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Toolangi’s F Block is a one-hectare plot perched on the highest, easternmost sector of the 11-hectare Dixon’s Creek vineyard. Nestled in the corner, within touching distance of the Toolangi State Forest to the northeast and in the afternoon shadow of a large hill to the south, it’s a well-sheltered plot. This position helps preserve the high levels of natural acidity critical to maintaining balance from a site famed for powerful flavour. The soils are shallow and rocky, with more white clay than lower down, which Kaspar Hermann credits with the wine’s sculpted, chalky personality. Yields are always low, rarely providing more than seven or eight barrels, and in this poor flowering year, Hermann had enough for just five. The 19-year-old vines are Gingin clone and produce thick-skinned, full-throated fruit with plenty of spicy nuance and phenolic structure.
F Block Chardonnay is Hermann’s favourite wine to make; he even prunes the block himself. Pressed as whole bunches to oak (20%) for fermentation with full solids, the wine underwent partial malolactic conversion (60%) and matured for nine months on lees in barrel before bottling. Once again, Hermann has struck an exciting balance between depth, texture and finesse. It’s a wonderfully aromatic Chardonnay, evoking floral-accented stone fruits, wispy reduction and a warming spice mix. The palate is fleshy and powerfully structured with a seam of salty minerals and citrus zest on the long, coiled, chalky finish. This is another formidable release for Kaspar & Co.