2016 Ruggabellus Sallio
Eden Valley, SA
The introduction to Abel Gibson's extraordinary skin contact white wines. 96+ points from Mike Bennie.
$27.00
Out of Stock
Arguably Australia’s greatest orange wine...
Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)
About The Wine
If you were looking to dip your toe in the delightful world of skin contact white wines, Sallio is the perfect introduction to the style.
This is a blend of Muscat, Semillon and Riesling from arguably Australia's best producer of 'Amber' wines. With only three days on skins and a long sleep in old wood, drinkability meets complexity here at a great price.
Sallio has all the grippy textural elements that go with the style, but the feeling it leaves you with is one of lightness and freshness to the last drop.
The 2016 vintage recieved an unprecedented 96+ points from Mike Bennie who dubbed it, "A crawl over glass kind of wine."
Abel Gibson has outdone himself here. Stock up while you can.
About Ruggabellus
Ruggabellus - meaning 'rugged beauty' - is one of the breakaway producers of the much written about 'New Barossa' movement.
A deep connection to the land of the Barossa Valley underpins Abel Gibson's winery. Raised amongst the vines of the Barossa, the cellars of Penfolds and Rockford, with the guidance of local wine legends such as Charlie Melton and his father Rob Gibson, Abel has carved a unique path for his brand.
Ruggabellus focuses on sensitive blends of old vine Syrah, Mataro, Grenache and Cinsault from great old vineyards with freshness and vitality always the key. Oak is never new. Additions are minimal.
The 'whites' are some of the country's finest examples of skin contact 'amber' wines. The variations on Riesling, Muscat and Semillon that are entirely world class. These are rare and truly authentic Australian wines.
Barossa Valley, SA
Critic Reviews
"Arguably Australia’s greatest orange wine, let alone that it’s a great wine. If orange wine is an intimidating phrase or proposition, then let’s just say this is a profound, textural white wine. The detail and care to bring this to life is epic, notwithstanding its elder siblings in Quomodo and Solumodo are outstanding too, and born from equal consideration. Winemaker Abe Gibson looks to nth degree in vineyard and winemaking expression. The shepherding to bottle, and patience, is worthy and vindicated clearly. So many producers seem to rush skin macerated white wines to market, this could be the benchmark for those on the learning curve. And look at that pricing… More or less equal parts semillon, muscat and riesling from old vines, spends an average of 3.5 days on skins, but there’s larger and smaller time frames in the mix. Rests on lees for a year, then just as juice for a year. Gush, gush, gush. See for yourself. Profoundly complex wine with its texture distinct and superb. It sits assertive in the palate, a sense of sculpted chalk with an inward juiciness and a distinct array of primary fruit and savouriness intermingled. Reverse up to the bouquet, if you can keep your mouth off the glass, and there’s brown lime, sea spray, blanched almond or nut milk, ginger and preserved citrus boldly jostling away. That drive and precision across the palate is the thing, though, and the pool of saline and tonic tang to close the clincher. A crawl over glass kind of wine." - Mike Bennie (The Wine Front)
From The Producer
For our whites we are attracted to vineyards that are rocky and closer to the sun – for us the white skins play a very important role as we explore a full and more exotic realm of flavour whilst trying to retain natural acidity, a realm of flavour we hope reflects the old, wild and mystical landscape we are lucky to now call our home amongst the hills here.
We have purchased small parcels of fruit from carefully selected vineyards. They range from 220m to 510m elevation and crucially cover a diversity of soil types. We are now the proud custodians of a beautiful old-vine vineyard at 480-510m elevation containing an interesting mix of Riesling, Semillon, Muscat and Syrah. We anticipate it will provide us valuable parcels of fruit for many years to come.
Blend : Semillon (36%), Riesling (34%), Muscat (30%)
ABV : 13.5%
Closure : Screw cap
Drink Until : 2030
Bottle Size : 750ml
Barossa Valley, SA
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Warehouse Pickup is also available for Sydney customers, 8am-5pm Monday to Friday. To select Warehouse Pickup as your shipping method enter our address "F5A, 42 Wattle St, Ultimo, 2007" as your shipping address during checkout. Please complete your purchase online before visiting us as we are not licensed to sell over the counter. A useful map on how to find us can be viewed here.
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  ORDERS OVER $149 GET FREE SHIPPING
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