JULES TALKS CHARDONNAY
What do you look for in the perfect Chardonnay? Jules explains what she looks for when making her Marlborough Chardonnay.
FOOD MATCH
The complex flavours in this wine make it an adaptable option to pair with food. It’s perfect with fresh seafood flavours dishes such as barbequed crayfish tails with garlic butter or try it with a baked brie topped with honey and walnuts or a wholesome chicken noodle soup. It also pairs well with easy but delicious snacks like this flammkuchen recipe. Vegetarians would find it a great match with a mushroom risotto or with a roast pumpkin and spinach lasagne.
WINEMAKERS NOTES
The fashion for chardonnay used to be the big, buttery, oaky wine. Do we care for fashion? Pah! This is a wine that is fresh and has great fruit flavours that expresses the vineyard it was plucked from.
AROMA & FLAVOUR
This wine is layered with fragrant aromas of red apple, nectarine and lemon peel alongside toasted almond, nougat, a touch of spice and vanilla. On the palate, juicy apple and nectarine flavours are balanced by crisp citrus notes and refreshing acidity. Wild ferment and barrel aging has added complexity, nutty nuances and a weighty texture. The wine concludes in a dry, lingering, elegant finish.
VINTAGE NOTES
The 2022 season started with a very wet spring following hot on the heels of above average winter rainfall. Budburst was earlier than in 2021, and the vines’ potential for the 2022 season was there for all to see! Settled weather in late spring led to a good flowering across all varieties and some high temperatures in January made for healthy canopies that were well poised to carry the fruit through to ripening. Temperatures cooled down leading into harvest and a spell of rain in February made for some slightly nerve-wracking moments. But in the end, in typical Marlborough fashion, the sun came out and the vines worked their magic! Both vineyard sites for this wine are in drier, more sheltered locations with even soils leading to beautiful even ripeness in the fruit as it arrived in the winery.
VINIFICATION
The fruit for this wine came from the two beautiful vineyards in Marlborough’s Southern Valleys: Meadowbank Estate in the Taylor Pass and the Anderson Vineyard in the Brancott valley. The grapes were harvested carefully by hand and machine then taken to the winery for fermentation using a variety of techniques. Whole cluster pressed portions went directly into French oak barrels for a wild ferment on high solids. Other portions were tank fermented and some were cold settled and partially tank fermented and then sent to barrels mid-ferment. The yeast lees in the barrels were stirred occasionally over a seven month period to add body and complexity, and the wine underwent full malolactic fermentation to add further complexity. After its extended nap in the barrels, the various parcels were blended, stabilised then bottled.