Chardonnay

Winemaker

Jeremy McKenzie and Josh Hammond

Appellation

Marlborough

Varieties

Chardonnay

Viticulture

Marlborough experienced a windy summer, requiring early season watering to maintain canopy health. As summer progressed, the temperature cooled and inclement weather helped reduce yield naturally, which helped ensure optimal flavor and ripening potential. Viticultural expertise and perfect picking decisions rose to meet the challenge of heavy rainfall on several occasions during the season. As a result of the moderate flowering, we had evenly mature bunches with good berry numbers, although overall yield was down slightly on seasonal averages.

Ratings & Reviews

Vineyard

Isabel Estate-grown fruit.

Vinification

Picking commenced and was completed in the last two weeks of March, taking advantage of intermittent dry spells in the weather to ensure the fruit was picked with good fruit concentration and ripeness. In some blocks multiple picks were carried out, picking some fruit earlier to capture freshness and acidity, and the remaining fruit later to capture some of the riper fruit notes Chardonnay is known for. All fruit was whole bunch pressed and settled in tank overnight before being transferred to barrel for fermentation. Predominately wild fermented with a small portion inoculated to enhance fruit notes. Extended time of lees in barrel allows the wine to soften and increase in complexity over time.

Brix: 22.0 – 23.5 brix, TA: 7.9 – 8.9 g/l., pH: 3.15 – 3.32

Features

Bottle, Screw cap

Available Sizes (L)

0.750