Chard Farm Judge & Jury Central Otago Chardonnay 2019

Description

• Subtle oak
• Apple & fig
• Baked bread & spices
• Mineral & refreshing

A refined and elegant bouquet displaying fresh fruit notes of lemon, apple and fig mingling with white flowers and spices with background baked bread aromas. The palate is at once lively and textural, with good fruit weight and drive. The subtle apple flavours develop into strong yuzu and umami notes in the back of the palate, the finish is clean, fresh and long. Best from 2021 on.

The Judge & Jury chardonnay is grown on The Tiger and Viper Vineyards in the Lowburn and Parkburn regions of the Cromwell basin. A steep slope overlooking the Tiger vineyard in Lowburn produces the same aromatically spicy/floral profiles that you find in the Pinot Noir grown there, as well as similar persistence and very long lived flavours. While the Viper Vineyard in Parkburn grows intensely lemony and weighty Chardonnay, the palate length showing the rich mineral acid and saline notes typical of this vineyard.

Winemakers are keeping the crop load very low, and the wine is mostly fermented in tank while a small portion is made in barrel. The result is a wine that is tight, refreshingly pure and mineral driven, showcasing cool climate fruit where the oak is very much in the background.