2013 Kangerong Chardonnay
A field blend of two chardonnay blocks a stone's throw apart on the home vineyard, each picked, pressed and fermented separately before being brought together. Early picked with restrained oak, showing white stone fruit and citrus over the textural depth that comes from long lees contact.
Tasting Notes
NOSE
Aged Peninsula chardonnay characters, with the white stone fruit and citrus of youth now sitting behind honey, roasted nut and a touch of struck match, over a lanolin-like note that comes with time.
PALATE
The fruit has softened and broadened, with the extended lees work showing as a rounder, oilier texture. Retained natural acidity still holds the line and carries a long, savoury finish.
Kangerong
VINEYARD
This wine is produced entirely from grapes grown at our home vineyard, planted and tended by the Crittenden family since 1982. Located in the south eastern foothills of the Kangerong basin, the site takes good advantage of the well draining loam soils and the cooling effects of Port Phillip Bay 5km west. Kangerong is a field blend of 2 separate blocks of Chardonnay on the same site, both planted to the I10V1 clone with one running north south and the other running east west. Each block is treated separately from pruning to harvest and into the winery. Minimal input farming and biological soil management are at the core of our viticultural practices.
WINEMAKING
Each block was individually hand harvested and whole bunch pressed to a mixture of new, one and two year old French oak barriques and puncheons. All barrels were then allowed to commence fermentation spontaneously with wild (indigenous) yeast. Temperature control was exercised during the fermentation process to ensure the retention of clean fruit characters. The wine was stored, subject to a topping regime, in the same barrels for 11 months, where the lees were stirred back into the wine at regular intervals to add complexity and richness. Prior to bottling the individual components were assembled in tank where they were made cold and protein stable and lightly filtered.
WINEMAKER'S NOTES
Although a short stone's throw is all that separates the two chardonnay blocks, each planting provides unique and desirable characters to the finished blend. Early harvest and minimal oak and malolactic reliance has helped retain its vibrancy, with characters of white stone fruit and citrus abundant on the nose and palate. Extended time on gross lees has further enhanced the textural complexity of the wine while the retained natural acidity ensures a fresh clean finish.
Best paired with
- Grilled scallops with lemon butter
- Roast chicken with tarragon
- Creamy mushroom pappardelle