Chardonnay Bannockburn 2018

Felton Road, tasting note (feltonroad.com – produktside feltonroad.com, hentet 2026-10-19): 2018 Felton Road Chardonnay Bannockburn – område: Bannockburn (Central Otago); drue: Chardonnay. Producentens noter (engelsk): Tasting note: An inviting and complex nose of almond and apricot kernel with our distinctive white florals. It’s less citrus focussed than normal, expressing more in the stonefruit spectrum due to the warmer 2018 growing season. Winemaking is minimalist: not fined or filtered, allowing for greater expression of place over process. The various vineyard components of this Bannockburn bottling contribute to a palate that is textural, nutty and very long. Vineyard & viticulture: Felton Road farms four properties totaling 32 ha in the Bannockburn sub-region of Central Otago. Meticulous summer management of a single vertical shoot positioned (VSP) canopy ensures even and early fruit maturity. Shoot thinning, shoot positioning, leaf plucking, bunch thinning and harvest are all carried out by hand to ensure optimum quality fruit. Cover crops are planted between rows to assist in vine balance and to improve soil health and general biodiversity A vintage characterised by exceptional heat, with warmer than normal overnight temperatures being of particular note from October through January. As has often been the case, this was a vintage of two halves. When our calendars moved from January to February, the turning of the page was both literal and figurative. Temperatures crashed back down to ordinary levels (in fact, the coolest in 14 years) and the drought was broken by the wettest February on record. This cool and wet month slowed the ripening considerably and fortunately allayed our concerns for the potential style and quality of the wines; due to the preceding warm months and advanced season. Harvesting began early on 28 February and proceeded in an orderly and measured pace over the next three weeks. Vinification: Various clones of Chardonnay (Mendoza, B95, B548, UCD6) were carefully hand harvested from Cornish Point and The Elms vineyards. The grapes were whole bunch pressed with the juice immediately flowing to barrel by gravity with no settling. Fermentation in French oak (mostly well-seasoned barrels) with indigenous yeasts has produced a wine with considerable complexity. A long and complete indigenous malolactic fermentation with only periodic stirring of the lees (Batonnage) combined with 10 months on full lees; has softened the acid for a rich and complex mouthfeel. In accordance with our non-interventionalist approach to winemaking, this wine was fermented with indigenous yeast and was not fined or filtered.