From one of the highest altitude vineyards in the country comes this bright yet powerful Chardonnay. In colour, it is a light straw with green hues at the rim. The nose offers alluring citrus, cashew and subtle soft oaky notes. Driven and focused, the palate opens with stonefruit and a clean citrus line. Layered and complex, oak and cashew flavours continue to unfold before a long, clean finish.
Awards and Accolades
2015 Vintage: 95 Points, Special Value Wine - James Halliday, Wine Companion "From three vineyard blocks, vinified separately, whole bunch-pressed, completing wild fermentation in French oak , mlf, matured for 10 months with regular lees stirring. Philip Shaw has been making chardonnay since Adam was a boy, and his experience blazes through this super-elegant wine. It combines juicy white peach fruit with a garnish of grapefruit, oak relegated to a purely functional role, not a decorative one."
From the Winery
Leading into the growing season we experienced a cold winter, with good rainfall and a few snowfalls.
September kicked off the growing season with mild temperatures allowing for a slow even budburst across the majority of the vineyard. Warmer temperatures in October with scattered showers pushed the vines through budburst to fruit set in a relatively short period of time, setting the tone for an early vintage. November brought hot temperatures with extended dry weather towards the end of the month putting pressure on the vines.
Timely rains in December recharged the soils and gave the vines the push they needed. Despite a warm start to January, cool wet weather towards the end of the month started to cause some concerns for disease and big berry sizes. February brought relief with hot dry weather, allowing the soils to soak up the extra moisture and start to concentrate flavours with ripening. March sealed the vintage as a cracker. Hot days with lovely cool nights provided ideal ripening and picking conditions. The above average temperatures in March resulted in warmer fruit flavours and depth, with the cool night helping to retain delicacy and freshness.
The Grapes were selected in the vineyard from Blocks 6, 12 and 11. They were hand-picked in the cool of the morning and pressed as whole bunches. The juice was settled at ambient temperature before being racked. Once the juice kicked i.e. started to ferment with natural yeast, it was transferred to a selection of old and new French barriques (25% new oak). Following fermentation the wines were stirred (battonage) regularly to enhance complexity and mouthfeel. The wine was left unsulfured over the cooler months and went through malolactic fermentation in the spring. The No11 blend is made from a careful selection of barrels from our top batches.
