We make three Chardonnays from the same vineyard, but in quite different styles.
Our Reserve Chardonnay is barrel fermented in French 224 litre barriques and 500 litre puncheons, with 20-25% new oak. The grapes are gently whole bunch pressed and racked straight to barrels. Fermentation is wild, meaning the yeast from the grape skins drives the conversion of sugars (from the ripeness of the grapes) into alcohol. During the ten months maturation in oak, the wine undergoes a malolactic fermentation. This is when the sharp malic acid (like when you bite into a Granny Smith apple, is converted to lactic acid – the type found in dairy foods. This softens the overall acidity and contributes to a creamier texture. It is the combination of all these factors that produces a flavoursome, full-bodied, balanced and delicious wine.
So let’s break this down: high solids in the juice after pressing provide weight, minerality, and a flinty reductive character. Barrel fermentation adds smoky, spicy, and vanilla oak characters that match beautifully with the lemon and stone fruit flavours that we get from this vineyard site. And lastly, wild fermentation is a long, slow process that encourages yeasty, brioche and mealy notes, adding yet another layer of complexity together with a weighty texture.
A second wine has emerged from our Chardonnay programme. This is The Max named after renowned New Zealand artist Max Gimblett with whom we collaborated to create these special wines (there is also a Pinot Noir). We knew there was often the odd barrel that seemed to be even more incredible, giving a more in-depth expression. So we decided to do something exclusive with these barrels. Our majority shareholders, Tim and Pauline Evill are good friends with Max. He is a real inspiration and allowed us to use two of his works to create the wine labels. The result is a collector’s item – the most incredibly expressive, rich and complex Chardonnay adorned with art from one of New Zealand’s most famous artists.
Our Estate Chardonnay also comes from our Chaytor’s Road vineyard and shares a lot of the same winemaking techniques as the Reserve win including being fermented with high solids using wild yeast. The big difference is that it is fermented in tank rather than in oak. This means it doesn’t have the vanilla, smoke and toasty spice characters but instead focuses on fruit purity. After fermentation, a portion of this wine spends time in old oak barrels, which due to the porosity and oxygen ingress give added complexity and texture but not flavour. This wine is a more transparent expression of the fruit from this vineyard site and the Chardonnay variety in general.
Made in the vineyard
It is worth remembering that while the winemaker can influence the style, the inherent quality of the wine is determined in the vineyard. The site, vine age and of course, how well they are looked after have the biggest impact on quality, together with the weather. Our Chaytor’s Road Vineyard has wonderful 30-year-old Mendoza clones that yield small crops of intensely flavoured grapes that are carefully (and proudly!) managed by our viticulturist Mark and his team, Luke and Paddy.
Food match
These wines are easy to enjoy on their own, especially the Estate Chardonnay. They are also good paired with seafood, creamy risottos and pasta dishes, fresh salmon, soft white cheeses, pates and chicken. Char-grilled foods are another great match as are roasted vegetables, especially pumpkin.
If you like the sound of pasta with feta and roasted butternut pumpkin, we’ve got a delicious and easy recipe to tempt you – click here!
Oh, and one more thing – there’s no rule that says you have to choose between oaked or unoaked! Some days you might fancy the lighter, more fruit driven style, while a different occasion might call for the more powerful and rich oaked style.
