Thelema "Ed's Reserve" Chardonnay 2015
This fragrant wine shows distinctive lime, peppery and floral aromas so typical of this unique vineyard. The palate is elegant with delicate fruit flavours, lovely yeasty notes and a long finish.
Maturation
The track record of this wine indicates cellaring of up to 8 years is well rewarded.
Food Pairing
The silky texture of this wine will match delicate and fine food such as shellfish or carpaccio.
Tasting Notes
| Varietal | Chardonnay – clone ER 166 |
|---|---|
| Root stock | R99 |
| Soil type | Hutton – decomposed granite |
| Age of vines | Planted 1985 |
| Plant density | 3989 vines per hectare |
| Trellising | Vertical hedge |
| Pruning | 2-bud spurs every 12cm |
| Yield | Approximately 7.95 t/ha |
| Irrigation | Supplementary drip |
| Vintage | The 2015 was the earliest recorded! Cool summer days with very little rain, resulted in ideal growing conditions for the vines. |
| Picking date | 27th January 2015 |
| Grape sugar | 22.3 °B |
| Acidity | 6.67 g/l |
| pH at harvest | 3.28 |
| Yeasts | D522 |
|---|---|
| Fermentation temp | About 19 °C |
| Method | De-stalk, crush, overnight skin-contact, pressed, settled in horizontal stainless steel tanks and fermented in 228 L French oak barrels, 15% new wood balance 2nd & 3rd fill barrels. |
| Battonage | Barrels stirred every two weeks to promote yeast autolysis. |
| Second Fermentation | 100% of the bottling completed malolactic fermentation in barrel. |
| Residual Sugar | 2.3 g/l |
|---|---|
| pH | 3.39 |
| Total acid | 6.5 g/l |
| Alcohol | 13.0 % by volume |
| Maturation | Drinking well now, and will develop more complexity over the next 3 years |
This fragrant wine shows distinctive lime, peppery and floral aromas so typical of this unique vineyard. The palate is elegant with delicate fruit flavours, lovely yeasty notes and a long finish.