2016 Reserve Chardonnay (Limited Museum Release)
Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Appearance (on release): Pale straw with bright green tints.
Aroma (on release): A rich, precise nose of grilled white peach, grapefruit zest and roasted hazelnuts with hints of subtle struck match complexity.
Palate (on release): Rich and powerful on the palate, this wine is textured and structural. Notes of stone fruits, seaspray and roasted nuts combine with a persistent grapefruit acid line to produce a wine of power and substance with great length of flavour.
Winemaking (on release): Fruit was handpicked and whole-bunch pressed direct to oak for wild ferment. A small selection of barrels (20%) were allowed to complete a natural malolactic fermentation to ameliorate acidity and add complexity. Judicious lees stirring occurred during the subsequent 10 months maturation on ferment lees prior to blending to tank via barrel selection. Wine was heat and cold stabilised with minimal fining and filtered prior to bottling in December 2016.
Oak Detail: 10 months maturation in a combination of 66% new and balance 2nd and 3rd use French oak barriques – Taransaud, Mercurey & Francois Freres.
Cellaring: Drink by 2026
Alcohol Volume: 13.0%
Acidity: pH 3.28 TA 7.0 g/L
Residual Sugar: 0.3 g/L
Awards & Ratings:
Top Gold – 2018 Margaret River Wine Show
Gold – 2017 Royal Sydney Wine Show
Gold – 2017 Margaret River Wine Show
Silver – 2018 Royal Melbourne Wine Show
Silver – 2018 Wine Show of WA
Silver – 2017 Royal Perth Wine Show
Silver – 2017 National Wine Show of Australia
Silver – 2017 Wine Show of WA
Reviews:
95pts: "Ripe stone fruit with power wed to smoked bacon oak aromas with weight and substance. The balanced palate has bright acidity, ripe white stone fruit, fleshy texture, and chunky spicy smoked meat cedar oak notes to close. A big and balanced wine shows style that will stand out in a blind tasting." Rob Geddes MW
93pts: "Fruit comes off 30yo vines, is whole-bunch pressed, naturally fermented in French oak barriques, yet this is so tightly coiled it doesn't want to give too much away. There are discernable lemony notes, blossom, zest and juice, that fold into the more creamy, nutty flavours. Drink by 2025." Jane Faulkner, 2018 Halliday Wine Companion