Bacchus has been a constant development for me as a winemaker. It is a very complex variety to work with and a little finicky in the vineyard too! My relationship with Bacchus has evolved, starting from making a precise stainless steel fermented wine in 2016 to working with oak and developing the popular Bacchus Fumé.
In short I think Bacchus needs a bit of oxygen to make it play nicely. It is such a deeply aromatic variety that without having the chance to breathe it can be a little too much. Having done some of the first sponsored research into the variety in 2016 I had discovered that Bacchus shares many traits with Riesling. I found, through chance that by ageing Bacchus in old oak barrels it accelerates the development of the wine. It seemed to be becoming like an aged Riesling, which, due to chemical reactions involving light, oxygen and time changes from citrusy and fresh in its youth to honeyed, petrol-like and complex when old.
And so in 2023, we decided that instead of making two wines (a stainless steel Bacchus and an oak aged Bacchus Fumé) we would just make one and call it Fumé. The best expression that we can create of Bacchus with all of the experience we have developed over the years through experimentation.
