Asara Chardonnay Reserve 2003

12 Months in French Oak with full lees contact produces a complex, yet elegant wine, showing the perfect marriage between wine and wood. The fresh citrus and creamy vanilla aromas, lead the palate into a lingering taste of marmalade and buttered toast.

variety : Chardonnay [ 100% Chardonnay ]

winery : Asara Wine Estate and Hotel

winemaker : Jan van Rooyen

wine of origin : Stellenbosch

analysis : alc : 14.5 % vol rs : 2.3 g/l pH : 3.4 ta : 6.2 g/l

type : White style : Dry wooded

pack : Bottle

AWARDS

John Platter 2005 - 4 Stars
Silver Medal - Fairbairn Capital Trophy Wine Show 2005
Gold Medal - Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2005
Gold - Veritas Awards 2004
SAA inflight 2006 - First Class

ageing : Drink until the end of 2007.

in the vineyard : The terroir and meso-climate of Asara Estate is fully expressed in this Chardonnay. A well managed canopy and excellent vineyard treatment by our viticulturist, Pieter Rossouw and his team enabled us to harvest at full ripeness for this style of wine. As a result, Asara Chardonnay Reserve is created to celebrate the maximum potential of this variety to all lovers of excellent Chardonnay.

Age: 10 years old
Clone: CY3 and CY5
Rootstock: Richter 99 & 110
Soil type: Tukulu and Oakleaf Yellow Brown
Trellising: Extended double Perold
Plant spacing: 1.2m x 2.5m

about the harvest: By using selective handpicking as well as a 50% ratio of whole bunch harvesting we ensure that the juice quality for this Chardonnay is excellent: the fruit flavours are preserved and the taste of the juice is powerful

in the cellar : A short period of skin contact at low temperature preceded a delicate pressing cycle in the pneumatic press. After settling in stainless steel tanks at a low temperature (10ºC) for 48 hours, a high quality clear juice could be sent to fermentation.

Our Chardonnay is made in a rich and full-flavoured style. We enhance the richness and depth of flavour by inoculating with a Burgundian yeast strain, by exclusively using French oak barrels and by keeping the wine in contact with the yeast lees for 11 months (a true sur lie). The ratio of new to second-fill and third-fill oak was 37.5:39:23.5. After maturation, the barrels were emptied into a tank and the wine was stabilised and bulkfiltered before bottling.

Bottled on the Estate on 13 May 2004.
The production was 14,500 x 750ml bottles and 1,200 x 375ml bottles.

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