Sailor Seeks Horse

Huon Valley, Tasmania

Located in the Huon Valley of Tasmania, Australia's southernmost municipality and coolest wine region, Sailor Seeks Horse sits right on the edge of viticultural possibility. Paul and Gilli believe that it is at these extremes where exceptional results are possible. Huon is about one hour south of Hobart (Tasmania’s capital city) and conditions are generally cool and sometimes wet throughout the year. However, as harvest approaches at the tail end of summer, you’d be forgiven for questioning all of this, as temperatures at this time of the year can be quite hot and rain sparse.

Paul is and Englishman and Gilli Australian, and the two met while working in London in 2005. A desire to explore winemaking took them both to the Languedoc in France, where they observed how the French went about things. Seeing that they needed to learn more, they took off to Western Australia and studied viticulture and oenology, while taking further experience working harvests in New Zealand, Oregon, and Margaret River. Fast forward a few years and the couple took the leap and purchased their own plot of land in Southern Tasmania, convinced of the potential of their site in Huon. They now go about seeking to make the best Chardonnay and Pinot Noir they can, and from 2012 the results have blown us away.

Sailor Seeks Horse Chardonnay 2022

Region: Huon Valley
Grape: Chardonnay
Farming: Northeast facing slope. 2 hectares of Chardonnay (Dijon clones 277, 76, 95 and 96). No irrigation, light canopies, low yields, little disease pressure. Long growing season with a typically late harvest date (even for Tasmania) of sometime in April. Cold nights assist greatly with acid retention.
ABV: 12.4%
Whole bunch pressed, 'hyperox' into press tray, 12 hour settle in tank, racked to 300L hogsheads, 20% new, wild ferment, no MLF, full lees 12 months' elevage in barrel, then 3 months in tank before bottling. Not fined. Mostly 277 and 95 clones with a little 96.

An array of flavours here, from both the orchard fruit and stone fruit camps. Green apple, red apple skin and bruised apple – all flavours that are distinct and identifiable from one and other. In some ways it reminds of high quality Chenin Blanc from the Loire, such is the transparency and purity here. Beyond those flavours there is also some cold white peach then some back-end texture to bring extra presence. Very good. – Ches Cook, LC Selections.

Sailor Seeks Horse ‘Small Wonder’ Chardonnay 2023

Region: Tamar Valley
Soil: Tertiary sediments
Grape: Chardonnay
Farming: certified organic
Alcohol: 13.3%
fruit taken from 83-86m above sea level. 3.1t/ha. 12 months in barrel - no new oak, no malolactic fermentation. Vegan friendly. Unfined. 800 bottles only.

A glance at the back label of the wine gives you fantastic insight into all aspects of viticulture and winemaking that go into this, telling us that fruit was picked April 1st, that the site sits at 83-86m above sea level, that vine spacing is 2.5m x 1m, that the site has 4000 vines per hectare, that vertical shoot positioning has been used as a training method, that there is no new oak nor any MLF, and that there are only 800 bottles of this in existence. But this glance also gives you insight into the type of farmers and winemakers Paul and Gilli Lipscombe are. Attention to detail to a fanatical degree basically sums it up - and it shows in the wines. Sailor Seeks Horse are some of the most fastidious and obsessive winemakers in all of Australia and they use such determination to make beautifully crafted and detailed wines. Here the 2023 release of ‘Small Wonder’ Chardonnay really shines. There is perhaps a touch more generosity in the wine than the 2022 release, at least at this early stage, with a purity and ‘coolness’ to the fruit that is so attractive. Lemon balm, white florals and cold stone fruit are all flavours that come to mind. Its length and carry is impressive, yet everything comes across with a typically effortless feel. A wine that most producers would be proud to call their flagship, yet this is the entry level wine for this producer. Impressive stuff. - Chesterton Cook, LC Selections.

