Nose
The bouquet is a subtle and intriguing mix of white flowers, lanoline, lemon myrtle, cashews and stone fruits. From extended time on lees,
Palate
The palate has developed a textural generosity which is supported by tangy citrus, ripe peach and fresh honeydew fruits. The fine linear and mineral acidity, so characteristic of the region, provides length and finish to the wine.
Growing Conditions
The Mount Barker and Porongurup regions began the growing season with just adequate soil moisture and catchment fill. Cool and blustery spring weather in November did impact flowering, set and early growth. Summer was punctuated with hot spells, which magnified the effects of little rain. The south facing vineyard sites received some reprieve from the cooling breezes of the southern ocean. A vigorous deluge of approx. 60 mm of rain across the region in early April and cooling autumn temperatures slowed the red maturities and resulted in a late finish to vintage. With yields below average, the wines produced from the 2013 vintage are full of concentrated fruit flavours, good acidity and fine ripe tannins.
Winemaking
The individual vineyard blocks that comprise Flint Rock Chardonnay are vinified separately. Each batch is hand-picked, cooled and sorted before pressing to extract the free run juice. Fermentation and malo-lactic occurs in a combination of older French oak and stainless steel tank. The temperature of fermentation is 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, filtration and bottling.
Food Pairing
Tempura of Augusta whiting with a lemon aioli dipping sauce.
