Caledonia Australis Chardonnay 2010
To look at just the numbers it could be concluded that 2010 was a warm growing season, but the timing of winds and cold weather were critical in shaping the season and vines growth. A cold snap in November lead to a slow flowering so fruit was not set until early December. Summer was hot but winds reduced sunlight accumulation and wore out basal leaves by early autumn. This gave the ripening fruit ample access to soft autumn light and enabled us to pick fruit with delicate fruit flavours and lovely structure. Flavours appeared more quickly than sugar accumulated so we were able to pick the fruit at lower sugar levels than the past few seasons.
Colour
Pale green/straw
Nose
Aromas of citrus, apples, nectarine and honeydew melon interweave with soft notes of toast and grilled nuts.
Palate
The palate has lots of complexity from the wild yeast ferment and long barrel ageing. Crisp acidity, elegant lees creaminess and subtle oak tastiness intermingle to give a long interesting palate.
After hand harvesting in the cool of the early morning, the grapes were whole bunch press and the juice lightly settled in tank. The cloudy juice was then transfered to barrel without addition of yeast or sulfur and allowed to ferment at its own pace. The resulting wine was then aged in barrel on lees for 16 months without stirring or racking. Minimal fining and filtration were carried out prior to bottling in November 2010.
$168.00
Price per 6 pack
Out of stock
1 review for Caledonia Australis Chardonnay 2010
from the fertile soils of Leongatha, Gippsland Australia
admin –
James Halliday – Wine Companion 2014
Green-straw; wild yeast barrel-fermented in French oak, followed by lees ageing for 18 month; an elegant, beautifully balanced and very long palate; a mix of white peach, melon and some citrus easily accounts for the oak.
94 points
Lisa Perrotti-Brown – Wine Advocate #201
Caledonia Australis’ 2010 Chardonnay has aromas of ripe peaches, warm apple slices and honeydew melon with gentle suggestions of honeyed toast and nuts. Light-bodied with a subtle creaminess to the texture, it has a good amount of apple and toast flavors as well as crisp acidity and a long finishing. Drinking nicely now, it should keep though 2015+.
88 points