in the vineyard : We use cooler, higher, southwest facing slopes, with high potential soils for our Chardonnay. The vines are trellised and over ten years old, with balanced growth. From the more elevated vineyards, we are looking for grapes that will give us ripe fruit tannins and the correct sugar/acid combination.
in the cellar : After crushing, 6 hours of skin contact was allowed. After careful pressing, the free-run juice was inoculated with selected yeasts. After the start of fermentation, the juice is racked off into new 300l French Oak barrels. The wine is then stirred every 2 weeks and left in barrels for 6 months. It is then blended, filtered, stabilised and bottled.
50% of the wine is wooded and completed malo-lactic fermentation, resulting in a buttery, complex style. The balance is fresh, with upfront tropical fruit and citrus. The wine is drinking very well now, however has good maturation potential.