The West Winds Gin is releasing just 1400 bottles of a one-off gin made on Chardonnay lees, called West Winds Sur Lie Gin (French for ‘on lees’).

The limited-edition gin aged for 12 months in used Chardonnay barrels as well as incorporating the use of Chardonnay lees into the mix; a first for a gin anywhere in the world.

The West Winds gin distillery, based in Western Australia, was established in 2010 and is a true pioneer in Australian craft spirit production. Putting an emphasis on product development and innovation, West Winds aims to push boundaries to create gins with amazing amounts of flavour.

The West Winds teamed up with fellow Margaret River-based producers Fish Bone Wines to create Sur Lie Gin. Having discovered a love for the taste of Chardonnay Lees in a previous life as a winemaker, Head Distiller Anthony Reynolds hit upon the idea of merging both brands to create something new and exciting for summer 2020.

Being a true believer that barrel aged gins should not be dominated by oak, Anthony carefully chose older oak and watched the gin closely while it developed to ensure the oak enhanced the gin rather than dominate the flavour profile.

The resulting gin has beautiful floral notes with hints or coriander, lemon and cinnamon myrtle. There is an underlying vanilla character which softens out the nose and adds complexity. The palate is rich and flavoursome.

Anthony said: “By using the Sur Lie technique, we’ve created an exceptionally smooth and rounded gin with additional texture and palate weight similar to that of a Chardonnay wine. The gin has exceptional balance and interest with the addition of the lees giving a lovely softness and length. It has a creamy mouth feel with subtle hints of native Australian wattle seed and oak touches. I couldn’t be happier with the result.”

The judges at this year’s Australian Gin Distillers Association agreed, awarding the gin a trophy for Best in Class – Matured Gin.

West Winds Sur Lie Gin has an RRP $85.