2017 Spring Vale Reserve Chardonnay, Freycinet Coast

The 2017 ripening conditions allowed all three of the Chardonnay blocks to hit the standard required to contribute to a complex and supple Reserve Chardonnay. It has fresh aromas of white peach and butterscotch with a bouquet of vanillin and subtle honey. The palate is silky and voluptuous with layers of stone fruit, vanillin oak, and a delicate acidity for balance and length. The mouth-filling texture supported by fine grained French oak and lemon curd acidity gives great cellaring potential but it will drink exceptionally well now if you match it Tasmania Crayfish or a rabbit tortellini with a creamy sauce!

Chardonnay vines were first planted at Spring Vale in 1990. Individual parcels of I10V1, I10V3, and the P58 clone were harvested based on flavour profile and acidity. The fruit was whole bunch pressed with the free run and light pressing fractions kept separate from the harder pressings. Portions of free run juice were transferred to new French barriques and underwent ‘wild’ fermentation while remaining juice was racked off heavy solids the following day into a selection of 228L French barriques and inoculated with CY3079 and Delta yeast strains. The wine completed natural malolactic fermentation in barrel remaining on lees for 10 months. All barrels were tasted and a blend assembled by racking to stainless steel. The wine was then returned to barrel for a further month. Prior to bottling, the wine was stabilised then filtered through the cross flow. Total production for the 2017 vintage of the Spring Vale Reserve Chardonnay was 690 dozen.