Marlborough

Produced from very low yielding vines,from a specially designated block in our Chaytor road vineyard.The grapes were picked at 25 brix before being whole bunch pressed directly into French oak barriques for fermentation. The wine was aged in oak for nine months and underwent full malolactic fermentation. This wine displays a complex array of fruit,oak and barrel fermentation flavours. Citrus,peach and tropical fruits with underlaying vanilla, combine to produce a complex palate, that is big and bold,with great lenght and a long rich finish.

Hot smoked salmon salad with new potatoes.

Marcus Wright / Dean Boyce.

Strong lemon and honeysuckle aromas are beautifully integrated with toasty/smokey oak.This wine displays a richness and breadth of flavour on the palate that is balanced by a definites acid spine.Vanilla,spice,lemon and grapefruit dominate the palate while stonefruit and charred oak notes add complexity.Mealy barrel ferment and creamy yeast autolysis characters add to the wines texture.

We used Mendoza clone Chardonnay from our Chaytors Road vineyard.Fine weather over flowering allowed for good fruit set.The vines were hand leaf plucked and the fruit was lightly thinned to allow good air flow around the bunches.Excellent weather continued through the ripening period and allowed us to hand harvest the fruit in excellent condition.

Whole bunch pressing,a tight structure and bottling under screwcap mean that this wine should age gracefully through to 2012.

Alcohol: 14.5 % pH: 3.25 Residual Sugar: 2g/L Total Acidity: 7.0g/L Brix: 25