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Wine Description
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.