Freycinet Wineglass Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2024

Aroma: Vibrant gooseberry, passionfruit, citrus, and tropical fruits with soft herbaceous notes.

Palate: Generous tropical fruit flavours with ruby grapefruit, soft herbs, and a creamy mid-palate. Subtle complexity and impressive length add to the wine’s refreshing appeal.

Finish: Crisp, smooth, and refreshing with lingering tropical fruit and a clean finish.

Named after the iconic Wineglass Bay on the spectacular Freycinet Peninsula nearby, it is produced from meticulously tended 38 year old vines, all hand pruned and hand harvested. Viticulturally, the aim is to grow a moderate yield of fully ripe, healthy fruit. Our cool climate enables a long, slow ripening season producing remarkable intensity of aroma and flavour plus excellent natural acidity; balance in the fruit.

Our goal in the winery is to harness this fruit purity in such a way that it leaps out of the glass and provides considerable drinking pleasure. This is achieved through gentle  handling along with slow fermentation at cool temperatures. To provide an extra dimension of creamy texture and complexity, 40% of this wine was fermented and matured in predominately seasoned. French barriques, with a small percentage of new oak giving the wine subtle structure and length. Texture and complexity is enhanced without obvious oak characters. Being older barrels, the texture and complexity is enhanced without obvious oak characters.

The 2024 season on the east coast of Tasmania saw the return of warmer, drier conditions after three cooler, wetter, La Nina influenced seasons. The winter proceeding the growing season set the scene with mild above average temperatures throughout and close to normal rainfall. Spring and summer continued this warmer than average temperature pattern and low rainfall. Budburst was early as a result and settled flowering conditions provided a return to long-term average yields with perfect, well-formed bunches. Given the extra warmth throughout the season all varieties ripened beautifully and up to three weeks earlier than normal. Fruit quality was exceptional with concentrated flavours and ripe, juicy acidity.

In 1978, Geoff and Susan Bull took advantage of the remarkable prospects offered by the east coast of Tasmania, clearing some land, planting their first vines in 1979 and created the first commercial winery in the region.

The story of Freycinet Vineyard traces back to the founders Geoff and Susan Bull, who began their journey in Sydney. Geoff had a successful career as a photographer at the Sydney Morning Herald, supported by Susan who cared for their two daughters, Lindy and Samantha. Geoff's passion for diving, fishing, and surfing filled his free time. Seeking a change, he decided to transition from photography to commercial abalone diving in New South Wales.

Geoff's pursuit of abalone led the family to Bicheno, a Tasmanian coastal town, in 1975. Geoff's expertise and dedication saw him become the first non-Tasmanian to acquire a license for Tasmanian abalone fishing, a challenging and perilous profession, demanding a high level of physical fitness. Tasmania’s cold and treacherous waters supply one quarter of the world’s wild caught abalone. Geoff remains to this a day a highly respected elder of the Tasmanian abalone fishery.

In 1978, the family acquired the Cosgrove property near the Freycinet Peninsula, marking the beginning of their viticulture journey.

Although inexperienced in viticulture, Geoff and Susan were inspired by Tasmania's emerging wine scene and their love for the land. With determination and guidance from industry pioneers, Andrew Pirie (Pipers Brook), Graham Wiltshire (Heemskerk) and Claudio Alcorso (Moorilla Estate), they established Freycinet Vineyard as the first commercial vineyard on the east coast. With true pioneering spirit and despite many challenges, they planted vine rootlings in 1979 and, with the help of wine consultant Gary Baldwin, produced their initial wines in 1983.

Over the following years, the vineyard's unique terroir gained recognition for producing quality wines, earning accolades from national wine shows. The story of Freycinet Vineyard embodies the Bull family's resilience and pioneering spirit, as they transformed a barren piece of land into a thriving vineyard and contributed to Tasmania's burgeoning wine industry.

Fast forward to today, Freycinet Vineyard remains safely in family hands with daughter Lindy and her partner Claudio Radenti guiding the tradition of gently nurturing the wines from vineyard to bottle.

Today, Freycinet Vineyard remains a family owned business, with a small and dedicated team across our vineyard, cellar door and winemaking functions who collectively ensure we continue to prosper and produce exceptional wines.

With a bright future ahead, we are delighted to see the next generation of our family, Giorgio, Pino and Pia working side by side in a vocation that has bought much joy to its founders and guardians.