De Bortoli Yarra Valley Estate Chardonnay 750ml

94 Points
"Pale quartz-green; there is some bright and healthy colour development; the bouquet is complex, but still open up fully. Winemaker Steve Webber has succeeded handsomely with his desire to make textural wines, as evident here as it is with a red wine. The textural play introduces layers of different flavour nuances with a mix of grilled nuts (not oak-derived), a waft of nectarine, and minerals."

James Halliday , Wine Companion, November 2011

Region
Yarra Valley, De Bortoli Estate Grown

Appearance
Light straw with a green edge.

Bouquet
Refreshing citrus lift with background notes of hazelnuts and slight, toasty aromas.

Palate
Tight lean citrus like fruit. A textured palate which shows savoury characters of hazelnuts wound together with some balanced phenolics to give length and longevity.

Vintage Conditions
The 2009 – 2010 growing season saw our earliest budburst for sometime. Timely rainfall in early summer gave the vineyard some relief from a dry winter and spring. Conditions for ripening were ideal with warm days and cool nights. The fruit was hand picked in the cool of the morning.

Winemaking
Fruit is selected from 4 distinct estate vineyards. The grapes are hand picked and whole bunch crushed and pressed to extract some good phenolics for texture and minerality. Once the fruit is pressed, it is allowed to settle overnight before roughly racking to older French oak casks for fermentation. No yeast is added. Some lees stirring is used, depending on each parcel.

Wine Analysis
Alc/Vol : 12.5 %   pH : 3.4   TA : 6.5 g/L  

Cellaring
The wine will continue to develop complexity and interest with good cellaring for up to 5-8 years.

Suggested Cuisine
Try with spinach and ricotta ravioli.

General Characteristics
Dry    Medium Bodied