vintage

The 2018 vintage in Margaret River was extraordinarily good and one that winemakers always hope for. The season commenced with the winter and the first month of Spring all being wet (all over the long-term rainfall average). This set up vine health very well especially as it was coupled with ideal temperatures from September-December inclusive (budburst onwards) – no cold periods and even maximums devoid of heat spikes.

winemaking

A pure, hands off approach was used in the making of this wine so allow vineyard character to sing. Once the decision was made to pick, the handpicked fruit was cooled overnight to 8C in a cool room before the cool, whole bunches were loaded into a small press. Delicate pressing followed which released the early highest quality free-run juice fraction which equated to 440L/T. The cool, cloudy juice was then transferred into barrel (500 Litre French oak puncheons) to undergo wild fermentation. Following ferment, all barrels excluding 2 were topped and bunged destined for maturation. These 2 were allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation (MLF) to impart subtle complexity, texture and balance to the end wine. The wine remained in barrel for 11 months and were stirred monthly to ensure the yeast remained in suspension at all times. Once the 10 barrels were blended into a stainless tank, it remained on yeast lees to mature for a further 10 months. Once balance and style were achieved the wine was bottled and matured further prior to release.

 The above winemaking decisions were chosen to achieve complexity and house style in the final wine without sacrificing freshness or the potential for longevity – a rare achievement in Australian Chardonnay winemaking.

region

Margaret River

variety

Chardonnay  

analysis

• Alcohol: 13.5%
• pH: 3.12
• TA 7.42 g/L

Fried lemon & almond coated King George Whiting with crab salad.

western australian single vineyard wine show 2020

wine show of western australia 2020