2022 Reserve Chardonnay

Vintage: 2022 – a classical Margaret River vintage with a warm and dry ripening period moderated by afternoon sea-breezes and cool nights.

Varietals: 100% Chardonnay

Appearance: Pale straw with bright green tints.

Aroma: A lovely balance of citrus perfume, ripe stone fruits – yellow peach and nectarine – and complexing notes of lightly toasted cashew, lemon cream, kaffir lime and curry leaf.

Palate: Balance is the key – lovely weight of stone fruits, grapefruit zest , frangipani and brioche, with succulent acid leading into savoury complexities from full-solids wild ferment in barrel – sea spray, spice, chipped shell and burnt butter. A wine with depth, phenolic weight and length of flavour and refreshment.

Winemaking: Fruit was handpicked and whole-bunch pressed straight to barrel with full solids for natural ferment by indigenous yeast. Partial malolactic fermentation and judicious lees stirring during maturation built palate weight, texture and complexity. Blended via barrel selection, the wine was allowed to rest in tank for 1 month, then heat and cold stabilised with minimal fining and filtered prior to bottling in February 2023.

Oak Detail: 11 months maturation in a combination of 50% new and balance 2nd use tight grained French oak barriques – Francois Freres, Taransaud and Mercurey.

Cellaring: Drinking well now, this wine has the requisite fruit, phenolic weight and winemaking artefact to reward cellaring over the next 10 years.

Food Pairing: Drink with marron – grilled with garlic butter, served with fresh rocket salad.

Alcohol Volume: 13.0%
Acidity: pH 3.29 TA 6.9 g/L
Residual Sugar: 1.0 g/L

Awards Reviews:

Gold, 95pts – 2023 Halliday Chardonnay Challenge

Gold, 95pts – 2023 Royal Queensland Wine Show

Silver, 90pts – 2023 International Wine and Spirit Challenge