A wet spring meant poor flowering across Tasmania, reducing yields significantly yet the rest of the season was relatively peaceful if cooler than normal. Despite the lower yields the cooler season ensured picking was about 'normal' in the old money so resulted in wines that were both restrained and elegant but intense. An excellent vintage if truth be told. A classical Tasmanian Chardonnay – all citrus, stone fruit, pith, weight and length. - SSH.

Sailor Seeks Horse ‘Small Wonder’ Chardonnay 2022

Region: Tamar Valley
Soil:
Grape: Chardonnay
Farming:
ABV: 12.2%

After the bushfires of 2019 in southern Tasmania, with smoke taint ruining that year's crop for Sailor Seeks Horse, Paul and Gilli decided that it would be wise to secure some fruit from other parts of the state going forward. This would help remove all eggs from one basket in the case of disaster rearing its ugly head, again. The result is the creating of these wines: Small Wonder from the Tamar Valley. Working with fruit sourced from a friend in the north of the state, Paul and Gilli have been able to craft wines that are very much in a similar mould to what we have come to expect from the couple. The Chardonnay is light to medium bodied, textural, and full of green and red apple. - Ches Cook, LC Selections.

Sailor Seeks Horse Pinot Noir 2022

Region: Huon Valley
Soil: well drained sandy-loam soil over clay.
Grape: Pinot Noir
Farming: Northeast facing slope. Pinot Noir clones 114, 115, MV6, 777, 2051 (D5V12) and 8048 (D2V6). No irrigation, light canopies, low yields, little disease pressure. Long growing season with a typically late harvest date (even for Tasmania) of sometime in April. Cold nights assist greatly with acid retention.
ABV: 12.5%
Wild ferments, gently plunged twice daily, then left on skins post ferment until the tannins aligned and pressed straight to barrel. 5% whole bunch. 10% new oak, mix of barriques, hogsheads and puncheons. 12 months in oak, 3 months in tank pre-bottling. Sulphured mid-summer. Un-fined.

The two Pinots in this year’s release sit nicely apart. On this occasion, this wine was my pick of the two, however the three other people tasting went the other way. What we could agree on is that this wine is certainly more savoury, with an array of autumnal notes (dried twig, crushed brown leaf etc) sitting below some red fruit and red florals (dried rose petal and dehydrated sour cherry). It’s medium bodied and so effortless, texturally. Great flow to the wine. Cellar some if you can as it will only get better. – Ches Cook, LC Selections.

Sailor Seeks Horse ‘Small Wonder’ Pinot Noir 2023

Region: Tamar Valley
Soil:
Grape: Pinot Noir
Farming: certified organic
Fruit taken from 83-86m above sea level. 3.1t/ha. 12 months in barrel - no new oak. Vegan friendly. Unfined. 800 bottles only.

The Pommard clone from this site and its red-fruited, pepper-spice aromas and plush, sweet fruited palate combines with a touch of bitterness to taste like it has had a bit of whole bunch fermentation but it hasn’t! - SSH.

Sailor Seeks Horse ‘Small Wonder’ Pinot Noir 2022

Region: Tamar Valley
Grape: Pinot Noir
Farming:
ABV: 11.8%
1/3 wholebunch fermentation

After the bushfires of 2019 in southern Tasmania, with smoke taint ruining that year's crop for Sailor Seeks Horse, Paul and Gilli decided that it would be wise to secure some fruit from other parts of the state going forward. This would help remove all eggs from one basket in the case of disaster rearing its ugly head, again. The result is the creating of these wines: Small Wonder from the Tamar Valley. Working with fruit sourced from a friend in the north of the state, Paul and Gilli have been able to craft wines that are very much in a similar mould to what we have come to expect from the couple. The Chardonnay is light to medium bodied, textural, and full of green and red apple. The Pinot lifts magnificently from the glass with ballooning aromatics. On the palate it is finely detailed with dehydrated red petal, twig, and autumn leaf. - Ches Cook, LC Selections.