Nose

Stone fruit, pear and citrus notes and seductive fresh toast, dried herbs and malty aromas from barrel fermentation.

Palate

This Chardonnay has powerful flavours and structure, balanced by refreshing natural acidity.

Harvest

The 2018 vintage in Margaret River was extraordinarily good and one that winemakers always hope for. The season commenced with the winter and the first month of spring all being wet (all over the long-term rainfall average). This set up vine health very well especially as it was coupled with ideal temperatures from September to December inclusive (budburst onwards) – no cold periods and even maximums devoid of heat spikes.

Winemaking

A pure, hands-off approach was used in the making of this wine to allow the vineyard character to sing. Once the decision was made to pick, the hand-picked fruit was cooled overnight to 8C in a cool room before the cool, whole bunches were loaded into a small press. Delicate pressing followed which released the early highest quality free-run juice fraction which equated to 440L/T. The cool, cloudy juice was then transferred into barrel (500 litre French oak puncheons) to undergo wild fermentation. Following ferment, all barrels excluding two were topped and bunged destined for maturation. These two were allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation to impart subtle complexity, texture and balance to the end wine. The wine remained in barrels for 11 months and was stirred monthly to ensure the yeast remained in suspension at all times. Once the ten barrels were blended into a stainless tank, it remained on yeast lees to mature for a further ten months. Once balance and style were achieved the wine was bottled and matured further prior to release.

The above winemaking decisions were chosen to achieve complexity and the house style in the final wine without sacrificing freshness or the potential for longevity – a rare achievement in Australian Chardonnay winemaking.

Appearance

Brilliant clarity. Pale straw.

Food Pairing

Fried lemon and almond coated King George Whiting with crab salad.