Schild Estate's Alma Chardonnay is made in the style that will delight lovers of broad, ripe and oaky Chardonnay.
A consistent ripening season with relatively mild temperatures has ensured that this vintage is seen by many as a particularly strong year for both white and red wines. Good natural acid retention, strong varietal definition and an intense depth of flavour were hallmarks of the year particularly on Chardonnay, but across all white wines.
Reviews
Steve Leszczynski, QWine "The fruit comes off the family's renowned Moorooroo vineyard, an immensely historic site. A thick set Chardonnay, this is not for the faint hearted. Perhaps a little bulky? Broad shoulders are pulling a fair load. Scents of barbecued peach, pineapple husk and vanilla cream. It's creamy with butterscotch. Old school Chardonnay fans would gravitate to this I suspect. It flows fairly enough through the mouth. Not a bad go for twenty bucks."
From the Winery
This wine is dedicated to Alma Schild, who raised a family of eight children in primitive conditions whilst supporting her husband Ben in establishing the Schild family vineyards and is a testament to her understanding, perseverance and sheer hard work.
Sourced from the family’s finest parcel of Chardonnay off the Moorooroo Vineyard near Rowland Flat, the goal for our winemakers here has been to produce a wine which is varietally strong, retains its element of refreshingness, but possesses interest and complexity for the drinker. Varying degrees of oak barrel and stainless steel use, lees stirring and malolactic fermentation are all used in an eff ort to make a wine “with no arms and legs sticking out” and in which Alma Schild would be proud.
An almost perfect growing season was punctuated by a burst of warmer weather close to harvest. A certain amount of nerve, block selection and the use of cooler air at elevation along with prudent handling of the harvested fruit was crucial to ensure the required levels of flavour development were reached whilst at the same time balancing sugar levels in the grapes.
Don't Pay: $25.00
WBW Rating: 92/100
Closure: Stelvin
Region: Barossa Valley, SA
Winemaker: Scott Hazeldine
Drink now until: 2022
Alc/Vol: 13.5 %