Dappled (Victoria)

Established in 2009, Dappled is a hands-on small production winery. Fruit is sourced from a number of vineyards in the Yarra Valley (upper and valley floor) and Mornington Peninsula. Shaun has held a number of winemaker and assistant winemaker roles over the last 12 years, but never straying far from his 'cellar rat' roots. This love of the cellar, and the vineyard, has really instilled a traditionalist, hands-on approach to his winemaking.

Dappled is about high quality, unadulterated wines from special patches of dirt at realistic prices. These wines were first and foremost for Shaun’s family and friends, so a hand-crafted, minimal intervention philosophy just made sense, and still continues today.

‘Owner and winemaker Shaun Crinion was introduced to wine in ‘99, working for his winemaker uncle at Laetitia Vineyard & Winery on the central coast of California. His career since then has been so impressive I (James) can’t cut it short: ‘00 Devil’s Lair, Margaret River and Corbett Canyon Vineyard, California; ‘02 Houghton, Middle Swan; ‘03 De Bortoli, Hunter Valley; ‘04-06 Pipers Brook, Tasmania; ‘06 Bay of Fires, Tasmania; ‘06-07 Williams Selyem, California; ‘08 Domaine Chandon, Yarra Valley; ‘10 Domaine de Montille, Burgundy; ‘09 - present Dappled Wines (plus part-time for Rob Dolan). His longer-term ambition is to buy or establish his own vineyard.’ James Halliday.

WINE NOTES AND REVIEWS

2023 Appellation Chardonnay
A blend of upper and lower Yarra Vineyards - Clones P58, I10V1 and Dijon clones 76 and 95 - from vineyards in St Andrews, Steels Creek, Seville and Macclesfield. All fruit is hand-picked and cooled overnight, followed by whole bunches being lightly crushed by foot before a long pressing when the un-sulphured juice is transferred straight to oak. The oak is a combination of 80 % old and 20 % new French Barriques, Puncheons and Demi-Muids. Ferments are allowed to start naturally (wild) and complete with no temperature control. The wine is not batonnaged and left on lees for 10 months where some MLF may have occurred, but not encouraged, and SO2 is added when the wine is ready for it. The wine is lightly filtered before being bottled un-fined.

‘Stunning aromas of pear, yellow stone fruits, and baked apple. There is heaps of complexity with hints of flint, smokey oak and toasted almonds. The palate is refined and textured; stone fruit and citrus flavours dominate. It is so light and airy with a lovely thread of cool acidity to it.. Flavours last for a good deal of time. I’d be very happy with this if it were a Village Burgundy at 4 times the price! I think one of my best Appellation Chardonnays to date.’ Shaun Crinion, Winemaker.

2023 Appellation Pinot Noir - Sold Out
A blend of two Upper Yarra Pinot sites in Gladysdale, Macclesfield and Steels Creek. All natural ferments with 25 % whole bunch plus an average of 15-20 days on skins. Aged for 10 months in French oak Barriques and Puncheons (10 % new). Bottled by gravity, un-fined and unfiltered.

‘A bright ruby, red colour with aromas that are very delicate and smokey at first with raspberries, cherries spice and strewn herbs coming into play. The more air this gets the better it becomes, revealing its true pristine red berry aromas (that will come naturally with more time in the bottle). The palate follows suit, being delicate and pure fruited, red cherries, raspberry with a delicate spice. Very fine tannins, texture and freshness are all here. Reminiscent of my 2015 Appellation Pinot for those who remember it.’ Shaun Crinion, Winemaker.

2023 Chardonnay Single Vineyard Les Vergers Yarra Valley
Sourced from John and Josie D’Aloisio’s vineyard located high up on the hill above the township of Seville. The I10V1 clone Chardonnay was planted in 1991 on its own roots (non-grafted) and is grown on the stunningly rich red volcanic soils this subregion of the Yarra Valley is famous for. This vineyard is just getting better and better with age and does a remarkable job of producing amazing wines year in year out.

