Tasting Notes 2010
Vineyard : 100% Chardonnay from the Casablanca Valley cropped at an average of 6 tons per hectare (2.4 tons per acre). Blend composition: 35% Clone 76 and 65% Clone Mendoza.
Harvest : Harvest was carried out by hand between April 26th and May 5th, 2010.
Vinification : After careful hand harvesting the grapes were first destemmed and crushed to stainless steel tanks (via a chiller in order to drop the temperature to 8ºC or 46ºF) where they were then left to cold soak for 24 hours. Following this time the free-run juice was drained by gravity from the tanks. The remaining skins and juice were then dug-out and gently squeezed using pneumatic presses in order to separate light from hard pressings. The resulting juices were then left to cold settle (at 12ºC/54ºF) for 4 days following which time they were racked to stainless steel tanks and inoculated with selected yeasts. Once fermentation had commenced the must was gravity fed to a mixture of used (64%) and new (36%) French oak barrels until fermentation had finished (usually from 20 to 40 days) with fermentation temperatures peaking at around 20ºC/68ºF. After fermentation had finished the barrels were sulphured at which point battonage (or manual lees stirring) was carried out weekly for the following nine months. After a total of 10 months in barrel the wine was gently nitrogen racked to tank at which point it was cold stabilised, filtered and bottled.
Tasting Notes : Pale straw in colour, on the nose aromas of almond, ripe pear and quince dominate. In the mouth a citrus backbone is fleshed-out by ample mineral notes finishing with a very subtle smokey/woody note.
Wine Analysis :
