Unoaked Chardonnay 2004
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2004
750 ml
White
Still Wine
New Zealand
A.O.C.
13.5 %
0-5 g/l
The two top Chardonnay clones, Mendoza and UCD15, were chosen to make this wine which was fermented totally in tanks. Hand picking and whole bunch pressing at optimum times between 28th March and 2nd April accentuated the ripe characters from the fruit. The idea of the style is to utilise the fruit characters, rather than oak, to show what this variety can achieve in Marlborough. The juice was fermented with both indigenous (resident) and selected yeasts to add to complexity and the wine was left on yeast lees for eight months prior to blending. The fermentation was allowed to rise to relatively warm temperatures in order to enhance palate texture, which is balanced by the fruit characteristics from the vineyard. The various portions were kept separate so that a wide number of options were available at the time of blending to ensure an optimum blend was achieved. This is a powerful, complex Chardonnay with great aromatic concentration and length; its dominant citrus notes are balanced by a long palate length. It is anticipated that the wine will cellar well for 5 or more years. The wine is dry with residual sugar of less than 1g/L, pH of 3.15 and an alcohol level of 13.5%.
