2001 Chardonnay

VINTAGE
The 2000/01 growing season was our warmest ever but, paradoxically, did not generate warm area flavours. It has long been my belief that the flavours of the grapes are mostly influenced by the weather of the last 50 days before ripening and that was proved in 2001. Late February and March were in fact cooler than average and so the fruit retained its zesty freshness although, because of the warm summer, vintage was early. We harvested the Chardonnay on 19th to 22nd of March with crop levels at 1.6 kg per vine. The ripe flavour was excellent. Sugar at harvest was 12.5 Be.

TASTING NOTES

Aroma: Fresh, nutty, creamy fruit with subtle melon overtones.
Palate: Crip, tight, fine and understated. Concentrated but not big. A wine of freshness, delicacy and subtle power.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Region: Lenswood, Adelaide Hills
Variety: 100% Chardonnay
Oak Maturation: 12 months in French oak barriques. All from forests in the centre of France and Vosges. Half new oak and half second use.
pH: 3.26 | Alcohol: 13.4% | TA: 7.7 g/L
Cellaring: Freshness, concentration, delicacy and balance with crisp acidity are the keys for ageable wines. This wine has all of these elements and I am confident that it will age well. I envisage positive development for at least 20 years under Stelvin.
Food Suggestion: Flavourful but delicate foods are ideal partners for this wine. Happily accompanies a wide range of foods, in particular, seafood such as prawns, barramundi or lobster.
Serving Suggestion: Best drunk cool between 5 and 12°C
Closure: A note on Stelvin. We now use Stelvin on all our white wines. Stelvin sealed wines in my experience have many positive characteristics. They; are fresher than cork sealed wines are free of taints age more slowly and gracefully than cork can be safely stored at more variable and warmer temperatures than wine under cork. Since ageablity is a fundamental attribute of our wines it is logical that we should seal our white wine with the closure which achieves this best. The question of ageing of red wines under Stelvin is still open. Steady but limited ingress of air to the wine to enhance development of reds is facilitated by cork under good cellaring conditions and is, to me, a reason to continue with cork for reds.

REVIEWS FOR THE  2001 CHARDONNAY

95 points. One of the best 24 Chardonnay wines in Australia". Bright straw-green; super fine, elegant, intense and very long citrussy/tangy palate.
2005 James Halliday Australian Wine Companion