2018 Stevens Road Chardonnay

Colour :Pale Straw

Nose:The bouquet of this elegant yet striking Chardonnay offers white peach, lemonade citrus and frangipani floral notes with hints of quartz and river stone in the background.

Palate:The palate is medium bodied offering stone fruits and zesty citrus flavours. Textural yoghurty/nougat characters derived from lees stirring in barrel are well balanced by natural acidity and trademark Stevens Road minerality. Complex and intruiging, the wine finishes crisp and clean with persistent length of fruit.

Varietal:Chardonnay (100%)

Vintage:2018

Region:Margaret River

Conditions:The growing season began with good, even budburst after average Winter rainfall. The mild Spring which followed ensured that there was good flowering and fruit set. A moderate start to Summer, with no heat extremes, set up the harvest well with white varieties offering great flavour intensity and bright acidity. There was an incredible display of Marri blossom (tagged as a once in a generation ‘mega-blossom’) which meant bird pressure was practically non-existent whilst the whites were harvested. A minor rain event occurred in mid-March which was followed by fine, warm conditions that prevailed right through to middle of April, allowing all red varieties to achieve great flavour and tannin ripeness. In summary 2018 will be remembered as an outstanding vintage!

Alcohol:13%

Bottle Size:750ml

pH:3.07

Winemaking Notes:The Gingin clone Chardonnay was hand-picked and whole bunch pressed followed by 100% natural fermentation in select French oak barriques (25% new). Barrels were lees stirred regularly throughout a nine-month oak maturation period, without any malolactic fermentation. Only the best barrels were selected for the final blend which was put together in November 2018.