2019 First Grid Chardonnay
Single Vineyard | Low Impact | Vegan Friendly
Harvest:
Block 11 chardonnay planted in 1996 was picked by modern night harvesting, selecting just plump flavour-ripe, entire berries. 2019 is an early-ripening vintage, 14 January, with optimal harvesting decisions producing fresh, vibrant, ripe grape acids and modest alcohol.
Wine:
Low intervention winemaking (lo-fi) is a theme; taking 7 hours skin contact in the press without sulphur dioxide addition; minimal other additions with use of natural yeast, all solids retained to develop struck match aroma, and a view to provide more savoury than fruity personality. Fewer winemaking steps were designed to have the least disruption to wine texture by reduced movement.
Oak:
The wine was fully barrel fermented, 50% new tight grain, in long, low toast French hogsheads, lees and solids, aged for 8 months ,then stabilised in stainless steel for integration and balance.
Low Impact:
Careful winemaking and extended crushed grape content, wild yeasts, blocked malo-lactic changes, mixed age oak barrels and rebuttal of animal-derived finings (vegan friendly) produces this contemporary wine. Progress to bottling had minimal filtration and fining, not sterile so it remains a living wine.
Taste:
Moffatdale sub-region terroir, generous colour, barrel smoke, almond aromas signifying skin aromatics, sweet fruit yet spice-savoury artifacts from hands-off winemaking, taste layering, racy acidity (high, though ripe for a warm region); has ease on the palate to drink immediately. Mid-weight,crispy, textural-drying style.
12.5% alcohol, dry, 7.4 standard drinks
Peter Scudamore-Smith | Master of Wine (1991)
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