Mt Beautiful North Canterbury Chardonnay 2018

Description

• Oaked
• White peach
• Toasted brioche
• Clean & crisp finish

An aromatic Chardonnay displaying white peach and toasted brioche with a creamy texture that makes it easy to drink. It is a medium bodied wine with ripe nectarine-like fruit and underlying notes of roasted almonds and cinnamon. The wine boasts a clean and crisp finish, lovely persistent minerality and savory toastiness.

Their Chardonnay is planted on the most Northern part of the vineyard and is hand tended and hand-harvested. The clones are a mixture of French clones B95, 548, UCD15 and UCD1 grafted onto different rootstocks. The vineyard is in charge of dictating the flavor profile of the Chardonnay, so far yielding flavors of peachy stone fruits and creamy almonds.

2018 was a good growing year overall and was warmer and wetter than normal for North Canterbury. This led to a very good growing season; good flowering, nice even bunches and early ripening. Picking commenced on the 26th March and finished on the 7th April, about 10 days earlier than 2017.

All of their Chardonnay was handpicked in different batches depending on levels of ripeness. It was then gently whole bunch pressed which resulted in delicate fruit-driven aromas and good palate weight, while minimizing the extraction of undesirable phenolics. Once pressed, the juice settled for 12-24 hours before the clear juice was put (50/50 split) into tank and barrel (new and neutral oak) for fermentation. About half of the barrels went through the malolactic fermentation to soften the acid balance and broaden the palate. Both barrel and tank components were aged on lees for 10 months, adding textural elements to the wine. The end result is a wine with fine stone fruit character, creaminess of texture and length.

Food Pairing: Pair our Mt. Beautiful Chardonnay with poached chicken, fresh baked salmon, Coquille St St. Jacques, and a playful perspective about life.