Vintage

2021 was an excellent Chardonnay vintage in the Yarra. Disease pressure and mild days/cold nights are always in the recipe for good years. We picked a touch early to avoid rain events, and a bit of botrytis was creeping in. The fruit was crushed to the press, with more pressings included than usual due to the unprecedented phenolic ripeness of 2021. The fruit was grown on Napoleone Vineyard blocks 4 (north-east facing), 11D and 11E (south-west facing) as always. These vines were planted in 1987 and 1991 to I10V1.

Winemaking

This is the most delicate and fine-boned Chardonnay of my time at Punt Road. Half of the wine went through malolactic conversion, otherwise nothing much of note in the winemaking; it’s the vintage driving everything here. The nose shows citrus, vanilla and white flowers. The palate has lemongrass and ginger, linearity and a touch of class, which manifests itself in a slight waxiness and the restraint of the fruit character.

Technical Notes

Vineyard: Napoleone & Beenak Vineyard

Soil type:  Sandy loam on clay base 

Aspect: Northerly

Clone:  I10V1          

Yeast:  Wild

Oak:   French puncheons, 20% new

Coopers: Vallaurine, D&J

Bottled:  1^st September 2021       Alcohol: 12.5%