Inaugural Release of 'The Obsessive' Chardonnay

‘The Obsessive’ range (formerly known as White Label) honours Scarbie’s attention to detail. Quietly spoken, hardworking and dedicated, Ian is a member of the old Hunter guard. In the region, Ian is known as ‘Scarbie’, but at the winery, he’s acknowledged as ‘obsessive’. Obsessive about his vineyard; obsessive about his wine. If Scarbie’s not in the winery, he’s in the vineyard, usually on a tractor. 

Despite his humility, it was important to us that Scarbie's hard work was recognised and immortalised in this new range. He is the person who has obsessively driven Scarborough Wine Co. over the past 28 years to make it the successful company it is today. This new range is a nod to that drive and commitment, and a reflection of the man Ian Scarborough is.

It’s fitting that the first release in the range is a Chardonnay, Scarbie’s long-held passion. This gorgeously supple wine is complex and creamy with a healthy dose of fruit balanced nicely with the oak – a superb expression of Scarborough’s distinctive Chardonnay style. It’s a wine that won’t be made every year – only when the right conditions prevail.

The Vineyard - Gillards Road

Originally our Gillards Road property was planted with Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz but these plantings were pulled out and replaced with Chardonnay to made way for our unwavering vision for a vineyard that produced exceptional regional depictions of the variety. Scarbie chose this site specifically for its soil type – free-draining red clay over limestone. The red clay helps impart a richness into our Chardonnay creating a more opulent style.

The 2013 vintage

The 2012-13 season started with budburst at the end of August. Initially we had good rainfall throughout spring but as flowering arrived in mid October we saw very little rain until late January, with well below average rainfall for November, December and January. Temperatures were generally very mild through this period with very few days over 35 degrees until the second week of January where temperatures increased dramatically. Harvest began a week early because of heatwave temperatures.

‘The Obsessive’ fruit was picked on Wednesday 16 January 2013. The fruit was quickly processed in the crusher/de-stemmer and then into the press. Only free-run juice was used to a total of 550 litres per tonne. Once in tank the juice was left to cold settle to clear juice and then racked. Fermentation was started through inoculation and once fermentation was approximately one-third of the way through, the juice was transferred to new French oak barrels. When complete the wine was matured in barrel for 15 months, with lees stirring occurring every 4 weeks.

This gorgeously supple wine is complex and creamy with a healthy dose of fruit balanced nicely with the oak – a superb expression of Scarborough’s distinctive Chardonnay style. It’s a wine that won’t be made every year – only when the right conditions prevail.

To view our extended tasting notes click here but to simply purchase this delicious new release click on the button below

'The Obsessive' Chardonnay - at cellar door exclusively $40 bottle $480 case