Blanc de Blancs 2018

The climate in the Piccadilly Valley has a long-term average of 1,172 degree days during the growing season. Yearly rainfall is approximately 1,100mm. The 2018 vintage was much warmer than average at 1,513 degree days with close to average rainfall (86% of average rainfall during the ripening season). Chardonnay fruit quality at harvest was superb with great balance of flavours and acidity.

DAOSA is made following the Méthode Traditionnelle, (Method ClassicTM ), the method used in the Champagne region of France. Fruit was hand harvested on the 13th of March 2018 and whole bunch pressed, retaining only 560L per tonne of fruit pressed. This gave very bright acidity, clean juice and good primary fruit characters in the juice prior to fermentation. The juice was cold settled in tank for two months before being run into old 600L barrels for primary fermentation. Once primary fermentation was completed, the barrels were topped and the wine stayed in barrel, with some lees stirring, for a further 8 months where it went through malolactic fermentation. The wine was then “tiraged” on 7th of February 2019, by the addition of yeast and sugar to the wine just before bottling, in order to induce the secondary fermentation in bottle. The resultant sparkling wine was aged for more than 42 months in bottle before being disgorged with the addition of a low dosage of 5g/L late September 2022. The DAOSA Blanc de Blancs 2018 has spent more than 4 years on lees in total, in barrel and in bottle.