2016 Reserve Bin 00A Chardonnay

The 2016 Reserve Bin A Chardonnay opens with lovely baking bread, honeyed toast and marzipan notes with a core of apricots, melon and pink grapefruit. Medium-bodied, the palate has great elegance and expression, with pretty citrus and mineral accents and a nice phenolic texture, finishing long and lively.

All fruit is hand-picked into small bins and then whole-bunch pressed. A portion of the juice is incrementally filled to barrel directly from the press and allowed to undergo a natural fermentation, sans inoculation. Every new and seasoned French oak barrique is its own unique 225-litre ferment. Enhanced mouthfeel and complexity is achieved by fermenting and maturing on solids. 100% malolactic fermentation (all natural). The Adelaide Hills 2016 growing season commenced under mild and dry conditions. Rainfall was below average throughout winter and dry conditions persisted through spring resulting in early vine growth. Conditions for fruit-set and flowering were favourable and contributed towards above average vintage yields. Rain events during late summer were, for the most part, pre-veraison. Cool February conditions meant that ripening was steady and the slightly early start to vintage was a result of a mild and dry growing season. February and March weather allowed for a steady harvest, favourable flavour development and acid retention. Acidity 6.8 g/l, pH 3.14. Nine months in French oak barriques (40% new). Creamy and user-friendly nose. Much more charm and breadth than the Bin 311 initially, but then tight and crisp on the finish. Rich with lime-cream notes. Much tighter than of old. But very far from fat. Stony finish. (JR)