The Helen’s Hill Chardonnay handpicked fruit is crushed and gently pressed into a holding tank for 48 hours to separate the clear juice from the settled lees.
The juice is then racked to a combination of 30% new and 70% older French oak barriques for primary fermentation. 100% wild yeast ferment. The fermenting barrels are placed in a temperature controlled storage area where the primary fermentation process is monitored until complete. After primary fermentation approximately 20% of the barrels undergo malolactic fermentation to add complexity and soften the acid structure. Throughout the entire fermentation process the wine undergoes battonage (lees stirring) to harmonize and add creaminess to the palate. Battonage continues through until the wine is prepared for bottling.
2017 ‘Breachley Block’ Chardonnay
“96 points, Exceptional + Special Value”
“A mix of clones, hand-picked, whole-bunch pressed, wild-fermented (10% mlf) in French puncheons (15% new), matured for 10 months. Bright, pale straw-green; has flourished over the past 12 months, although there’s no hurry. Grapefruit takes white peach and apple by
their hands and glides along the palate to the lingering finish.”
James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion ’20
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