Chateau Acid Vermentino 2025

The wine that started it all back in 2017. This Vermentino is the opposite of the dilute, overcropped styles you sometimes see. It is a vibrant, textural take that feels right at home in the warm, dry Central Ranges. The fruit is destemmed and left on skins for a few days with no punchdowns or pump-overs, then pressed and aged for 12 months in a mix of clay amphora and neutral oak. Bottled with just 30mg/L of SO₂.

In its youth, it is all about fresh stone fruit, citrus brightness and a salty, mineral edge. With time, the colour deepens and flavours drift into dried apricots, spice and gentle savouriness. It is a wine that evolves beautifully, showing both energy and depth.

Château Acid is the project of Sydney-born friends Simon Jones and Charles O’Brien, who reunited after early careers in music to channel their creativity into wine. Since 2017, they have focused on crafting pure, low-intervention wines that hum with life and reflect where they come from.

Their fruit comes from a single certified organic and biodynamic vineyard in Canowindra, a 10-hectare site planted to Vermentino, Chardonnay, Shiraz and Grenache. Everything is hand picked, brought into their cellar, and shaped with a light touch: no fining, no filtration, no additions aside from a small dose of sulphur when needed. Amphora, large old French oak and other neutral vessels help them frame the fruit without getting in the way.