Mike Bennie, The Wine Front - The Breaking Ground range is now under the yoke of third gen family member Ollie Margan, with a side step in style that includes younger release wines, some gentle alternative winemaking techniques and wild yeast fermentation. This is semillon in which a portion sees lees time, the wine gets whipped clean with betonite and filtering to bring it back into shape. New (great) look to the wines too.It’s tasty and tidy, lemony and fresh. Citrus blossoms and dried apple scents lead, flavours follow similarly with some steely-dry mineral characters in tow. Very clean, very bright, very neat semillon with a short, slightly scalped but mouth-watering finish. A simple treat.

From the Winery                             

40yr old vines from our Timbervines site. Picked on the early side of 13. Whole berry ferment with no must rectification; carbonic derived confection was encouraged to a point. Pressed to stainless steel partway through ferment to minimize extraction. Sulphured and racked to bottle post malo-lactic fermentation with no filtration. Retains a slight effervescence. My interpretation of shiraz from our volcanic soil.

Vegan – Herbicide/Chem fertiliser free vineyard (Copper, Sulphur, Phosphoric acid foliar sprays used).  Alc: 13%     pH: 3.47     TA: 6.6     

 About Breaking Ground:

Breaking Ground is the initiative of 3^rd generation grower/maker Ollie Margan (Ba. Viticulture & Oenology Adelaide University). Growing up around the inception of Margan Wines in 1997, viticulture was something he learnt from an early age. From the age of 15 he started working harvest in the winery and has now completed 17 vintages in total. The fruit for this range is sourced from distinctive parcels within the 100-hectare family holdings. The resultant wines are reflective of Ollie’s time spent at home on the family farm, but also experience gained from working in other regions such as Central Otago, Bordeaux and the Adelaide Hills.

The Margan house style has always centred on showcasing the vineyard, eliciting a sense of place and speaking true of variety. The Breaking Ground range does not deviate from this mission statement. Where it perhaps differs, is in its pursuit for liveliness and spark. Slightly earlier picks, indigenous yeast and an earlier release, yield wines that favour approachability and refreshment in their youth. Not to say these wines aren’t to be taken seriously, rather they present a slightly different approach in the winery; one of less control and dictation.