Bandicoot Run Ceramic Chardonnay 2024

Bandicoot Run is a project that was born out of the desire to work more closely with nature and the ebb and flow of the seasons. Established in 2017 with the expansion of the half-acre vineyard on their family farm in West Gippsland, Al Johnson and Adriana D’Amico now farm 7 acres of vines, organically and with a focus on biodiversity and building healthy soil microbiology. The majority of the vineyard is planted out to Pinot Noir with the remainder made up of Chardonnay, Syrah, Viognier and Tempranillo. Al and Adriana live and work on site, with the winery shed and house all within meters of the vineyard and integrated with orchards, veggie gardens and native vegetation plantings which extend like fingers between the vineyard blocks. Every aspect of the establishment and subsequent farming of the site is completed by the couple themselves, with attention to detail being paramount. This also extends to the winemaking, with fruit being picked in the cool of the morning, processed without additives, left to undergo natural fermentation and finally bottled by hand on site, unfined and unfiltered with only a small amount of sulfur. Their first vintage release was in 2020.