Tasting Notes
colour
Vibrant and fresh.
aroma
Layered, complex aromas of stonefruit, pear and citrus with seductive fresh toast, dried herbs and malt.
palate
A style of Chardonnay unique to Margaret River and Evans & Tate – very complex with tremendous fruit flavour, whilst retaining freshness and bright acidity. Dry malt, fresh toast and struck match complexity from wild barrel fermentation on solids with ripe pear and peach. A touch of zesty lemon butter on the palate from the partial MLF and extended time maturing on yeast lees.
cellaring
Will continue to develop for at least five to ten years from vintage.
Technical
winemaking
Our Rowe Road Vineyard drives the style of our Estate Chardonnay with its characteristic richness and drive. This is further enhanced by our use of MLF, time on yeast lees (up to 2 years) and new French oak, to produce a distinct and charismatic wine.
Handpicked fruit was cooled overnight to 8C before the cold whole bunches were tipped into our small airbag press. The juice is squeezed out by the airbag inflating to low pressures – this is the gentlest way to extract the juice and is a prerequisite to making world-class Chardonnay wines.
The juice was allowed a limited amount of controlled oxidation, with the turbid juice then going straight into barrel – 100% French oak, with half being in puncheon format (500L) and the other half barrique (228L). Of this, 50% was new and the balance 1- and 2-year-old.
All barrels underwent wild fermentation on solids. Fermentation was completed to dryness before a small amount of SO2 was added, and the wine was then chilled, and barrels topped and bunged. Two barrels (that represented 17% of the final blend) were allowed to go through MLF to impart texture and complexity and to ensure balance and harmony in the end wine. Battonage was undertaken on each new barrel every 4 weeks and on the 1-year barrels every 8 weeks. Barrel maturation was conducted at 15C for 11 months, followed by a further 10 months on yeast lees in tank before a further 12 month maturation in bottle.
region
Margaret River
variety
Chardonnay
analysis
- Alcohol: 13.0%
Food Pairings
Baked red snapper with garlic and thyme butter.
Awards
Royal Hobart Wine Show 2022
The Cliff Heard Perpetual Trophy for the Best Chardonnay
James Halliday Australian Chardonnay & Cabernet Challenge 2023
Royal Hobart Wine Show 2023
Royal Hobart Wine Show 2022
Margaret River Wine Show 2023
Sydney Royal Wine Awards 2022
Perth Royal Wine Awards 2022
National Wine Show of Australia 2021
Royal Hobart Wine Show 2021
Reviews
Ray Jordan Wine Guide 2024
Another outstanding Chardonnay from the '20 vintage. Shows more obvious upfront fruit than the Reserve, yet this remains high class, sophisticated stuff. The crunchy vibrant fruit reveals a little struck match edginess with a typical ripe stone fruit character. The palate tightened by the oak and a slightly lemony lick and a final touch of sea spray.
94
James Suckling, November 2023
Notes of ripe apricots, pear skins, crushed walnuts and hints of toffee. Medium- to full-bodied, structured and focused with clean acidity cutting through. Fresh and crunchy, yet rich and layered at the same time with a creamy nutty backbone.
92
