about the harvest: SEASON In 2016, the preceding winter was fairly dry but cold units were exceptional (1200) with plenty of frosty mornings, allowing the vines to go into a proper dormancy. Rain did finally fall in August and September but as October began, the El Niño phenomenon (or ENSO episode) started to take effect. October was unusually warm accelerating budbreak and flowering. The fluctuating warm and cool days meant flowering was uneven, giving rise to smaller potential bunch sizes. After a cooler November, December was warm, sunny and dry enabling potential diseases to be kept at bay. A hot and dry January meant acidity retention by the vine was challenging but, after a warm start to February, the weather finally became cooler and night time temperatures also dipped more so than average, providing the vine with some respite after a particularly torrid summer. The drier conditions meant that disease pressure was minimal and a healthy crop was picked between February and March. Although the acidities were softer than average, the fruit concentration was high and the wines have a very good flavour profile. Importantly, thicker skins on the Chardonnay meant the whole bunches were pressed far more lightly in 2016, to avoid any bitter phenols and for this reason we decided not to include the press fraction in the final blend.
in the cellar : WINEMAKING Grapes were hand-picked in the early autumnal mornings, placed into small lug baskets and tipped directly into a press before being gently whole-bunch pressed up to a maximum of 0.6 bar or until a low juice recovery of 580 litres per ton was obtained. The juice gravity-flowed directly to barrel (no pumps were used at all) without settling. The unclarified juice had no enzymes or yeast added to it and therefore underwent spontaneous fermentation until dry, with malolactic discouraged. The wine rested in barrel for 4 months prior to judicious sulphuring and a further 7 months’ maturation in barrel before racking, blending and bottling. BARREL SELECTION A small number of artisanal coopers were selected, all from Burgundy and only French oak was chosen. 38% of the oak was new with the remainder split into 2nd and 3rd fill barrels, both 228 and 500 litres in size, with 10% left to ferment and mature in breathable eggs.