Mystery Wairarapa Chardonnay 2017

Description

"Gorgeously opulent and inviting, the bouquet shows golden peach, mango, vanilla and cedar characters with subtle brioche complexity. The palate is concentrated and wonderfully weighted, displaying rich texture and fabulous fruit power, brilliantly supported by plush mouthfeel and a lingering expansive finish. At its best: now to 2021" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Jul 2018

You will see aromas of melon, stonefruit, biscuit and toasty oak. The palate is rich and textural, with creamy complexity and a long, elegant finish. Whilst delicious now, this wine will continue to develop in the bottle over the next decade.

This barrel fermented Chardonnay was grown in the winemakers Wairarapa home vineyard and hand picked on a beautiful autumn day by a very special team. This is the first bottling that they have done from these vines.

The fruit for this wine was the first bottling off Mendoza, clone 95 and Clone 15 Chardonnay vines planted in their home vineyard in 2013.  2017 was a long, cool growing season resulting in low yields of ripe, concentrated fruit. The grapes were hand harvested to ensure optimal condition.

The fruit for this wine was whole-bunch pressed straight after picking, with the cloudy juice then being transferred directly for fermentation into French oak barrels, with 40% new oak, using a mixture of cultivated and wild yeasts. Once fermentation was complete, the wine was left on lees in barrel for approx. 11 months to promote texture and mouthfeel, before preparation for bottling.

Food Pairing: We suggest pairing it with spit-roasted wild pork or freshly caught crayfish!