Nose
This youthful wine is powerful and complex displaying ripe pineapple, poached apple, frangipane and fresh cream aromas, with a honeyed richness highlighted by oak notes of fresh cedar and toasted hazelnuts. As the wine opens up, hints of vanilla bean, wet pebble, stone fruit and buttered popcorn emanate beautifully.
Palate
The palate is smothered with round ripe flavours of Fuji apple, dried mango, and wild rice pudding that is both creamy and unctuous. A complex array of fresh cashew, lemon peel, raw macadamia and nectarine notes flesh out this texturally expansive wine to complete this captivating expression of Margaret River chardonnay.
Growing Conditions
A typical mildly wet Margaret River winter
helped top up soil moisture levels giving way to a temperate growing season with low rainfall and plenty of sunshine. Sporadic rain events continued into the harvest period which, coupled with moderate temperatures, minimized vine stress yet maximised fruit quality. A perfect year for our dry-grown vines with excellent ripening conditions ensuring great sugar levels with racy and intense flavours.
Harvest
Our two estate Chardonnay sites, Chapman Brook and Crossroads, found in the cooler southern reaches of Margaret River, are planted to the Gin Gin selection along with classic Burgundian clones 76 and 95 and one patch of Californian clone 5 on granite derived lateritic soils. The leaf canopy is opened early and extensively, with leaf thinning by hand to fully expose berries for even ripening. Cool nights preserve the inherent vibrancy of fruit, each block picked separately to display its personality.
Winemaking
The fruit is 100% hand-picked into small baskets of 6.5kg capacity to ensure it arrives in pristine condition. Our first pick was Gin Gin clone fruit from our Chapman Brook Vineyard block 17 on March 3rd, finishing with Block 10 on March 23rd. After gentle whole-bunch pressing, the juice goes straight to barrels, with all the solids remaining. We use Burgundian oak exclusively, one third new and wild ferment is allowed to happen naturally with some malolactic fermentation encouraged with the wine aged for 14 months on lees (yeast solids). Gently filtered after minimal fining, it was bottled and aged at least one year in bottle before release.
Appearance
Golden hay with a hint of fresh green.
Food Pairing
The winemakers recommend pairing the richness and power of this wine with a lime/chilli infused ceviche of king fish and pickled jalapenos, or with a simple fresh water crayfish grilled on the barbecue with a drizzle of lemon juice. Grilled vegetables served with a spicy satay sauce matches very well to the wine’s citrus creaminess.