Shiraz, featuring premier fruit from the family’s Margaret River vineyards.

This is the ninth vintage release of the Allingham Chardonnay, first launched with the 2011 release as a flagship chardonnay to sit alongside another Icon Wine – the Abercrombie Cabernet Sauvignon.

Its namesake Muriel Allingham was the much-beloved grandmother of Howard Park founder Jeff Burch.

First planted in 2004, the Allingham vineyard is located at Karridale in the region’s south, with subsequent plantings including the cool climate Dijon and Gin Gin clones.

The Burch family purchased the Allingham site in 2014 after a long history of using its fruit for its top chardonnays.

“Having only just stepped my foot in the door as the Allingham Chardonnay 2020 was being blended and bottled, I’m excited to see this wine make its way out the door,” said Howard Park chief winemaker Nic Bowen.

“The season produced white wines with bright primary fruit aromatics and a depth of fruit character to handle the layered complexity of the style.

“This wine, in particular, will continue to develop into a poised, elegant and complex chardonnay over time,”

Individual parcels from the Allingham site were quickly cooled, hand sorted, and then whole bunch pressed to extract the finest free run juice.

After minimal settling, the juice was allowed to ferment naturally in French oak, of which 30 per cent was new and composed of barriques, hogsheads and puncheons.

Fermentation temperature was between 18 ̊C to 24 ̊C, and the lees were stirred weekly from later during fermentation until dry.

The separate parcels matured on their yeast lees for ten months and, during this time, underwent malolactic conversion. The wine was blended to tank and received minimal fining and filtration before bottling.

The 2020 A.S.W. Cabernet Shiraz marks the fourth release of this iconic Australian wine blend. It is named in honour of Amy Burch’s parents, Alex Stephen Wee and Annie Sheila Wee, as an acknowledgement of the input from Amy and her family to the establishment and continuation of Howard Park Wines.

The blend is a departure from the traditional Margaret River blending recipe of cabernet and other Bordeaux grape varieties such as merlot.

“The reds from 2020 show incredible promise with the A.S.W. showcasing a harmonious balance of opulence and richness with fresh, vibrant red fruit drive and silky texture,” sad Bowen.

“There’s still plenty of room for this wine to spread its wings, but it is exciting to open now as one of the first Icon Wine reds I’ve had the opportunity to blend with our winemaking team.”

Fruit for the A.S.W. Cabernet Shiraz is sourced from the Leston Vineyard, which the Burch family has been developing for decades, with only the finest parcels selected for the blend.

Upon receiving the fruit in the winery, cabernet parcels are fermented in static fermenters fitted with heading down boards to maintain a submerged cap and gentle extract of flavour and tannins.

The shiraz parcels are fermented in four-tonne open fermenters with pneumatic pigeage and are retained on skins at the end of fermentation for several weeks. They are matured separately in French oak for 18 months before blending, and another two months élevage in American oak afterwards.

Both wines are very limited in quantity and available from select fine wine retailers, Howard Park’s Margaret River Cellar Door and online from Burch Family Wines Online Cellar Door.