Nose
Perfumed notes of white field flowers enriched with ripe pear and citrus oils, nutmeg spice and nougat.
Palate
The palate has a pliable core of citrus, peach and honeydew fruits dusted with a fine nut-meal texture. A distinct and flint/mineral acidity finishes the wine.
Growing Conditions
The Mount Barker region experienced warm to hot and very dry conditions throughout the vintage. With soil moisture very low, the cooler south facing vineyard sites did receive some reprieve off the southern ocean. This relief was limited as the seasonal on shore streams that deliver coastal drizzle and cooler conditions across the region, were weaker than normal. These warmer than average conditions did accelerate ripeness and the wines produced from the 2012 vintage are full of bright varietal fruit flavours, good acidity and ripe tannins.
Winemaking
All the individual vineyards that contribute to the Flint Rock Chardonnay are vinified separately. Each batch is hand-picked at between 12.2ºC to 12.5º 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 older French oak and stainless steel tank. Temperature of fermentation is controlled between 18ºC to 22ºC and the lees are stirred from the end of fermentation and throughout the malo-lactic. After 10 months on lees, the wine is blended to tank and held for 2 months prior to fining and filtration. Bottling occurs in the summer of the year post the vintage and is released after sufficient bottle maturation.
Food Pairing
Grilled salmon with a lemon caper aioli.
