Chardonnay
Single Variety
Clare Valley
At release, the wine is a youthful pale straw colour with vibrant green hue to the edges
The wine has ripe stone fruit aromas along with hints of tropical fruit and subtle citrus zest. Enticing sweet spice and savoury cashew nut from the French oak add complexity to the bouquet.
This is a medium-bodied yet sumptuous wine with an enjoyable creaminess to the mid-palate. Flavours of plump juicy fruit are evident along with cleansing citrus at the finish which has wonderful persistence and length from the use of quality French oak.
Post MLF, the wine was transferred to a selection of fine-grained French oak barrels ?60% in new oak and the balance in a selection of one year old barrels, specifically selected for their subtle savoury characters. After 13 months maturation, a barrel selection assessment was undertaken to identify those parcels deemed as ?xceptional?and these were blended and then returned to barrel for a further 12 months maturation prior to bottling.
In the Clare Valley, the growing season in the lead up to vintage 2015 saw slightly higher than average amounts of rainfall initially and then very little fell, making it the driest ever August recorded at the estate. These conditions were conducive to frost and there were 14 events recorded. The first evidence of budburst appeared in the last week of August which is relatively normal. Rainfall for spring was well below average, with further frost events recorded during this time. Not only was the spring weather extremely dry, it was also warm and windy. These conditions led to higher evapotranspiration (water loss), and despite our significant irrigation effort during October and November, still had a detrimental impact on flowering with resultant bunch numbers down on average. December and January were relatively mild, with rain falling during the second week of January. The moisture was a welcome relief after such a dry spring and the white varieties on the estate responding well for both yield and quality.
Crafted for immediate enjoyment but will cellar over a medium term under ideal conditions.
13.50%
6.61
3.30
2.10
Single: 750ml bottle, Case: 6 x 750ml bottle
