2021 La Kooki Boya Chardonnay
What do our labels mean?
APCO Member
Certified Australian Made
2023 Winemaker of the Year
Product Details
Made In
Western Australia
Grown where
Margaret River
Made when
2021
Winemaker/s
E. Jarvis, G. Goodall
Alcohol %
12.5%
Acid Content
9.0 g/L
Residual Sugar
<2 g/L
Oak
French (20% new)
Fermentation
100% natural
Vegan Friendly
Yes
Bottled
13 Dec 2021
Tasting Notes
Made to Age Gracefully
Pale lemon with green edges. Sea spray, oysters and delicate white florals with stone fruit on the nose, hints of almond meal. Fine boned acidity greets you on the palate, wet stone, flint, lemon curd and Fuji apples follow. Minerality lingers – a Chardonnay made to age gracefully.
Winemaking Style
Winemaking
Gingin clone chardonnay was hand-picked, whole bunch pressed to French oak barrique barrels (20% new) and wild fermented on full solids. To prevent malolactic fermentation SO2 was added post-ferment. We used our collection of granite stones to top the barrels, and then regularly rolled the barrels, using the stones’ motion to stir the lees through the wine (as well as the more traditional method of topping with wine and batonage) over a nine-month maturation period to build texture and complexity.
The rock and roll method
The chardonnay is produced with hand-picked stones placed inside the barrel, and are rolled to create a fresh taste and top standard minerality. Boya means 'stones' in Noongar, the language of the Wadandi people, Margaret River's traditional custodians, and provides connection to the country and terroir that has contributed to this truly unique and complex Margaret River Chardonnay, reflecting its sense of place. We whole-bunch press handpicked fruit and wild fermented in French barriques. Stones were collected from our favourite coastal locations in Margaret River and added to the barrels during maturation, keeping them full. Texture, minerality and complexity evolved by rolling the barrels, using the motion of the stones to assist the lees stirring process over a nine-month maturation period.
Vintage Notes
An Excellent Vintage in Margaret River
The 2021 season for La Kooki Boya Chardonnay resulted in excellent parcels of Margaret River Gingin clone Chardonnay from Penny Lane Vineyard and Grace and White Valley Vineyard. Building on our experience from the previous year we wholeheartedly embraced using boya (stones) for our unique rock and roll technique creating an intriguing wine of layered complexity, minerality and finesse that truly reflects its sense of place in more ways than one!
Expert Reviews
95 Points
Erin Larkin, Halliday Wine Companion (2022) If you missed last year's Boya Chardonnay, this concept will be new to you. Boya means 'stones' in the local Wadandi language. Gingin fruit is fermented wild in barrel with full solids, along with smooth stones collected from the local coast. The barrels are then periodically rolled, agitating the stones within, stirring the lees and creating layers of textural complexity. It's pretty astounding, and the resulting wine picks up the shale and mineral characters of the rocks (suggestive, yes). While the wine is (like the 2020) stingingly acidic, it is set against a backdrop of crushed quartz, white peach, brine, green apple skins and pulverised almonds, bringing the picture into focus and balance. It is very smart and very fine. The length of flavour the key.
95 Points
Jeni Port, The Wine Pilot There is a lot of winemaking skill evident in this wine, including the rolling of barrels to stir lees, which leads to a rare complexity. Preserved lemon, white peach, nectarine, citrus and grilled nuts rise from the glass. It’s like the wine was born in the traditional citrus/stone fruit mould and then the mould has broken, such is the role of leesy phenolics which coats the wine in a warm creaminess bringing forth baked bread, vanilla and almond characters with it. Stunning.
Bottle Facts
Designing for circularity
Our ambitions to improve the recyclability and inclusion of recyclable materials in our packaging is hampered by economies of scale and the tyrany of distance being located in Western Australia, but we continue to make steps forward each year. We aim to use recycled materials in any packaging where this is feasible, including: - Primary packaging - Secondary packaging - Tertiary packaging
Design and Procurement
We use the Sustainable Packaging Guidelines to review our packaging and identify opportunities for improvement. With this in mind, we aim to conduct packaging reviews using the SPGs for 50% of our packaging. Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) is a co-regulatory not-for-profit organisation leading the development of a circular economy for packaging in Australia. APCO's vision is a packaging value chain that collaborates to keep packaging materials out of landfill and retains the maximum value of the materials, energy and labour within the local economy. We are proud to be a member of APCO, and continue to prioritise our packaging to meet circular economy and recycling goals.
Lower emissions bottles
Our wine is bottled into lightweight glass bottles made in Australia, and our bottle labels use 100% recycled paper base. Industry-wide, companies reducing bottle weight from around 750 g to 300–400 g can cut carbon emissions per bottle by approximately up to 44%. Lightweight bottles also typically cost 35–40 cents each, versus up to $1 for standard bottles, helping both sustainability and cost efficiency Modern production techniques have made it possible for lightweight glass to match the durability and performance of heavier bottles.
Recycling & Disposal
Packaging Recycling Labels
Bottle
Cap
Bottle Labels
Advanced Product Disposal
-
General RecycleOur wine boxes can be fully recycled.
Box
-
General RecycleOur secondary packaging (labels) use 100% recycled paper base.
Labels
-
Soft Plastics RecycleScrunch up the foil in a ball and place into the recycling bin.
Foil
-
General wasteThe film is not recyclable and needs to go into the general waste bin.
Film
Sustainability
What makes 2021 La Kooki Boya Chardonnay Responsible?
Boya means 'stones' in Noongar, the language of the Wadandi people, Margaret River's traditional custodians, and provides connection to the country and terroir that has contributed to this truly unique and complex Margaret River Chardonnay, reflectin... Read more.g its sense of place. A rock and roll chardonnay sourced from two Margaret River vineyards, Penny Lane and Grace & White. We whole-bunch pressed the handpicked fruit and wild fermented in French barriques. Stones were collected from our favourite coastal locations in Margaret River and added to the barrels during maturation, keeping them full. Texture, minerality and complexity evolved by rolling the barrels, using the motion of the stones to assist the lees stirring process over a nine-month maturation period. Margaret River Chardonnay wild fermented in French barriques (20% new). Vegan friendly
La Kooki Wines Sustainability Actions
Certified Sustainable Winegrowing Australia
In 2023 La Kooki became a certified member of Sustainable Winegrowing Australia. We care about the impact we have on our planet, our home, and this is our first step towards making a difference with continual improvement environmentally, socially, an... Read more.d financially. Since 2021 we have bottled all our wines into light weight glass (less than 420 g) and from the 2023 vintage we are proud to have three wines made from fruit sourced from Sustainable Winegrowing Australia certified vineyards.
Using stones to stir chardonnay
One of our wine products includes the Boya Chardonnay - Boya means ‘stones’ in Noongar, the language of the Wadandi People who are Margaret River wine region’s Traditional Custodians. We wanted to acknowledge the connection we felt our chardonnay had... Read more. to this region and we felt using boya to describe our chardonnay would express this. We approached the Undalup Association, who represent the Wadandi People, to seek advice about its use and approval to use boya as a description for our wine on our labels. We learnt much in the process and they generously agreed for which we are grateful.
Packaging Reviews
We have applied the Sustainable Packaging Guidelines (SPGs) to 50% of our packaging design, making sure every element is recoverable, reusable, or recyclable, and we're improving with every vintage.
Evidence