Nose
Citrus, and lifted stone fruit aromas drives the nose of the wine with delicate savoury aromas of dried herbs, malt, shortbread, and oyster shell from wild fermentation and maturation on yeast lees in large format French oak barrels.
Palate
Delicate, but long and complex. Citrus, pear, rock melon, honeydew and nectarine and fruits overlayed with subtle dried herbs, toasted spice, malt and tropical fruit notes. Layers of complexity will develop beautifully over time.
Growing Conditions
The exceptional 2014 vintage started in September 2013 where rainfall was over double the long term average - a great start to the season to set up the vines, especially our dry grown Blocks. The beauty of the rainfall in 2013 though is that it all fell at the right time, post-harvest, winter and early Spring - exceptional! This was followed by very dry but not hot conditions (utopia for wine grape growing). These mild conditions retained grape acids and minimised phenolics, creating aromatic fruit.
Winemaking
Our Redbrook Chardonnay Vineyards have consistently produced our benchmark Chardonnay for many years. At perfect ripeness, the fruit was selectively handpicked at dawn. The fruit was gently squeezed and continuously tasted to ensure only juice of the finest quality was used in the final blend. This first juice 'fraction' equated to less than 500L per tonne. All juice went directly from the press into new French oak puncheons to undergo wild fermentation on solids, imparting textural and aromatic complexity to the wine. Once blended, the wine was stabilised and filtered only once prior to bottling and extended bottle maturation prior to release. This minimal handling has helped to express our unique, delicate Redbrook house style that will develop great complexity over time.
Appearance
Brilliant clarity. Pale to mid straw with a youthful green rim.
Food Pairing
Fried lemon & almond coated King George whiting with crab salad.
