Nose
The charm of classic Margaret River notes ascend from the glass; dried pear, honeysuckle, citrus oils, peach, minerals, nuts and caramel.
Palate
Lithe on the palate due to the lemon curd tartness and richness balance. A fine, mineral acidity and subtle vanillin oak notes add length, dimension and structure to the wine.
Growing Conditions
The first signs of the approaching vintage began with budburst in the early spring of 2014 as the vines shrugged off their winter dormancy. During this formative period of growth, the weather conditions began to shape the vintage to come. In the temperate climes of the south west of Western Australia, the preceding winter provided adequate rainfall for sustained vine growth. As the earth gradually faced more to the sun and spring uncoiled its impulsive nature, a warm, dry summer set the stage for a promising outcome. When verasion began in late January, the native marri blossom was absent in Margaret River. Another battle to be fought as netting becomes an annual necessity to protect the valuable crop. The middle autumn period, so often spotted with potential cyclonic fallout did produce intermittent and lingering rain from mid to late March, which slowed the red harvest and cooled the season.
Winemaking
All the individual vineyards that contribute to Miamup Chardonnay are vinified separately. Each batch is hand-picked at between 12.2 to 12.5 ºBe and cooled over night before sorting and whole bunch pressing to extract the free run juice. Fermentation and malo-lactic occurs in a combination of new and older French oak. Temperature of fermentation is controlled between 18ºC to 22ºC and the lees are stirred regularly from the end of fermentation and throughout the malo-lactic. After 9 months in barrel, the wine is blended to tank then fined and filtered before bottling.
