Chardonnay 2008
The 2008 Chardonnay was harvested with slightly lower sugar and slightly higher acid than is usual for Rosily Chardonnay. The fruit was harvested from a more shaded canopy than most years, which was a result of the unique vintage conditions of 2008 which encouraged an early budburst and vigourous foliage growth. Total rainfall was within 8mm of its long-term average, but the growing season - budburst to veraison - was 30% wetter than usual, while the ripening season from veraison to harvest was drier than usual.
The backbone of this wine is sourced from the traditional Gingin clone, but about 10% is from the newly grafted Burgundian clones, which help create a complex and multi-dimensional wine.
Download Tasting Notes for this Wine (PDF)» Tasting Notes
Appearance
Clear and bright medium yellow.
Nose
Fresh and clean revealing an array of stone fruits and cashew flavours.
Palate
Intense and well balanced revealing peach and grapefruit notes that lead to a clean mineral finish. Integrated French oak and controlled lees contact adds a further level of depth.
Cellaring
This wine is ready for immediate drinking however it has the structure to gain further complexity over the next 6-8 years.
» Technical Data
Amount
5.96 tonnes
Cropping Level
1.0 tonne to the acre
Harvest Dates
23rd and 28th of February 2008
Alcohol/Volume
13.5%
Oak Treatment
9.5 months in French Oak (60% new)
» Production History
2001: 778 cases, 2002: 164 cases, 2003: 539 cases, 2004: 804 cases, 2005: 679 cases, 2006: 730 cases, 2007 : 930 cases, 2008: 440 cases
» Reviews / Awards
"A great example of the complexity Margaret River can achieve with overtones of (good) Burgundy; the intense yet fine array of fruit aromas and flavours are the cornerstone, oak merely a vehicle. Will develop very well." 95 points - James Halliday, Top 100 "Best of the Rest", The Weekend Australian Magazine 14th November 2009
"One of the finest and tightest examples of Margaret River Chardonnay... a sign of the future at Margaret River perhaps. - 94 points"
Ray Jordan, 2010 WA Wine Guide