Blanc de Blancs 2024 Sparkling

Tasting Notes 🍾

🔹 Appearance – Bright, pale yellow with a fine, persistent bead.

🔹 Aroma – Aromatic citrus notes of lemon and grapefruit, with a delicate floral hint of white blossoms, and toasted almonds and marzipan adding depth.

🔹 Palate – Creamy texture with preserved lemon flavours and a touch of minerality reminiscent of river rocks. Smooth, persistent acidity provides a fresh, clean finish.

🔹 Finish – A lingering citrus and almond note that stays with you, leaving a refreshing, elegant finish.

Winemaking

🔹 Bottled Early – To retain freshness and highlight the bright fruit character, this sparkling wine is bottled early, ensuring its youthful expression.

🔹 Geographe Region – Sourced from the Geographe region, known for its cool climate, perfect for preserving the fresh, vibrant flavours of Chardonnay.

🔹 Minimal Intervention – Crafted to showcase the natural fruit characteristics with minimal alteration during fermentation.

Serving Temperature

🔹 Ideal – 6-8°C

🔹 Why – Chilled to bring out the crisp citrus aromas and refreshing acidity, enhancing the fresh, clean character of the wine.

• Store in a cool place, and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving.
• If the wine is too cold, allow it to warm up slightly for 5-10 minutes to reach the optimal temperature.

🔹 Result – At the right temperature, the wine’s bright citrus notes, creamy texture, and delicate floral elements will shine through.

Perfect Pairings

🔹 Seafood – Pairs beautifully with oysters, prawns, or crab, enhancing the freshness of the seafood.

🔹 Salads & Light Dishes – Ideal with light salads, grilled vegetables, or fresh goat cheese, offering a refreshing contrast to these delicate dishes.

🔹 Celebratory Moments – Perfect for toasting any occasion, whether it’s a special celebration or a casual evening with friends.

FAQ: Wine Terms

🔹 Blanc de Blancs – A sparkling wine made entirely from white grapes, usually Chardonnay, that produces a wine with bright fruit and elegant flavours.

🔹 Preserved Lemon – A preserved, tangy lemon flavour often found in sparkling wines, adding a zesty, citrusy note to the palate.

🔹 Minerality – A flavour characteristic that evokes the taste of rocks or earth, giving the wine a grounded and refreshing quality.

🔹 Acidity – The crisp, refreshing quality in wine that provides balance and structure. In sparkling wines, acidity is key to making the wine feel fresh and lively.

🔹 Bead – The term used to describe the fine, persistent bubbles in sparkling wines, contributing to the wine’s texture and mouthfeel.

A Fresh, Elegant Sparkling Wine

The Willow Bridge Estate Sparkling 2024 is a youthful, elegant Chardonnay that blends vibrant citrus with floral and toasty nuances. With a creamy texture, mineral edge, and bright acidity, it offers a versatile, refreshing experience that’s perfect for any occasion. Enjoy it with seafood, light dishes, or simply as a celebratory toast!

Learn About Willow Bridge Estate

Willow Bridge Estate is two hours south of Perth in the Geographe wine region. Located in the Ferguson Valley a pristine piece of land that rises from the coast to form rolling hills, unique to this corner of the world.

Who Owns Willow Bridge Estate? Willow Bridge Estate is family owned and operated by principals Jeff and Vicki Dewar, who bought the picturesque 180-hectare hillside property in 1996.

The vineyard is set high on the western side of the Darling Ranges, with the vines enjoying beautiful views over the coastal plain, and across the tranquil waters of Geographe Bay to Cape Naturaliste.

The Willow Bridge Estate vineyard is situated 25km from the coast in a direct line, benefiting from the refreshing afternoon sea breeze that graces the land during summer. Positioned at an elevation ranging from 230 to 280 meters, the estate enjoys temperatures typically two degrees cooler than those on the coastal plain, akin to the cooler southern reaches of the neighbouring Margaret River wine region.

The Ferguson Valley wine region has an annual rainfall of approximately 914mm, the majority of which—around 80%—occurs over four months during the winter dormancy period of the vines. Summers are characterised by dry, sun-drenched days, fostering a consistency between vintages that is perhaps unmatched in the world of wine.

The estate’s soils, known as “Marri soils” after the majestic Marri eucalyptus trees they often support, have evolved over an impressive two and a half billion years from granite. These soils consist of a well-draining layer of lateritic red gravel and loam overlaying yellow or white clay—a composition highly prized by vignerons in Western Australia.

Established in 1997, the 60 hectares of Willow Bridge Estate vineyards were strategically planted around two hills, offering a full 360° exposure to the sun. Being in a phylloxera-free region, all vines were planted on their own roots, while planting along the ridge line has minimised the risk from spring frosts.

The Wines are produced until the careful guidance of Senior Winemaker – Kim Horton & Assistant Winemaker – Dougal Herd. Both received the 2021 Geographe Wine Show Trophy Excellence in Winemaking.

Read reviews on the Willow Bridge Wine Range Here
Learn more about the Ferguson Wine Region HERE