2023 Xanadu Chardonnay

Colour:Pale straw with slight green tinge.

Nose:The bouquet displays fresh, pears and grapefruit with delicate wafts of frangipani and subtle hints of flinty barrel ferment characters, adding complexity.

Palate:The palate is medium bodied offering white fleshed nectarines, citrus and nashi pears. The wine displays a subtle saline/oyster shell thread, while the creamy texture, derived from lees stirring, provides a lovely foil to the bright natural acidity retained in the Gingin clone. Refined yet complex, the intense fruit and core of acidity combine to focus the wine perfectly to a lingering finish.

Cellaring Potential:A contemporary Chardonnay, displaying classic Margaret River hallmarks. The 2023 Xanadu is a wine with great fruit intensity, and while drinking well in its youth it will certainly reward with careful cellaring.

Varietal:Chardonnay (100%)

Vintage:2023

Region:Margaret River

Conditions:The growing season began with a late budburst after a relatively cold winter, with reasonable rainfall. The cool, wet spring which followed meant an extended flowering period for early bloomers, but with good fruit-set for most varieties. There was a complete lack of Marri blossom leading up to and during harvest which meant that bird pressure was extreme! The cool, late start to the growing season delayed ripening on most varieties, however the very dry, mild summer which followed offered perfect ripening conditions, allowing fruit to retain wonderful natural acidity. The 2023 Xanadu Chardonnay is predominantly Estate grown in the Wallcliffe sub-region, with 70% of the blend being made with fruit sourced from our Stevens Road, Boodjidup and Lagan vineyards. The remaining fruit was sourced from mature vineyards throughout the Margaret River region.

Alcohol:12.7%

Bottle Size:750ml

pH:3.04

Winemaking Notes:Made from Gingin clone Chardonnay, the fruit was whole bunch pressed and was all barrel fermented in select French oak barriques (25% new oak). Wild fermentation was encouraged on all the components, to introduce more complexity and personality into the wine. All the individual batches which make up the blend were lees stirred throughout a nine-month oak maturation period, without any malolactic fermentation. The final blend was put together in November 2023.