Church Road Chardonnay

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Church Road

Chardonnay 2003

This elegant, yet powerful barrique-fermented Chardonnay is true to the Church Road style.

Crafted using traditional winemaking techniques this premium, complex wine marries ripe, distinctive fruit characteristics with toasty oak sweetness.

This wine is a dry, barrique-fermented style of Chardonnay.

Winemaker's Notes

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Release date: January 2004
Variety: 100% Chardonnay
Region: 51% Marlborough, 37% Gisborne, 12% Hawke's Bay

Description

Colour: Light straw.

Aromas: Layers of stone fruit, melon and citrus are enhanced by a refined seam of toasty French oak and subtle layers of yeast complexity.

Palate: Delicate handling of the ripe and concentrated fruit has produced a palate which exhibits both elegance and power with a lingering finish. The sweetness of the fruit and oak is balanced by a restrained level of acidity.

Recommended Cellaring

Careful cellaring for up to four years will be rewarded with increased complexity and integration.

Harvest

The fruit for this wine was sourced from both our Gisborne and Hawke's Bay vineyards, due to the low 2003 Hawke's Bay harvest. Light crops combined with careful vineyard management maximised the fruit characters.

The grapes achieved good levels of ripeness and particularly concentrated flavours as a result of the small crops.

Brix at harvest: Average 21.5-23º

Winemaking

Winemaker: Chris Scott

Following overnight settling, the free-run juice was racked to barrels and fermented under controlled conditions in French barriques. A number of different yeasts were used to ferment the base wines, resulting in a complex range of yeast characters. A small portion of malolactic fermentation was used this year to assist with acid balance and provide textural benefits.

The wine was held on full yeast lees for the six months it spent fermenting and maturing in French oak (one third of the barrels were new). Regular battonage (lees stirring) was used to protect the wine and round out the mouth feel.

The 2003 vintage presented a new challenge to the Church Road winemakers, requiring the winery to source fruit outside the Hawke's Bay. Vinification methods have remained true to the Church Road style, and the result is a classic vintage of Church Road Chardonnay.

Analysis

Alcohol: 13% by volume
pH: 3.3
Total acidity: 6.9 g/L as tartaric

Vintages

1990-99, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005*

* currently available vintage(s)

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