Commune of Buttons ‘Commune White’ 2020

Location: Australia, Adelaide Hills

Winemaker: Sophie & Jasper Button

Grapes: Chardonnay

Soil: clay sandstone

Winemaking: The grapes were harvested in the second week of March and crushed underfoot and left on skins overnight. Fermentation took place in 600L barrels and the wine remained on full lees for a year with some lees stirring over winter (roughly once a week for 2 months).

From the Producers: Due to the very low yields in 2020 (between 2 and 3 tonnes per hectare) both the ABC and Clover vineyards were combined to make the 2020 vintage of ‘Commune White’.

This is a bright, well-rounded wine with pear, lime and peach fruits. There is a delicate savoury brioche thread that lingers into the well-known saline minerality and natural acidity of the soils of these vineyards.

From us at M&L: Brother and sister Sophie and Jasper Button are second-generation winegrowers, rescuing 3.5 hectares of vines which their mother planted in Basket Range in the Adelaide Hills. For years, families that owned vineyards here have all helped each other during planting, tending, and harvest seasons; Sophie and Jasper were inspired by this ‘commune’ of wine, a vision of nature and humanity coexisting and each benefiting the other. They’ve been practicing organic/biodynamic since 2012, focusing on the health of the soil and the interrelationship between the cycles of the seasons, moon, rain and sun, maintaining the ultimate balance that must be held to yield expressive wines.