Yealands Reserve Marlborough Chardonnay 2019

Description

• Tropical fruit
• Subtle spices
• Honey
• Hints of oak

This beautiful pale gold Chardonnay has aromas of honeyed stone fruit and pineapple, with subtle savoury spices and oak. The palate shows layers of tropical fruit, lees complexity and hints of oak with a long elegant finish. Enjoy now, or cellar up to 3 years.

The 2019 growing season in Marlborough was a hot and dry one. Small amounts of rain occurred around the end of December, but then no further until late February. These rain events had very little impact on soil moisture levels, but helped to replenish the rivers, setting the winery up nicely through to harvest. Vintage started in mid-March and it provided incredibly stable weather, which meant bocks could be picked at their optimum ripeness. This Chardonnay was handpicked at full ripeness from the stunning Medway vineyard in the Awatere Valley, renowned for having extremely tough growing conditions with very hard soils and huge diurnal shifts. The fluctuating temperatures enabled great flavour to develop during the hot days, yet retain natural acidity and freshness from the cold nights.

A combination of handpicked and machine harvested fruit was picked ideal ripeness and gently pressed. The juice was settled and racked off solids then fermented with a range of vessels, temperatures and yeast strains to give complexity of aroma and mouth feel. After aging on yeast lees with regular stirring, the batches were racked, blended, stabilised and filtered prior to bottling.

Yealands wine is inspired by the surrounding coast, so close to the ocean that their vines are often misted with sea spray. The beauty of the environment influences how the wine is crafted, respectful of nature and the land. Yealands believes in sustainable winemaking and creating thoughtfully crafted wines that work in harmony with the landscape.

Food Pairing: Beautifully matched with roast chicken, fish and chips and oysters.