The fruit is hand-picked and cooled overnight. Whole bunches are lightly crushed by foot before a long pressing when the un-sulphured juice is transferred straight to oak. The oak is a combination of old (75 %) and new (25 %) French barriques and puncheons. Ferments are allowed to start naturally (wild) and complete with no temperature control. The wine is not battonaged and left on lees for 10 months in oak and a further 5 months on lees in stainless steel. Some MLF may have occurred but not encouraged and SO2 is added when the wine is ready for it. The wine is lightly filtered before being bottled un-fined by hand via gravity.

‘Bottled in early July this has only had a few months to sit and take shape but it's already looking to be one of the better wines that’s been made from this vineyard - showing all the hallmarks of richness and poise. Think white peach, apple blossom, puffs of smoke with grilled almonds. The palate has drive and concentration with green apple, lemon grapefruit and more peach flavours. If you have ever been a fan of this wine before it’s a must have. Cellar potential of 10+ years.’ Shaun Crinion, Winemaker.

2023 Pinot Noir Single Vineyard Sur la Crête Mornington Peninsula
“Sur le Crête” means on the ridge. Single vineyard Pinot noir grown @ 179m above sea level in the rich red volcanic soils of Red Hill on the Mornington Peninsula.  This is a delightful wine made from a tiny crop due to very small berries and bunches. Wild fermented, 30 % whole bunch, minimal SO2 added with no other additions. Bottled unfined and unfiltered.

‘The wine shows concentration and depth, almost not expected from a cooler season, but then the fresh acidity brings the wine structure and delicacy. The aromas are classic Mornington - Morello cherry, plum, beetroot and forest floor. It's round and plush with fresh acidity giving length and vitality. Delicious!’ Shaun Crinion, Winemaker.

2023 Syrah Single Vineyard Fin de la Terre Yarra Valley
Sourced from the Peirce Family vineyard in Steels Creek at the base of the Kinglake range. It’s a warm site with hungry mudstone and shale soils with a granitic bedrock base and some scattered quartz. The vines are own rooted and planted in 1990 - so now 34 years old!

Hand-picked and sorted, cooled overnight and gently placed into 1 tonne fermenters as 100 % whole bunches. The fruit is locked up for two weeks to start a natural carbonique ferment for 2 weeks with no working at all… after which time the fruit is pigéaged (foot stomped) once a week for a further 5 weeks. The must is then pressed straight to a very old puncheon with all lees - and not touched until May the following year. It’s then that the wine gets racked straight to its bottling tank and is bottled by hand via gravity. Unfined and unfiltered.

‘A very late pick and coupled with low yields has resulted in tiny quantities of this wine. It is a more delicate and pure rendition with almost a Pinot-esque charm to it. Boasting strikingly pure red fruits with alpine herbs, it's medium to light bodied and full of charm and finesse. The texture is just beautiful on the palate after spending almost 18 month on lees.’ Shaun Crinion, Winemaker.

2023 Limited Release Cabernets Tradition Yarra Valley
Made from the Steels Creek Vineyard and grown by Simon Peirce, this vineyard was planted in 1981 and produces exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc . The blend is 68 % Cabernet Sauvignon and 32 % Cabernet Franc with 20 % whole bunches included in the ferment. It's fermented with wild yeast and had 18months in old French oak barriques.

‘This is essentially a field blend with the Cabernet cropping a bit lower this year, so the Franc percentage is up. In cool years like 2023 the Cabernets blends have hauntingly fragrant aromas. Violet floras, raspberry, cassis and pencil shavings. This shows none of the green characters you may expect from a cool year, but instead more delicate pretty fruits. The palate is fine but flavoursome with lovely finesse and drive. Classic Yarra Cab! This will Cellar very well. This variety is one that the Valley used to be widely recognised for and I’ve been wanting to bring it to life for some time.’ Shaun Crinion, Winemaker.