Bovlei Chardonnay 2003

Clear with a yellowish, green tint. The good integration of the lees in the wine offer tastes of butter, vanilla and toffee, while the fruitiness and citrus flavours compliments the nose.

Serve it slightly chilled in summer or at room termperature in winter with crayfish, smoked salmon or trout, sushi and Thai dishes. PatÃ©, chicken and sweet breads will also compliment the wine.

variety : Chardonnay [ 100% Chardonnay ]

winery : Bovlei Cellar (Wellington Wines)

winemaker : Frank Meaker / Hendrik de Villiers

wine of origin : Wellington

analysis : alc : 12.8 % vol rs : 4.1 g/l pH : 3.52 ta : 5.4 g/l

type : White style : Dry body : Medium

pack : Bottle

ageing : The best is to drink it as a young vintage wine, but will age up to 3 years and bring out more citrus and vanilla flavours.

in the vineyard : The slow cool ripeing period for the Chardonnay 2003 gave the Bovlei area the best ripening conditions in the last 8 years. These conditions led to smaller berries with thicker skins, higher sugars and good extract levels. All these conditions gave Bovlei a higher concentration of typical Chardonnay flavours for making this excellent wine.

The grapes were selected from a 8 year old vineyard which gave a yield of 6 tons per hectare. The vineyard is situated on a Norhtern Slope of the Groenberg area. The 3 wire Perold trellising system with drip irrigation complimented the wine by helping Bovlei to stress the vines at the optimum times.

in the cellar : The grapes were handpicked at full ripeness at 22.8Â° Balling during the early hours of the morning. This ensured cool berries. The grapes, after destemming, were left for a 6 hour skin contact period. After a slight press and settling, the juice was fermented at 11 - 12Â° Celsius for 23 days until dry. Extended lees contact for four months gave Bovlei a more complex wine on the nose and palate. The wine was fined with Wyoming bentonite and naturally cold stabilized.

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