Greywacke Chardonnay 2016

An enticing combination of pink grapefruit, burnt orange and white nectarine mingles with more savory aromas of smoked almonds, hazelnut meringue and the heady fragrance of freshly cut hay. The savoriness carries through onto a rich, textural palate, evidence of this wine’s low-intervention winemaking. An intricate bonedry style that is highly concentrated with a distinct flintiness, and crisp citrussy finish.

The grapes for this wine are primarily the low-yielding Mendoza clone, known for its concentration of flavor and crisp acidity, the balance were from Clone 95. The vineyards are in the lower reaches of the Brancott Valley and Fairhall, grown in gravelly, clay-loam soils, the remainder coming from Rapaura, grown in young alluvial soils containing high proportions of New Zealand’s ubiquitous greywacke river stones.

The vineyards were hand-picked separately at high ripeness levels and whole bunch pressed using very low maceration press cycles. The resulting juice was lightly settled and racked to French oak barriques (20% new). The juice was allowed to undergo spontaneous indigenous yeast fermentation, the final phase continuing for many months. The wine received occasional lees stirring and underwent a complete malolactic fermentation. It was transferred out of oak after 18 months and bottled in December 2017.

18 months in French oak (20% new)