150 Church Road,
Taradale,
Hawke's Bay
New Zealand
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©2006
This powerful, elegant and full-bodied wine was crafted from hand-harvested Chardonnay grapes from an excellent Hawke's Bay vintage. Traditional winemaking techniques were used to add an extra dimension of complexity, to enrich the mouth-feel and to soften the palate.
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Variety: 100% Chardonnay
Colour: Golden straw of fully ripened Chardonnay.
Aromas: Concentrated and rich fruit layered with complex aromas of savoury yeast and toasty oak.
Palate: Intense white peach, with hints of apricot and sweet French oak is deftly balanced by a seam of acidity. Delicate handling has produced a palate which is refined and elegant yet at the same time powerful and lingering.
This wine will reward careful cellaring for five years or more.
Over time the fruit, oak and various fermentation characters will become even more integrated and increase in complexity. Due to the exceptional nature of the vintage, this wine will age slowly and gracefully.
1999 was another excellent year for Chardonnay in Hawke's Bay. In fact, the 1999 was even warmer than the exceptional 1998 vintage. The growing degree days (the heat available for ripening the grapes) was 25% higher than the 30-year average and rainfall was 12% lower. These conditions produced pristine crops of very ripe Chardonnay with high sugar levels and excellent acid balance.
Winemakers: Tony Prichard, Peter Hurlstone
The grapes were harvested in late March at 23° Brix. Subtle winemaking changes were introduced in order to optimise the exceptional characteristics of this vintage. After minimal skin contact and overnight settling, the juice was racked to barrels and fermented under controlled conditions in mainly new French oak barriques. A portion of the fruit was hand-harvested and whole-bunch pressed in order to provide a softer and more delicate component, which added balance and will benefit ageing.
No malolactic fermentation was used for this vintage. The wine was held on its yeast lees for the ten months it spent maturing in oak. Batonage (lees stirring) was used to add an extra dimension of complexity and to further soften the palate.
Alcohol: 13.0% by volume
pH: 3.4
Total Acidity: 7.2 g/L as tartaric
1991-1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005*
* currently available vintage(s)
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