Nose
A bouquet of fresh, ripe white stone fruit, supported by pear, melon and a touch of brioche.
Palate
The palate is generous with an array of white nectarine, peaches, pear and melon, complimented with a touch of butterscotch and nougat with a fine long finish.
Growing Conditions
Margaret River had a near ideal spring with adequate rain and an overall cool, mild growing season with only a few heat spikes, leading to a fine mild autumn. With a longer cool period to ripen, the 2004 Chardonnay developed more precise varietal characteristics. So what that means in the glass is that the 2004 is a bigger style than the 2003 Chardonnay and it handled a lot more supporting oak.
Harvest
The grapes were picked on 6th and 12thMarch 2004.
Winemaking
The grapes were harvested in the cool early morning hours, then immediately pneumatically pressed. The juice was cold settled and transferred to tank for the primary ferment. Using a commercial yeast culture the juice was inoculated; once started the ‘new wine’ was racked to new and old French oak. This year the oak comes from three different coopers, three different forrest and a third new, a third one year old and a third two year old French Oak was used. Something we have been working towards. The wine was initially stirred once a week on the lees. A malolactic ferment was introduced to 10% of the wine. The wine saw 12 months in oak and was blended and bottled in February 2005.
Appearance
Golden straw.
