2019 Whitehaven Marlborough Chardonnay
Sold Out
TASTING NOTE
Colour / Appearance: Bright, mid straw.
Aroma / Bouquet: A rich combination of ripe golden peach, grilled grapefruit and baked fig fruit flavours, with a hint of gunflint and an overlay of mealy, spicy, nutty notes.
Palate: An elegant full-bodied wine, with a vibrant concentration of ripe stone-fruit flavours, toasted almonds, and savoury notes. The palate is fleshy and creamy-textured, with a lingering finish and finely integrated oak.
Cellaring: We recommend drinking our 2019 Chardonnay in the first 4 to 6 years after the vintage, but the wine has the structure and closure to allow continued development with careful cellaring.
Food Match: Our Chardonnay is a food-friendly wine. A great match for Mediterranean food, creamy mushroom pasta, poultry dishes and veal. However, the fruit weight and acid balance make it versatile with most cuisine.
WINE ANALYSIS
Alcohol: 14%
Residual Sugar: 1.6g/L
Titratable Acidity: 5.4g/L
pH: 3.26
Harvest Date: 12th March to 22nd March 2019
Grape Growing: The vines were trained with two canes on a vertical trellis. Balanced pruning, shoot thinning, tucking, and trimming were done to achieve an open, healthy canopy. The season was notable for being one of the warmest on record. Over January and February, we experienced very hot, dry weather, resulting in smaller berries with excellent flavours intensity and concentration.
Winemaking: The fruit was hand-picked and immediately whole cluster pressed. The heavy pressings were kept separate to minimise harsh phenolics. The juice was lightly settled before being inoculated for fermentation. Halfway through fermentation, the wine was transferred to French oak barrels of which 35% were new puncheons. Malo-lactic fermentation was carried out in all the barrels and lees aged for 11 months to aid texture and richness on the palate.
Winemaker: Diana Katardzhieva
Vineyards:
Whitehaven, Pauls Road, Renwick
Rothay, Wratts Road, Rapaura
ACCOLADES
- “Gorgeously fruited and seductively complex, the wine shows golden peach, baked fig, vanilla and roasted hazelnut characters on the nose, leading to a wonderfully weighted palate that’s flavoursome and expansive. It’s creamy and comforting with well-pitched acidity, making it highly enjoyable. At its best: now to 2023.” Sam Kim, Wine Orbit, 5 Stars
- "Creamy, creamy, creamy! This chardonnay erupts with creme caramel, roast nectarine, toasted almonds and grilled grapefruit gorgeousness. It’s juicy, full-bodied and basically unputdownable after that first sip. It’s so beautifully balanced, refreshing, laced with soft smoke and seriously delicious. Chardonnay lovers – get this bottle!" Yvonne Lorkin, 5 Stars
- "A proud wine which has it all – good supple funk, lovely citrus and stonefruit characters all surrounded by savoury-spice oak notes. This oak provides structure and the perfect backbone to this commanding, albeit youthful chardonnay" Cuisine Magazine, 4 Stars
