Sutherland Chardonnay 2012
This wine has a beautiful light straw colour with hints of green. The nose shows pure marmalade fruit and complex yeasty flavours in a nice harmony with toasty oak. The palate is clean and pure with a lovely texture and finishes long.
Maturation
Drinking well, and will develop for 4 more years.
Food Pairing
Mild risottos, chicken salads and seafood dishes.
Tasting Notes
| Varietal | Chardonnay – Clones CY 270, CY 548A, CY 95/96 and 277D |
|---|---|
| Root stock | Richter 110 and 101 – 14 Mgt |
| Soil type | Tukulu |
| Age of vines | Planted August 2004 |
| Plant density | 2300 – 2500 vines/ha |
| Trellising | 7 wire Perold with moveable foliage wires |
| Pruning | Spur pruning |
| Yield | 16.32 t/ha |
| Irrigation | Drip irrigation |
| Vintage | Dry season with cool weather during the ripening period resulting in ideal conditions for production of elegant, well balanced white wines |
| Picking date | 12th – 28th February 2012 |
| Grape sugar | 23.51 °B |
| Acidity | 6.05 g/l |
| pH at harvest | 3.45 |
| Yeasts | Davis 522 |
|---|---|
| Fermentation temp | 19 °C |
| Method | Alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in 228 L French oak barrels. The wine spends 10 months on its gross fermentation lees, with the lees being stirred every fortnight. |
| Production | 26 000 bottles |
|---|---|
| Residual sugar | 1.7 g/l |
| pH | 3.31 |
| Total acid | 6.3 g/l |
| Alcohol | 13.72% |
| Maturation | 2014 – 2018 |
Fresh citrus flavours combine brilliantly with toasty, creamy oak. This wine has pure, clean fruit, leaving one with a lovely fresh finish. This wine shows surprising complexity for such a young wine. Will age gracefully.