Chardonnay

Vintage 2021

WINEMAKING

The fruit for this wine was carefully harvested by hand into small lug boxes and then stored overnight at 5˚C in a cold room. The following morning half of the fruit was whole bunch pressed and the other half de-stemmed and crushed. After settling, 30% of the juice was racked into barrel without the addition of any yeast for natural fermentation and the remaining juice inoculated before racking into barrels for alcoholic fermentation. Malolactic fermentation took place naturally in all the barrels and the wine was aged for 11 months in 35% new, 35% 2nd-fill and 30% 3rd-fill French oak barrels with regular bâttonage and stirring of the lees during the maturation period.

TASTING NOTES

The 2021 Chardonnay is an elegant and classically styled wine with beautiful fine pale green-gold colour and showing initial restraint on the nose that quickly opens up to display peachy ripe white stone fruit and mandarin orange flavours. The palate has a generous and rich complexity of citrus and tropical fruit notes, whilst the subtle use of French oak adds the light touch of vanilla, butterscotch and spice, which blends in nicely with the natural acidity to produce a silky mouth-feel and a fresh, long and rich finish. A wine that is already drinking beautifully, but will also benefit by ageing.