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CHARDONNAY Canterbury 2008
The Kaituna Vineyard
This wine comes from the vines immediately in front of our home at Kaituna Valley on one of the drier portions of the vineyard. Planted in a mix of clones, mostly UCD15 and Cl 95 with smaller amounts of UCD6 and UCD7. Pruned to two canes, trained to a Scott-Henry trellis system and cluster thinned to one cluster per shoot after fruit set.
2008 was an exceptional year with mild summer and autumn conditions. The wine shows perfect poise and harmony with cream, citrus, biscuit and sizzled butter flavours and integrated spicy oak. More creaminess and minerality will emerge with bottle age.
Technical Notes:
Grapes were hand-harvested from the home vineyard on 24 April 2008 in excellent condition at 24.2 to 25 Brix. Following whole cluster pressing the juice was settled for 48 hours prior to racking to French oak barrels (30% new) for primary fermentation using indigeneous and cultured yeasts. The wine stayed on yeast lees with occasional stirring and 60% went through malolactic fermentation. It was blended prior to bottling on August 2009.
Results:
- 4 & 1/2 star “It’s beautifully ripe and creamy on the nose displaying stonefruit, pineapple and subtly infused nutty oak characters. The palate is rounded and silky with rich texture and an expansive mouthfeel. A generously flavoured Chardonnay showing richness as well as elegance. At its best: now to 2013.” Sam Kim www.wineorbit.co.nz
- «««« 89/100 “Silken-textured wine with fig, nectarine, peach, citrus/grapefruit, mineral and subtle oak flavours. Chardonnay with an appealing purity and fruit sweetness plus no shortage of power. Very impressive wine offering good value at this price.” www.bobswinereviews.com April 2011
Previous Results:
2007 vintage:
- 4 star 92/100 “Creamy, seamless Chardonnay with integrated citrus, sizzled butter, bready yeast and classy oak flavours. It represents excellent value at this price.” Australian Gourmet Traveller WINE August 2009
- 4 star 90/100 Bob Campbell April 2009 bobwinereviews.com
2005 vintage:
- Silver Medal Air New Zealand Wine Show 2006
- 4 star “Fragrant, full-bodies and creamy, it offers excellent depth of ripe, citrusy, toasty flavour, sweet-fruit delights and a rounded finish” Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide to New Zealand Wines 2007
2004 vintage:
- Silver Medal Air New Zealand Wine Show 2005
- 4 star WINESTATE Magazine Jul/Aug 2006
- 4 star Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide to NZ Wines 2006
2002 vintage:
- 4 & 1/2 star WINESTATE Magazine July/August 2004
- 4 star “This is clearly one of Canterbury’s greatest Chardonnays. Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide to NZ Wines 2004
- 4 star 88/100 New Zealand Home & Entertaining Feb/Mar 2004.
2001 vintage:
- 5 star Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide to New Zealand Wines 2003
2000 vintage:
- 4 & 1/2 star Michael Cooper’s Buyer’s Guide to New Zealand Wines 2002
