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Uutiset
Tasting Notes / An opulent, richer style of Chardonnay from Michael Aylward. The 2016 vintage – our warmest in a decade - seamlessly puts together toast with stonefruit & honeyed lemon. Luscious mouthfeel kept in check by reliable Mornington Peninsula acidity.
Viinin Kuvailu
The Story
The Chardonnay grapes come exclusively from our 7 acre block of vines on the Mornington Peninsula. The fruit is cropped low and hand-picked for optimum quality. We pick a week later than the grapes for our Verve Chardonnay. The juice then flows by gravity into a mixture of new and old large format barrels. The juice ferments with native yeasts at a cool constant temperature in our underground barrel room.
The Grande Chardonnay is pale gold in colour and gives little indication of its age and extended barrel maturation. The aromas are spicy with a hint of burnt matchstick along with some honeyed lemon.
Whilst certainly not over the top the wine is rich compared to our Verve Chardonnay and the flavour builds in the mouth. Honey notes are strong at the front of the palate and there is some toast from the oak. At the back of the palate, the acidity is fantastic in and the finish is dry and lingering.
Still very much in its youth this wine is starting to open up and is ideally suited to full flavoured fish and lighter, roasted poultry dishes such as chicken breast and salt and pepper quail.
Inspiration for the Grande Chardonnay comes from the cooler growing areas of France; in particular Meursault and Chassagne Montrachet. The extremely high quality of Mornington Peninsula Chardonnays shows through in this wine.
Wine Information
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Vineyard Tuerong, Mornington Peninsula. 60m above sea-level. The top 30cm soil profile is made up of 20% sand, 65% silt and 15% clay. These sandy loams are also known as brown chromosols and are defined by their moderate fertility and water holding capacity. Yield The vineyard is in the northern part of the Mornington Peninsula landmass. Yields for Chardonnay fruit destined for this were 2.8 tonnes/acre. 277 & 96 planted in 1999. |
Winemaking
1.Grapes were picked in early March and refrigerated overnight down to 10 degrees Celsius.
2.Fruit is pressed directly into old French oak barrels (7+years) & new French oak puncheons.
3.Over 3-6 weeks the juice goes through a vineyard- led fermentation.
4.The wine is then held in barrel, in the cellar for 12 months. It is then consolidated into tank for blending. 5.The wine is racked once before filtration.
6.Once clear, the wine is filtered down to 1.0 microns ready for bottling.