2 Trophies
9 Gold Medals

An unusual fusion of Clare Valley and Adelaide Hills resulting in an intensely flavoured, complex yet elegant wine with distinct citrus, white peach & nectarine characters along with a subtle flinty note.

Dry/Sweet
dry
semi sweet
sweet
wine body
light
medium
full
Oak
none
some
plenty
grape varieties

Chardonnay

blend or single variety

Single Variety

region

Clare Valley 55% / Margaret River 45%

colour

At release the wine is a very pale straw colour with a youthful green hue.

nose

The wine has intense lifted aromas of melon and lime with hints of stone fruits. There are underlying tropical notes of green pineapple and guava and subtle secondary characters of flint, cedar and spice.

palate

On the palate the wine delivers well-balanced and evenly distributed fruit flavours of classic melon and peach along with underlying creamy notes from the lees stirring. Texturally, it has a retrained, tight structure overall and yet still displays a measure of subtle creaminess to the mid palate and rewards with well integrated oak. The Clare Valley parcel delivers mid palate fleshiness whilst the Adelaide Hills component contributes the restraint and elegance that are typical of this region. Overall, the wine has a great palate line with length which lingers long after the wine is consumed.

oak maturation

The wine has had contact with premium French oak for a short time.

vintage conditions

In the Clare Valley, the growing season saw average autumn and winter rainfalls on the Taylor family estate vineyards. Although spring was relatively dry, the vine vigour was still good due to the presence of subsurface moisture from the regular winter rain events and in addition the relatively calm conditions during the spring period reduced the evapotranspiration of the vines. Summer started dry and warm but not overly hot although from mid January to mid February this changed with very hot conditions prevailing until the 14th February when a downpour occurred, slowing the ripening of grapes considerably. Most of the Chardonnay was harvested prior to the rain and the quality of the fruit was outstanding. In Margaret River, excellent winter rainfall provided a great start to the growing season followed by a warm spring with very little rain. During the ripening period the nights were cool with mild days which allowed the white grapes to hold their natural acidity. The region then experienced one of the warmest vintages on record and certainly on par with the very warm 2011 vintage which meant that flavours developed earlier. As a result, the Chardonnay has a superb line of natural acidity balanced with intense flavour profiles ranging from citrus, nectarine to summer peach.

cellaring notes

Crafted for immediate enjoyment but will cellar over a medium term under ideal conditions.

alcohol volume

13.50%

acid

6.68

pH

3.20

residual sugar

0.90

pack size

Single: 750ml bottle, Case: 6 x 750ml bottle