2020 Chardonnay
While chaos was engulfing the whole country (and the world) in March 2020, we were busy picking and fermenting our grapes. Vintage is a sacred time in the winemaking calendar and while I was a little unnerved by the oncoming pandemic, I consciously focused my attention and energy on the important tasks at hand.
The year had an extra challenge as we were back to a mild “Old School” ripening season. Having being so used to warm and compressed vintages of recent memory it took some consideration on how to best handle the picking and winemaking decisions. It was a vintage of holding nerves and staying mentally strong, I learnt a lot throughout this vintage and I’m very proud the wines from the vintage. I believe the most complex wines come from the cooler vintages.
The wine was handpicked and wholebunch pressed to one second-use puncheon. A wild fermentation was conducted and the wine was left to undergo a natural malolactic fermentation. Bottling occurred in January 2021 where the wine is unfined and unfiltered.
The appearance is a pale straw.
The nose opens subtly with the regional trait of Yarra flintiness. After a swirl in the glass, notes of lemon balm and white peach come to the fore. A deeper inspection moves into savoury aromas of almond meal and freshly cut straw on a warm, humid day.
The palate shows biscuit-crumbed lemon tart and fruity peach tones which are lifted by fresh apricot and flashes of pineapple. Woven underneath are notes of cold smoked bacon hoc, tarragon and milky lactic notes. This lusciously textured wine is complimented with sweet-oak held firmly in check by linear acidity and building texture from extended lees contact.
50 dozen bottles produced.
Drink this wine while enjoying a creamy carrot soup with orange and tarragon.