Spy Valley Envoy Marlborough Chardonnay 2016

Description

• Cedar
• Golden peach & fig
• Brioche & nutty notes
• Creamy mouthfeel

"Beautifully styled and wonderfully complex, showing golden peach, cedar, brioche and lemon peel aromas on the nose, leading to a concentrated palate displaying excellent richness together with refined texture and bright acidity. It’s generous and flavoursome while remaining firmly structured, finishing persistent and engaging. At its best: now to 2026" Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, Jan 2021

Aromas of fig and ripe peaches overlaid with dried grass, walnuts and almond. Nutty, creamy and elegant. The fruit profile is restrained and the structure tightly bound with a fine, crisp finish. Expect good things with time in the bottle – the acid and phenolic structure are conducive to ageing. This wine will reward cellaring for at least 5-10 years.

Waihopai Valley B Block 56%. Alluvial stony silt loam, very well drained. Omaka Valley 44%. North facing hillside, clay/loess over clay bound glacial gravel. Vertical shoot positioning, shoot and bunch thinning to restrict yield. Clones UCD 15, B 95, Mendoza.

2016 was dry and a little warmer than average. There were small bunches and berries with great concentration. The acid and flavour balance allowed picking at moderate sugar levels early in the harvest.

Handpicked in the cool of morning, the juice was gently pressed direct to barrels and left to ferment. The most promising barrels from two blocks were selected and blended for further ageing. After a final selection 7 barrels were blended prior to bottling in January 2018.