Growing Conditions
A beautifully wet winter in 2013 provided a great start to the Spring growing
season. Near perfect weather during flavour
development with no heat waves or
large rainfall events recorded and a total of 4.3mm falling between December 2013 –
February 2014. Abundant Marri blossom before and throughout vintage saw no
pressure or damage from silver eye birds with 2014 being a tru
ly ‘Classic’ Margaret
River weather pattern and an exceptional grape growing season.
Harvest
Our 5 blocks of mature Chardonnay vines were hand-harvested in the cool of d
awn
over 6
days to ensure the optimal flavor profiles of each block were captured. All
fruit was immediately destemmed, pressed and the juice settled in temperature
controlled stainless steel tanks.
Winemaking
The juice was inoculated with pure yeast cultures
and once a robust fermentation was underway, the wine was racked to an assortment
of premium Bordeaux and Burgundian oak barriques with a combination of toasting
levels and methods. Only brand new French oak is used to balance and enhance the
powerful fruit flavo
urs our Chardonnay consistently achieves. Upon completion of
primary fermentation the 100% brand new French oaked wine is allowed to mature
on undisturbed lees for 8 months prior to bottling. Malolactic fermentation and
battonage were avoided to retain the
primary fruit qualities and freshness crucial to
our style of Chardonnay. Barrels selected for the Reserve wine displayed an
elegance of fruit and length of palate representative
of the 2014
vintage and
balanced by a backbone of complex oak. Our first Res
erve Chardonnay has had 28
months of bottle maturation in our underground climate controlled cellar ensuring a
perfectly integrated, delicious and complex wine on release which will age
graciously for many years to come.
