2010 Swift Blanc de Blancs, Orange

A wonderful blanc de blancs of medium straw hue that celebrates a captivating contrast between lemon zest and white peach fruit and the buttery, toasty development of almost 6 years on lees. Nuances of white pepper and fennel show wonderful subtlety of reductive complexity. Fruit, secondary development, dosage and acidity all roll seamlessly through a long finish, with phenolic texture subtle and well integrated.

93 points winecompanion.com.au

100% Chardonnay picked from a single, east facing vineyard site at an elevation of 1,000m. The wine hold it’s line and length with grace while the extended lees age offers a touch of developed honey and brioche. Still youthful and will continue to reward with some further lees age.
 
Dosage: 3.0g/L Tirage date: November 2010 Disgorge date: September 2016 Time on lees: 70 months  7 years tirage

The 2010 Swift Blanc de Blancs from Orange is a brilliant snapshot of why this high altitude region has become such a quiet achiever for Australian sparkling wine. Perched on the slopes of Mount Canobolas, the vineyards sit well above 800 metres, where cool nights, slow ripening and volcanic influenced soils give Chardonnay an extra gear of tension and finesse. This is serious sparkling territory, even if it still flies a little under the radar.

Swift is the personal project of Ed and Janet Swift, long time champions of Orange fruit and meticulous traditional method winemaking. Their philosophy has always been about restraint, patience and letting the vineyard do the talking. The Blanc de Blancs is pure Chardonnay, drawn from the coolest sites, fermented with care and then left to rest quietly on lees for extended ageing before release. By the time the 2010 finally emerged, it had already done most of its growing up in the bottle.

In the glass, maturity brings confidence rather than weight. Lemon zest, green apple and white peach sit alongside toasted brioche, almond meal and subtle smoky notes. There is a lovely chalky, mineral edge running through the wine, a nod to Orange’s volcanic soils and altitude. The palate is creamy yet precise, with fine bead, bright acidity and a long, dry finish that feels composed and savoury rather than flashy.

What makes this wine so engaging is its balance between freshness and development. It has all the complexity you want from age, but still carries lift and energy, making it dangerously easy to keep pouring.

At the table, this shines with oysters, sashimi, roast chicken or dishes with gentle richness like crab pasta or aged hard cheeses. It is drinking beautifully now and sits comfortably in its prime, but the structure suggests it will continue to hold and evolve gracefully for years yet.