Thelema Chardonnay 2012

Light straw in colour with hints of green, the nose shows marmalade fruit. Complex yeasty wooded flavours.

Maturation

Good now, will develop well for 3 years.

Food Pairing

Full flavoured dishes such as lobster, tuna, chicken and pork.

Winemaker's Comments

This wine has a beautiful light straw colour with hints of green. The nose shows pure marmalade fruit, blossoms and complex yeasty flavours in a nice harmony with toasty oak. The palate is clean with a lovely texture and finishes long.

All Vintages

Tasting Notes

Viticultural Practices

Varietal	Chardonnay – Clones CY3 & CY5
Root stock	101 – 14, R110
Soil type	Hutton – decomposed granite
Age of vines	Planted 1985, 1986
Plant density	3432 vines per hectare
Trellising	Vertical hedge
Pruning	2-bud spurs every 12cm
Yield	Approximately 5 t/ha
Irrigation	Supplementary drip
Vintage	Very hot and dry vintage, resulting in an early start to the picking, with different varieties ripening at the same time. A tough vintage for the winery crews!
Picking date	22 - 28th February
Grape sugar	22.5 °B
Acidity	6.4 – 7.9 g/l
pH at harvest	3.35

Winemaking Practices

Yeasts	D522
Fermentation temp	19 °C
Method	De-stalk, crush, pressed, settled in horizontal stainless steel tanks and fermented in 228 L French oak barrels.
Wood maturation	10 months in French oak barrels, 30% new, balance in 3rd/4th fill
Battonage	Barrels stirred every two weeks.
Second Fermentation	100% of the bottling completed malolactic fermentation in barrel

Wine Details

Residual Sugar	2.1 g/l
pH	3.36
Total acid	6.1 g/l
Alcohol	13.25% by volume
Maturation	Drinking well now, and will develop more complexity over the next 3 years.