Four O’Clock Chardonnay 2010
Tasting Notes
We had a guest taster to help us put together our tasting note, one Mr Donald Edward from the UK (you can follow him on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/donalde or read his highly amusing and informative blog at http://notesfromthedregs.blogspot.com/). Donald was sommelier at Le Bouchon Breton in London and was part of the James Busby wine tour of Australia in October 2010. He was then honoured guest chez Battle of Bosworth before returning to the snowy wastes of Reading in the UK. This is my official waiver for his florid style! Thanks Donald.
‘The Four O’clock Chardonnay sashays across the palate with some delightfully poised citrus peel and apricot notes before flashing a flirtatious glance at a bowl of tropical fruit on the finish.’
Our note reads far more sedately: ‘the Four O'clock' Chardonnay shows a nose of stone fruit (nectarine and white peach) and citrus (lime and pink grapefruit). The flavours from the nose follow right through to the palate. The Spring Seed Chardonnay has a subtly textured mid palate and a wonderful crisp length.
Vintage
We recorded just about avenge annual rainfall over the year, which resulted in healthy crops of our red varieties. Unseasonably warm November weather interfered with the chardonnay during flowering and has resulted in small crops of this variety. The weather then remained almost perfect for the rest of vintage. The general consensus amongst winemakers in the Vale is that 2010 marks an exceptional year for both red and white wines.
Winemaking
We made the wine using several components which had been picked, handled and fermented separately. Our aim was to add complexity to the finished wine. The Spring Seed Chardonnay is essentially a single vineyard wine. All fruit was handled oxidatively, and pressed very gently. One batch underwent a wild ferment. The other two batches underwent a long, controlled fermentation in stainless steel to protect the aromatics of the Chardonnay. Post ferment, all of the batches were kept on solids for as long as possible to further increase the complexity of the wine, and to protect the wines against oxidation. None of the batches underwent malolactic fermentation to retain the crisp natural acidity of the wine.
Other Vintages
Technical Details
Picking Date: 2nd, 5th and 7th Feb 2010
pH: 3.16
Total Acidity: 6.67 g/L
Alc/Vol: 13.0%