"Sweetly floral and offering a wealth of fresh melon and peaches with orange blossom, too. The palate has a rich, fleshy and quite succulent feel with plenty of flavor, following the peach and lemon vein. Grilled nuts to close" James Suckling, Oct 2019

The aromas of the Valhalla Chardonnay 2018 are made up of ripe yellow stone fruits infused with flinty complexity and savoury nuttiness. The palate is concentrated with waves of harmonious flavours of ripe citrus, flinty lees characters and nutty, toasty flavours. 

Vintage 2018 began with a settled and dry spring resulting in great flowering and a corresponding excellent fruit set. Winemakers then enjoyed a relatively hot summer although there were intense periods of rainfall thanks to ex Tropical Cyclone Fehi and Gita which put the pressure on during harvest time. Temperatures remained warm into the harvest months increasing humidity however with careful attention to detail in the vineyard they were rewarded with excellent fruit.

All Man O' War's Chardonnay parcels are hand harvested and, for the Valhalla, macerated before pressing. The pressed juice is left un-fined in tank to begin spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts. The fermenting juice is then fed and transferred to 500 litre French oak puncheons for fermentation that is hot and fast. The wines are then left on gross lees until blending, small doses of sulphur dioxide are added at topping to help prevent the onset of malolactic fermentation, no lees stirring is carried out. Blending takes place in the New Year and bottling is carried out prior to the following vintage, approximately 10 months in oak.

Food Pairing: The acidity is well matched with the weight and concentration of the wine, rich enough not to be distracted by any malo or heavy lees work. Valhalla ages well and 2018 will be no exception, robust enough to be paired with plenty of options such as roast fowl but subtle enough also to be rewarding with seafood. Drink well.