Caledonia Australis Chardonnay 2022
The 2017/18 season was a great growing season punctuated with extreme moments. Three large deluges in December threw the season in doubt as we saw immediate crop losses from the high humidity.. We then had a very long dry period for much of February and March that arrested the fungal spread, dried out the vineyard and limited berry size nicely. Hand harvesting occurred in four small picks from 29 March through to 10 April with pristine fruit gently pattering the bottom of buckets on calm autumn mornings – the madness of December a surreal memory.
Colour
Bright, light yellow gold
Nose
The nose opens with subtle and complex aromas of grilled nuts, bread-crust, and ripe stone fruit.
Palate
The palate shows the power of a strong season with lots of fruit weight intertwined with a fresh grapey acidity that takes time to emerge from the mass of fruit and creamy lees character.
Our winemaking varies only subtly from year to year with fermentation and MLF always allowed to proceed naturally. The fruit for this wine was harvested in small batches with the target of optimum richness for an acceptable level of acidity. 2018 had no botrytis and full ripeness. Each batch was then pressed and lightly settled before being racked to barrel cloudy. Fermentation was allowed to begin naturally and the barrels then underwent fermentation at their own pace.
After fermentation the wine was left on full lees unsulfured till late the following spring. Most barrels began spontaneous malo-lactic fermentation. After a 20 month elevage, the wine was then lightly sulphured, racked, stabilized and bottled.
$192.00
Price per 6 pack
from the fertile soils of Leongatha, Gippsland Australia
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